S.A. Champs Team Events Cancelled for 2020

With the annual showjumping calendar in some disarray after the forced mid-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been somewhat of a mad rush as venues try to cram in national status shows before the end of the year. While for the most part, this has gone off without a hitch, news broke today of another victim of the pandemic – the South African Champs team events for both Adult and Youth Champs. With the team events cancelled, several riders have been quite distraught over this decision.

The SA Showjumping Facebook page made the announcement earlier today where, through the SASJ Council, the decision was made and team events cancelled due to the various constraints created by COVID-19. With the country still in a state of disaster and restrictions on sporting events still in place, the team events will fall away for the 2020 season and the competitions will be run for individual titles only. The statement said, “Dear All, it is with sadness that we announce that, due to the time constraints put on us by COVID-19 and the resulting state of disaster and various levels of lockdown, it has been decided by the SASJ Council to not run team events for 2020. “

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While this is a sad announcement for showjumping in South Africa, the global pandemic has pushed many decisions out of our hands and we remain in hope for the 2021 season. The cancelled team events join a multitude of FEI events that have also been cancelled for the 2020 calendar year, including the FEI World Cup Qualifier series and the FEI Children’s Challenge.

-The JumpOff- 

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