Cycling Ireland plans to make a submission to Government over the way Covid-19 restrictions are impacting on cycling events.
It has asked its members to fill out
a survey that will help the national governing body frame its approach on the
issue in a submission to the Government “regarding the suite of public
health measures currently applied to cycling events and activities”.
“Under Level 3 restrictions, cyclists within the Republic
of Ireland are unable to participate in events – both competitive and leisure -
are restricted to training within pods of a maximum of 15 and cannot travel
outside of their county,” the national governing body said.
“Opportunities for Irish cyclists to compete on the international stage have also been impacted. To date, elite status exemptions have not received approval from the Sport Expert Group for National Championship events, including the Cyclocross National Championships which were due to take place in January 2021.”
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All forms of leisure events, training and racing are impacted by the restrictions, with at least Level 3 expected to continue for some time into 2021
Cycling Ireland has asked members to complete this survey, the responses to which will help inform the submission to Government. The survey is open until January 3rd.
It plans to “supply all available evidence and data for
the purposes of informing the development of tailored proposals and approaches
for future mitigation measures”.
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Last week it emerged plans for the
National Cyclocross Championships, and all four provincial title races, had
been scrapped due to the pandemic.
The Government-appointed Sport
Expert Group declined to grant the “elite event” status the races required to
be permitted under the Living with Covid-19 plan.
The fact the national championships
were not granted that status is an issue of significant concern and appears to
reflect a hardening of attitudes towards holding bike races.
Previously in the pandemic, National
Track Championships events were sanctioned, and took place, even when other
forms of racing were cancelled.
Furthermore, earlier in the summer
when some counties were in localised lock-downs and riders from those counties
were not allowed to compete outside their home county, they were granted an
exemption for national’s events.
However, a more stringent approach
has now been taken to the National Cyclocross Championships. This is despite
racing having run very successfully for months in the summer and rugby, GAA and
soccer being permitted at present.
This weekend Swim Ireland is holding
an indoor meet, promoted to take the place of the short course national
championships.
The Irish Winter Meet at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin is the first indoor sporting event since March, though an outdoor cycling nationals has been disallowed.
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