While a local table tennis team has recently competed in Argentina without setbacks, a question mark lies over the South American Senior Athletics Championships.
Similar to concerns expressed by the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GBA), the Guyana Athletic Association (AAG) is cutting the travel plans of their athletes to Argentina in the next month.
With the country currently experiencing a spike in coronary cases, and Brazil having reported a deadly variant, EA President Aubrey Hutson is deeply concerned about the May 14-16 incident.
“It’s a concern for us. I spoke to the President of CONSUDATLE (Confederation of South American Athletics) a few days ago, and he expresses some concerns because I think their protocol for Brazil as such is that they only accept them if they can quarantine in Argentina. for ten days, ”Hutson shared with this announcement.
He added, “So, you know, here you have to get up, how do you quarantine yourself for 10 days? Which means no training, you can’t look out, you can’t go outside the hotel, what kind of shape are you going to be in preparation for competing? ”
Hutson was careful to explain that while this is not Guyana’s reality, he is still uncertain what protocols would be needed, and whether the competition would even go ahead as planned.
The President of the SCR expressed honestly, “This is the situation for Brazil and not Guyana, but honestly I don’t see the South American Championship, you know, happening in South America with Brazil.
“I don’t know exactly what the other protocols are for the rest of South America, but Brazil is a key stakeholder in competition in South America, and honestly, I don’t know what holds, you know, what protocols is in place for Guyana, ”but he was telling me about the Brazilian experience.
He went on to reveal, “So, they are still debating whether to get it or not.”
While the older people of South America will not affect the Guyana Senior Championships, Hutson is confused about how local athletes would get to Tokyo without the lucrative competition.
“The problem is, it will affect athletes preparing for the Olympics,” he said.
“Seeing that the South American Senior Championships are the biggest points winner for South American athletes, how do they get to Tokyo or qualify for Tokyo unless they have the Senior South American Championship? It really throws up a lot of problems, our way, ”lamented Huston.
Last week, President of the Guyana Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, also shared concerns about getting his boxers to travel to Argentina in the midst of a COVID-19 spike. During that interaction with Guyana Times Sport, Ninvalle was adamant that it would not jeopardize the safety of the local boxers.
