Good evening fellow Kenshi,
The last few days has included a lot of changes and updates going on
concerning the operation of the Kentucky and Cleveland tournaments that
have been planned to occur over the last few weeks. As I'm sure all of
you know, the spread of the COVID-19 virus around the world has caused
event organizers to weigh the risks of hosting an event where large
amounts of people plan to gather. Some of those planned events have,
unfortunately, been canceled or postponed out of consideration to public
health.
Unfortunately, after weighing the risks to our own Federation and
possible visitors, the ECUSKF has decided to postpone the Kentucky
Tournament for the time being. For those of you that have already sent
in your money for the tournament, those checks will not be processed.
The silver lining is that the promotion will still go on as planned, but
it will be moved to Columbus. We're still trying to nail down a time,
but the location will be at the following location:
Worthington Recreation Center
345 E Wilson Bridge Rd
Worthington, OH 43085
There was also a series of joint practices that were going on this month
to prepare for the Junior Nationals and the AUSKF National Tournament
this year. Those have also been postponed until a later date (the Jr.
Nationals have also been canceled. The AUSKF Tournament's fate hasn't
been decided as of this email).
Yesterday, we were also informed that ALL events surrounding the
Cleveland Tournament (tournament, promotion exam, seminar and
godo-keiko) have been canceled. At this time, I'm not sure if it will
be rescheduled at a later date, but I'll let you know about the latest
developments. If anyone has already pre-paid for the tournament when
they signed up, the organizers are working on a way to make sure that
everyone gets a refund.
As for our regular practices, I currently don't see a need to cancel
practice at this time. The only thing I can really say at this point is
to pay close attention to your health and stay home if you start to feel
sick (don't try to "brave" it out for the sake of ego). You also want
to keep yourself, and others, healthy by practicing good hygiene
(washing hands, showering, etc.), getting enough sleep and eating properly.
There's still a lot of activity going on behind the scenes with the
situation, so I'll be sure to keep everyone posted. If there are any
questions or concerns, feel free to ask!
Chris George
