National Association of Athletics Administrations of T&T (NAAATT) president Ephraim Serrette announced to its member clubs that the current track and field season will not resume. The athletics season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced sports worldwide to halt.
“With the current prolonged period of the Stay at Home order , the board in its deliberation at a meeting held on Tuesday, has taken the decision to officially cancel the remainder of the 2020 track season,” said Serrette in a release to its members dated Wednesday.
“While this season has been curtailed, the board proposes that the upcoming 2020/2021 track season will begin as early as November and commence with a combination of cross country/road running together with some track series designed for unconventional track events (150m, 300m, 600m relays etc).”
The month of June is traditionally NAAATT’s busiest time of the year with the hosting of its annual Championships series including the National Gas Company (NGC) NAAA Junior, Juvenile and Open Senior meets.
This year’s Senior Championships particularly was expected to be a competitive one with the then pending Tokyo Olympic Games slated for the following months (July 31-August 9) until it was postponed to 2021 (July 23- August 8) due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 12, the NAAA head sent out a letter to all member clubs outlining the current situation surrounding the pandemic and its impact on sports worldwide.
“The association continues to monitor the situation as the government reopens the country on a phased basis on the advice of the medical experts. As the reopening process continues, the association continues to advocate for the diversification of your approach to keeping healthy while still observing the protocols outlined by the Public health Ordinance,” said Serrette, who advised clubs to help their athletes maintain their readiness for next season while his organisation does its part.
“Members can also look forward in the near future to a couple of online workshops on Sports Psychology at it relates to the effected of this particular period and strength and conditioning.
“Clubs are asked to ensure all athletes continue to stay fit as we prepare for all upcoming activities. Stay safe, save lives, we are all in this together.”