RegattaCentral

I am sad to be writing to you today as we will be officially canceling the Midwest Championships for the Spring 2020 season.

 

US Rowing has canceled all events. The State of Ohio also looks to be locking down for an extended period, also taking this out of our hands. In addition, the CDC's current recommendation is to avoid mass gatherings through the weekend of May 10th. 

 

As of writing this today, the following events (and many others) have also been canceled:

 

SRAAs

CSSRAs (Canadian Scholastic Nationals)

Stotesbury

Philly City Champs and all Flicks

New York Scholastics

 

This is a heartbreaking decision, especially for our seniors, but ultimately it is the only sensible and safe decision in front of us. The Coronavirus has had a devastating impact on all of our communities, and we are still not out of the woods yet. Mass school closings are in place until May in many states, and until the end of the school year in others. 

 

https://usrowing.org/news/2020/3/26/usrowing-announces-cancellation-of-spring-youth-series-events-including-youth-regionals-u17-u15-nationals-and-youth-nationals.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3Vx42lSLLYjqXTr4bN6dHI53SbXEAt8d3YLmYnQlZzq1drPX2StQ7iyMw

 

The MSRA Board will continue to look at the possibility of hosting an event in Zanesville this summer (late July - early August range), this would not be the Midwest Championships, just an opportunity for kids to race and hopefully give some closure to our seniors. We will send more information out on this as it becomes available. 

 

Administratively, the proposed plan for membership dues is to roll them over to the 2021 season. We will confirm this with teams after a closer look at the potential of the epidemic to impact our finances. Certainly if your team has financial hardship and you need a refund, please contact Guy Weaser directly about this and it will be taken care of. 

 

We have had a number of questions about "Novice" status. This is being looked at over the next couple of weeks and the decision will be communicated to the membership once a full discussion has been had on it. If you any strong feelings on how this might be handled please let Mark Bellinger and I know and we will forward to committee handling this subject.

 

If your teams are having any issues with local hotels regarding cancellations, please contact Lisa Osborne.

 

I hope this email finds you healthy and if you have any questions, or just want a sounding board, don't hesitate to email or call. 

 

Be there for your athletes, staff and families, as leadership is always needed under these kind of circumstances, people can become "lost" very quickly. 

 

Let's stay focused and excited for the prospect of Midwests 2021.  SAVE THE DATE 5/8,9/2021 

 

Best wishes,

 

MSRA Board