Racing During Covid-19

I think we would all agree that the 2020 race season was a bust. It started with race postponements and uncertainty and ended with race cancellations and disappointment. Many people’s racing hopes and dreams were dashed by a disease that took everyone by surprise. When it first hit I remember thinking how inconvenient it was going to be to have to re-schedule some of our races for later in the year. Right?

By the end of the summer almost everything had been cancelled and people have been left wondering what the future holds for endurance sports. Will we even be racing in the near future? If so, what will racing look like.

We have been wondering the same things. But as race planners and event hosts we have also been pondering if and how we can offer safe, fun events during this pandemic. Our athletes and other friends in the multi-sport community have made it very clear that they want the opportunity to test their training and get back into racing and we want to give them this opportunity.

We believe that it is possible to have safe events under our current Stage 3 return to sport guidelines. We have consulted with TriBC, Public Health officials, and with other race directors. Then we sat down and crafted a return to racing plan that we believe will allow people to get back to the start line in 2021, albeit with some modifications from what we have offered in the past.

Racing in the time of Covid-19 will require a renewed focus on the safety of athletes, volunteers, officials, and race staff. Racing under these conditions will depend on flexibility and added awareness from participants. The race experience during Covid-19 may be a bit different, but it can be just as much fun and just was challenging.

We are moving ahead with planning our 2021 race season. We will not open registration for any of our events until we are confident that they will go ahead. Keep an eye on our event page at https://www.humanpoweredracing.ca/races/ and be among the first to register for a Human Powered Event in 2021. We hope to see you soon!