(22-Jan) -- The British Athletics Indoor Championships, scheduled for February 20 - 21 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, have been cancelled due to the pandemic. This represents the first time that these Championships, which were to be held behind closed doors to reduce the potential spread of the novel coronavirus, have been cancelled in 60 years.
IMAGE: Courtesy of British Athletics
"The decision was taken in light of the ongoing pandemic to ensure the safety of all those due to participate: athletes, coaches, technical officials, volunteers, event and venue staff as well as protecting the Glasgow community," read a statement from British Athletics. "At the present time, the process of testing all those attending the Championships from across the U.K., seen as an essential measure, would not sufficiently mitigate the risks."
This decision closely follows the cancellation of the USATF Indoor Championships which were scheduled for the same weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. The United States did not hold an outdoor athletics championships last summer, either, while Great Britain did.
Two important indoor championships still remain on the scheduled for 2021, the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.; March 11 - 13), and the European Athletics Indoor Championships (Torun, Poland; March 5 - 7). The British Championships were to serve as a qualifying competition for the European Championships, so British Athletics will choose a different team selection method.
"British Athletics acknowledges that the cohort of athletes vying for G.B. & N.I. team selection will need competition to enable qualification," the organization said. "Therefore, alternative provision that enables smaller, COVID-19-compliant event qualification opportunities is being explored and will be confirmed to eligible athletes by British Athletics in due course."
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