Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, many schools, workplaces, and major events are looking at the drastic changes during the weeks and months ahead. On the rowing side of things, several events have already been cancelled and are under review:
Rowing conferences that have cancelled or suspended competition:
- Cancelled: ACC, Ivy, MAAC, NESCAC, Patriot, WCC, NCAA Championships
- Suspended: Big 12 through April 15, CAA, Pac-12 (varies by school at present)
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- NCAA cancels ALL remaining winter and spring championships
- The Quinsigamond Rowing Assn. has cancelled the New England Rowing Championships and all QRA-hosted collegiate racing on Lake Quinsigamond (Worcester, MA)
- Pac-12 statement on men's basketball tournament, Pac-12 sport competitions and Pac-12 championship events (note that the statements do not specifically comment on practices)
- Patriot League To Cancel All Spring Practices and Competitions
- For a sense of the scope of cancellations, non-rowing cancellations: NBA, MLB, NHL suspended indefinitely; MLS suspended 30 days; AAC, ACC, A10, Big 10, Big East, Big 10, Colonial, Conference USA, MAC, Pac-12, SEC, WAC basketball tournaments cancelled
- From the NCAA: Statement on COVID-19 and NCAA championship events and NCAA statement on COVID-19 and sporting events
- Ivy League to Cancel All Athletic Events Through the Remainder of the Spring
- row2k news: Asian Olympic and Paralympic Qualifier Regattas and Training Camp Cancelled, Rescheduled to Take Place in Switzerland and Italy in May
- FISA: Olympic and Paralympic and World Cup I and II Cancelled
- USRowing COVID-19 statement and context regarding World Cups and Olympic qualification
- All NESCAC spring sports cancelled (includes Bates, Colby, Conn College, Hamilton, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams
Additionally, many spring and summer races are currently in limbo or have been canceled (see the row2k calendar for all info currently available to us); so far, the John Hunter Regatta and Knecht Cup have been cancelled.
Policies on athletic participation are still in flux in many places as the implications of league and university policies are reckoned against official activities (including athletics) that may not be possible as remote/virtual/online activities.
row2k has compiled a list of the most common policy decisions and implications we have seen so far below. The onset of spring break season has somewhat fortuitously created a buffer for many universities, but does create some further uncertainty beyond the first week of April; we will post updates as available.
Some policy decisions that have gone into effect already:
- Online classes effective immediately in some cases, after spring break in others
- Limit or prohibition of team travel; in many cases all institution-sponsored travel is prohibited
- Limiting attendance at events
- Rescheduling, cancellation, or close review of events that have a very high number of participants (100 people is emerging as a standard
- Postponement or cancellation of out-of-season practice
- Policies on social distancing (no media interviews, locker room presence, no use of common microphones in news conferences, more)
- Admission tours and prospective student visits
- No tailgating
- Prohibitions on international travel
- Complete cancellation of all classes and activities for the remainder of the spring (several NESCAC schools have done so)
For regattas, particularly those not directly hosted by schools, so far most are making decisions based on two factors: policy decisions by permit issuing agencies, and evolving policies at participating schools. A good example is the Philadelphia Flick series statement
If your regatta has been canceled this season, please let us know. We will be continuously updating our calendar noting the latest regatta cancellations as we find out about them.
Additional Information
We will add to this list as information comes our way:
Note: As of Thursday, March 12, row2k set an internal policy not to send staff to any events requiring anything but short drives; the policy was created ahead of the Olympic Trials I, where we felt that taking a flight into an environment where Olympic hopefuls were congregated was irresponsible at best. The policy has obviously evolved to include more than just the Olympic Trials, and will remain in place until further notice.