Another major junior track and field event has been cancelled.
Organisers of the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships (BSSAC) have abandoned plans for this year’s edition.
This follows closely on the heels of the cancellation of the Caribbean’s marquee junior track and field event, the CARIFTA Games.
BSSAC 2021 officials said they were forced to abandon plans for a scaled-down version of the meet, which is traditionally held in March prior to the CARIFTA Games.
Interim co-chair of the BSSAC Committee, Juanita Wade said in a media release that the management committee determined that the window for the staging of the competition is now closed.
“We regret to inform that the 2021 Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championship has been officially cancelled,” she said. “Our attention has already turned to planning for the staging of BSSAC Cross Country series in November 2021 and the 2022 edition of BSSAC.
“It is our hope that we will be able to overcome challenges posed by the (COVID-19) pandemic, allowing us to again to set the stage for our athletes to showcase their outstanding talent.”
Last year, when Barbados recorded its first cases of the COVID-19 viral illness, organisers were similarly forced to cancel the finals of BSSAC because public gatherings were limited to 250.
(AGB/AR)