LONDON (UK) – The pandemic has forced British Athletics to cancel its indoor championships scheduled to begin in Glasgow next month, said its governing body on Friday.
The process of testing athletes, coaches, technical officials and volunteers would not do away with the risks involved, said British Athletics, adding that the decision was taken to scrap the event from Feb. 20-21 as a precautionary measure.
More than 500 athletes were expected to attend the event from Britain and overseas with elite sport permitted to host competitions despite the lockdowns across the country.
“British Athletics recognises our social responsibility to reduce COVID-19 transmission and to not overburden the National Health Service,” it said in a statement.
The European Indoor Championships are to be held in Torun, Poland from March 5-7 and British Athletics said it was aware of the fact that athletes vying for Britain and Northern Ireland team selection need competition to enable qualification.
“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,” is said.