EA High Performance Update relating to COVID-19 – 13th April, 2020

We wish you a very Happy Easter and hope that you are continuing to keep well, safe and healthy.

Over the past week we have continued to liaise with the relevant departments at the FEI who are evaluating how we can make the reviewed Tokyo dates work and mitigate against dramatic effects on the FEI Calendar in 2021, the qualification of athletes, and the obtaining of Minimum Eligibility Requirements. This is an ongoing matter yet to reach a conclusion and we are committed to working with the FEI to reach an outcome that is clear, fair and in the best interest of the sport. 

This past week the FEI announced the findings of the Jumping Calender Taskforce, which looked at a variety of rule changes and additional recommendations to lessen the impact that COVID-19, and a postponed Olympic Games, will have on the global Jumping Calendar (full findings can be found here).  

The FEI has also released the renewed process for calculating FEI World Rankings for Jumping, Eventing, Dressage and Para-Dressage, which became effective from 1 April 2020. This has given our athletes and our administration further clarity on how we can utilise this data once competition commences again (full details can be found here).

We have also spoken with the FEI about the impact COVID-19 will have on our non-Olympic disciplines and their World Championships that are scheduled for 2020. We have been advised that a Non-Olympic Taskforce will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss all issues facing the non-Olympic disciplines and we will keep the community updated as these findings come to hand.

The Equestrian Australia (EA) High Performance Panel and the National Selection Panels met last week and commenced discussions on how EA High Performance will manage our High-Performance Plan, the Tokyo Games operations, campaign plans and the relevant nomination policies. They specifically looked at how these important impending changes will effect the selection of athletes, and how our policies can be amended to allow for this unprecedented situation. This is an ever-evolving situation and is subject to constant change.

We will continue to work hard to adapt these plans and remain available to our stakeholders during these unsettling times. We will endeavour to keep you updated on this progress where we can and remain connected with you as a high performance equestrian community.

The health and safety of our people and horses remain our priority as we work together as a broader community in order to navigate through these tough times. Our thoughts are with all our people as some areas of the equestrian community continue to be significantly impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

We thank you for your understanding and continued support and please feel free to contact the High Performance team directly if you have questions or queries.