2020’s show calendar has been in disarray since March when the country was plunged into a full lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. But in the latter half of the year, things opened up somewhat as show holding bodies played catch up of the years shows. This resulted in late hosting of events such as the President’s Cup, Adult SA Champs, and the South African Outdoor Grand Prix. But disaster struck this week as two positive cases at the Outdoor GP show forced KPC to cancel the event with immediate effect. This cast a shadow over the upcoming 2020 Youth Champs, scheduled for this coming week (16-20 December) at Kyalami Equestrian Park, but in a statement issued this morning, Kyalami Park Club has confirmed that the SA Youth Champs will go ahead with stricter COVID-related regulations.
After the Outdoor GP show was cancelled, all members of KPC staff undertook a COVID test. The results came back negative for all on Dec 13 2020, allowing for Youth Champs to continue. Subsequent to the first positive test being detected at the Christmas Show on Thursday, all indoor spaces have been professionally sanitised twice over, and further sanitisation is currently underway on all facilities including the stables, grooms accommodation, equipment, etc. to ensure the safety of all taking part in the SA Youth Champs. Further investigation into the competitor who competed despite testing positive will also be conducted.
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However, due to the recent events, KPC has had to implement stricter regulations with regards to participant declarations for the upcoming event. Via a new online application, all attendees entering the property between Monday 14th and Sunday the 20th of December for the first time will be required to complete an online application. Failure to do so will result in attendees being turned away at the gate by the COVID officers. Furthermore, anyone having attended a large gathering (Christmas parties, events, concerts, Matric Rage, etc) any time in the last 14 days must present a negative COVID test not older than 72 hours at the time of entering the property. KPC recommends the same for all attendees, but this step is not mandatory for those who have not been involved in social gatherings as mentioned above.
The organisers of the show have also pointed out that while the club makes every effort to comply with legislation and make the show as safe as possible, ultimately, individuals must be responsible for their own actions. Anyone found to have lied on their applications, or transgressed the COVID regulations in any other way, will be subject to disciplinary proceedings. Under the national state of disaster, those who do not comply can be legally fined or imprisoned for up to 6 months for not complying with mandatory mask wearing, pre-screening checks, etc.
While there would have been much concern regarding the SA Youth Champs subsequent to the original announcement of the Christmas Show’s cancellation, we are pleased that Kyalami Park Club has taken all necessary steps to ensure visitor safety for the upcoming event.
On behalf of the entire showjumping community, The JumpOff implores all attending the event to be responsible, wear masks correctly at all times, ad take all necessary precautions. If for whatever reason you do not feel well, or feel you may have come into contact with someone with COVID, please do not attend the event.
-The JumpOff-
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