Decision about moving forward coming in two weeks.
December 7, 2020 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
In two weeks, the World Flying Disc Federation is set to make the first major decision about whether or not to move forward with the 2021 World Ultimate and Guts Championships and Under-24 World Championships. WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch is remaining optimistic.
“Unless things really go off the rails in the next two weeks, my hope — and nothing can be assured until we actually make the decision — is that we can move forward with WUGC,” he said today in an interview with Ultiworld.
Recent positive news about COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, the latter of which could be approved for use by the Federal Drug Administration by the end of the week, has boosted the odds that international tournament play will be possible by July. A clear timeline for vaccine distribution has been a key focus for WFDF decision makers as they plan for the 2021 events.
“I would think by the time you get to the beginning of April, you’ll start getting people who have no high priority, just a normal man and woman New Yorker in the street who’s well and has no underlying conditions,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said today in a press conference with New York governor Andrew Cuomo. “If we get them vaccinated in a full court press, get them really going, and you do that through April, May, and June, by the time you get to the summer…we should be in good shape.”
For WFDF though, many questions remain. International distribution of the vaccine, outside of the US and Europe, will be vital. People will need to be able to freely travel. And enough teams will still need to commit to attending the event.
If the WFDF Executive Committee agrees to move forward with WUGC, teams will be contacted with additional information and an invoice for the additional player fees owed, payable by January 15th. In mid-January, WFDF would meet again to assess the viability of the event.
Even after that point, if an assessment is made that holding the event would not be feasible due to safety concerns, border restrictions, or insufficient interest from teams, the tournament could still be canceled.
“We’re going to try to leave open as many options as possible and be prudent about the decisions we make along the way,” said Rauch.
