So far, 2020 has been a year that many of us would like to just forget about as it seems like a bad dream with the current events going on. Although, we remain positive and take the necessary preventative measures.
Covid-19 is currently a pandemic due to the global impact. And just yesterday President Trump declared it a national emergency to free up to $50 billion in federal resources. But other countries are of course taking their own preventative measures. Sporting events, concerts, schools, businesses have been postponed/closed down around the globe and this may only possibly be the beginning.
But that means bodybuilding events will not carry on as scheduled which includes the Arnold Sports Festival which is a massive multi-sport event.
Not more than a week ago, the Ohio Classic competition and EXPO in Columbus Ohio was scheduled to go on as planned. But it wasn’t long before the EXPO was canceled and fans could only attend the finals of the competition. The EXPO brings in millions to the local economy which was a real bummer for Columbus, Ohio but safety first…
Well, the Arnold Classic Australia and Brasil were just days away. And now, the Arnold Brasil website has announced the postponing of the event, although the Arnold Classic Australia website has not. But today afternoon the Arnold Classic Australia announce the cancellation of the Pro Classes events.
Here is the official statement:
It is with regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Pro classes at the Arnold Classic Australia this coming week
The severe travel restrictions being imposed in many countries make it impossible to guarantee that we can get our athletes here to Australia, or to be able to return safely home
The health and safety of all involved is what has made this decision our only possible and responsible course of action with our international athletes
We await further advice regarding the expo, the amateur pro qualifier and the other many events we have planned
Things are changing every hour
At this moment, we have no official direction, guidance or correspondence from our state government
This is uncharted territory and we will do whatever possible to safeguard the health and best interests of all concerned
More to come
the latter event has been confirmed canceled by several sources and the country has already warned to ban public gatherings of more than 500 people.
Via Google Translation:
São Paulo, March 13, 2020.
The Arnold Sports Festival South America , the largest multi-sport event in South America, informs that the edition scheduled for the period from April 24 to 26, in São Paulo, will be postponed.
The new date, still in 2020, will be announced soon. The recommendation of the Ministry of Health and the Government of São Paulo, today, for the cancellation or postponement of major events to minimize the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and the declaration by the World Health Organization that it is a pandemic, takes the organization of the event to postpone its realization.
ASFSA, which brings together approximately 85 thousand people in each edition, has as main objective to bring content and activities focused on health, sport and quality of life to its participants and reiterates its commitment to the well-being of all those involved, following the recommendations of the authorities.
In order to minimize possible doubts and ensure convenience for the public, all customers who have already purchased tickets have a guaranteed place at the event!
A new purchase will not be necessary, tickets already purchased will be valid for the new dates. Save your ticket
and wait for the announcement of the new days. If you have any further questions, please contact [email protected] .For the announcement of the new date and other updates, they can be found soon here and on the official profiles on social networks: @arnoldsouthamerica and /arnoldsouthamerica .
ASFSA Organization
IFBB Pro Nathan De Asha is one athlete who has confirmed the cancellation of the Arnold Classic Australia. And he expressed his frustration on Instagram recently.
The event had a big lineup too with many top guys competing including Big Ramy and Dexter Jackson. But what made it worse for De Asha was that he was prevented from participating in Ohio last weekend at the Arnold Classic due to the virus.
Now after a long and hard prep where he seemed very ready to compete, well, it’s not going to happen. He had a pretty bad 2019 running into legal issues too which he referred to and you can hear what he had to say below.
Note: Scroll through to the last clip as the discussion starts there and play backward to hear all the clips.
The virus is just too much of a risk right now to allow events to continue and it’ll be interesting to learn how this situation unfolds in the days ahead. It’s definitely unfortunate that the Arnold Sports Festival was postponed as the competitors have worked so hard for such a big event.
But sometimes life can be completely unpredictable and random which is certainly the case with the coronavirus.
