JUNIOR INVITATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CANCELLED!

Due to the latest announcement and current status of Covid 19 alert levels in New Zealand, the Junior Invitational Cross-Country event, set to have taken place on the 8th of September, is sadly, now cancelled.

Level 2 is currently due to end on Sunday 6th, with the cross country running on the 8th. We may be in Level 1 by then, but equally we may not be. We may also be in a 'mixed' level, such as level 1.5. It's hard to plan for this and ensure that we can keep everyone safe and adhere to alert level protocols.

We recognize that such events can still run in Level 2, but there are considerable complications. The Ministry has advised that schools treat cross-school events with "strong caution", and has said that "minimising congestion should be a key priority for that plan, including in the classrooms or spaces being used for delivery."

We have looked at systems we could put in place to minimise congestion, such as a staggered approach and having students only come on and offsite for their particular race. However, this is difficult for schools, especially with such young children. Schools in our area, jointly entered more than 200 athletes to participate in this event.

As such, we have made the call to cancel the event, as mixing children and parents across a large number of schools is not the safest call to make right now.

We will, unfortunately, not be able to reschedule this event for a later date this year. We'll have to give it another go next year.

By Michelle Prinsloo