As schools break up the council, tourism and health authorities ask for visitors to postpone trips and come back later in the year.
“Cornwall prides itself on being an open and welcoming place, but during these unprecedented times we ask that anyone planning a trip to Cornwall consider deferring their visit and avoid all but essential travel.
Visit Cornwall believes that a holiday or short break should be deemed as non-essential travel. This would avoid the confusion that currently exists and mean that customers’ personal travel insurance should reimburse visitors who choose to cancel rather than postpone their holiday.
“As the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of Coronavirus begin to be implemented across the country we are aware of the huge impact this is having on the tourism and hospitality sector in Cornwall. We are already seeing businesses close and redundancies made.
“However, we are also aware that additional visitors to Cornwall at this time will potentially put extra pressure on public services, including the NHS.
“Visit Cornwall has been considering the scenarios for several weeks, but it is now clearer how this will impact on the UK and Cornwall significantly in the next three to six months.
“Our advice is for visitors to plan to come to Cornwall later in the year when more of our facilities are open for business, trading normally, and when visitors will get the high-quality experience they associate with coming to Cornwall.
“We urge anyone considering travelling to Cornwall in the coming days and weeks to think carefully about the implications of being removed from your normal social network during the coronavirus period, the risk of not being able to travel back home as planned, to be aware that supermarkets are experiencing the same pressures here as elsewhere, and consider the added pressure on public services in a rural area which this travel may cause.
“We urge people to delay their visit to Cornwall to a later stage. This will also reassure our communities that we are doing everything possible to contain the spread of Coronavirus over the next few weeks.
“Welcoming visitors back to Cornwall will be key to our economic recovery.”
Considering the rapidly changing, life altering current situation the WSL has wisely put things on hold further than cancelling the ‘what are the odds’ named Corona Pro.
PRESS RELEASE
Due to the continued evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Surf League (WSL) is postponing or canceling all events, at all levels of competition, through the end of May. This includes the postponement of the remainder of the events in the Australian leg of the Championship Tour, Bells Beach and Margaret River, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The Quiksilver Pro G-Land – scheduled to take place in a remote part of Indonesia in June – will either be canceled or moved to an area with more infrastructure.
While full details about the impact these changes will have on the 2020 Tour are not yet available, the WSL is working diligently to land the best solution for surfers and fans alike.
In a video released on all WSL channels today, WSL’s CEO Erik Logan said to WSL fans and supporters: “We have every intention of commencing the 2020 Championship Tour season, and all our tours, as soon as possible. We are already hard at work doing scenario planning for what a reimagined 2020 tour might look like.”
The current and quickly evolving changes to international travel are making it extremely challenging to determine an appropriate time to recommence and get surfers to and from event locations safely.
In the video, Logan also said: “I’m a fan, like you, and I want to see the world’s best surfers battle it out on the best waves in the world. However, the WSL’s primary concern right now is for the health and safety for our athletes, fans and global employees.”
Based on the information the WSL is receiving from global experts and agencies regarding the pandemic, June feels like the most likely time to kick off the 2020 season safely, thus the decision made today.
Logan continued, “We are a truly global sport. Moving tours and events between countries is challenging under the best of conditions. Under current circumstances, it’s just not possible, and will not be for some time to come. As a league that organizes public gatherings, we are also extremely conscious of our social responsibility not to enable and accelerate the spread of the virus.”
In the meantime, the WSL is continuing to drive new and fresh surfing content through all of its channels. The WSL is also engaging fans to share how they would like to see the WSL celebrate surfing during a time when we need to see and experience more of what we love.
According to Logan, “We are going to increase the volume of content we are producing from WSL Studios, deepen our editorial, and find new ways to stay connected all while we wait for that next opening horn to sound.”
“The love of surfing is the bond that holds our global community together,” said Logan. “We want to share positivity during these anxious times, by continuing to celebrate that bond, and our shared passion for this sport, the ocean, our athletes and one another.”
The WSL will continue to provide updates as they are available.
Ryan Callinan in one of the last WSL events for a while. Photo by Matt Dunbar/WSL
The UK response is currently very much ‘Good luck!’ mixed with ‘Keep calm and carry on’ but the wider world is shutting down borders and sports events a rapid rate. The latest to go is the fittingly named Corona Pro, the opening event of the WSL big league season. That’s cancelled and a bunch of other events have been postponed to hopefully be rescheduled down the track. Uncertain times mean it’s the wisest course of action.
PRESS RELEASE
Due to the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of athletes, fans, and staff, the World Surf League (WSL) has made the decision to cancel all events yet to commence at all tour levels, worldwide for the remainder of March, including the opening event of the 2020 Championship Tour (CT) on the Gold Coast in Australia. Additionally, the WSL has canceled the Papara Pro Open Tahiti.
This decision is based on guidance from the World Health Organization, who has declared that COVID-19 is now a global pandemic, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, governments and local public health authorities where events are being held.
“Coronavirus is having massive consequences for sporting events and gatherings of all kinds around the world, and we are no different,” said WSL CEO Erik Logan. “We did not take this decision lightly as we are aware that it has a significant impact on the surfing community. However, the health and safety of our athletes, fans, and staff are paramount. From the standpoint of social responsibility, we also take very seriously the role our events might play in accelerating the spread of the virus. We’ve been in close contact with our athletes and we feel strongly that this is the right thing to do right now.”
“The fluid nature of this situation is forcing us to evaluate things day-by-day, and even hour-by-hour,” Logan said. “As this continues to evolve, we’ll continue to adapt, endeavoring to make the next right decision each day.”
Based on the information available at this time, the WSL is not currently canceling any additional events beyond this time frame. The situation continues to evolve, and the league is closely monitoring and evaluating the status of upcoming events, including the next CT event at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.
The WSL is carefully considering the impact of these cancellations on its tours and will provide further information in due course.
For all events currently in progress, the WSL has implemented a range of safety protocols as well as protective guidelines for athletes and staff. These include information on travel advisories and restrictions so anyone traveling can plan their travel routes to and from events to best limit their potential exposure; additional hand-washing facilities and hand sanitizer at events; and minimizing surfer and fan interactions.
List of currently canceled or postponed events:
Papara Pro Open Tahiti, French Polynesia – canceled
Piha Pro Junior, New Zealand – postponed
Corona Piha Pro, New Zealand – postponed
Seat Pro Netanya, Israel – postponed
Barbados Surf Pro, Barbados – postponed
Corona Open Gold Coast, Australia – canceled
WSL Awards – postponed
Red Bull Airborne Gold Coast, Australia – canceled
Jack’s Surfboards Pro, USA – postponed
Longboard Pro Espinho, Portugal – postponed
Caparica Surf Fest Pro, Portugal – postponed
Central Japan Open, Japan – postponed
Krui Pro, Indonesia – postponed
