MESSAGE FROM MEET DIRECTOR, NIGEL HOLE

All Athletes,

Thanks for your patience. We had been waiting for the updated guidance from viaSport BC before starting to iron out plans for the Harry Jerome.

Unfortunately it looks like there will still be some pretty significant COVID-19 restrictions in place in BC on June 12. These include:

• Only BC-based athletes on a high performance list will be eligible to compete (BC's CSI-P list or Athletics Canada's Long List)
• Additionally. Athletes can only compete in their home region. This means that in order to compete at Swangard (track events) or UBC (jumps & javelin) you must be based in the lower mainland. In order to compete in Kamloops (circle throws) you must be based in Interior BC.

• The only exception to the regional travel rule is for nationally carded athletes - they are allowed to travel between regions for competitions. E.g. a nationally carded thrower on Vancouver Island can travel to Kamloops.

• Anyone who is not back currently back in Canada (as of midnight May 28) will likely also not be eligible due to the Federal 14 day quarantine requirement. E.g an athlete competing at the Portland Track Festival will likely not be eligible.

Athletes who have filled out our expression of interest form, and who meet the eligibility criteria listed above can be found on the Harry Jerome draft Entry List:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SllJW60b_5QWgUJEjnUAeoxMg3a-JK6u6lK0XGJG5xA/edit?usp=sharing

Now I'm sure there are some errors and omissions in that list, but if your name is NOT on that list, please check the following before reaching out to me:

1. You completed the expression of interest form
2. You are officially considered a BC-based athlete (as per BC Athletics)
3. You are on a high performance list (CSI-P or AC Long List)
4. You are currently back in BC
5. You are based in the same region as your competition (lower mainland for track, jumps, javelin | interior BC for circle throws), or you are based elsewhere in BC but are nationally carded.

If you are on the entry list, please confirm your intention to compete by completing this NEW form: form: https://forms.gle/EVRJGxMFj9p4n9Hd7

Note that you CAN change events (compared to what you originally listed) especially if there is limited to no competitive depth in your original primary event.

We remain committed to remaining flexible as long as possible. So if COVID restrictions do change or lift, we will do our best to accommodate newly eligible athletes up until the last minute.

Once again thank you for patience and understanding, as well as for your individual resilience. You are each important members of our sport's community. Thank you for continuing to show up to training, day in and day out, despite so much uncertainty. Your training partners, coaches, administrators, younger teammates, and competitors appreciate it much more than you'll ever know. It has likely been a large part of what's kept them going.

Probably like many of you, I used to take all of these meets and our sport's infrastructure for granted. But this past year has taught us that they don't just happen on their own. It takes a community to pull them off. So, sincerely, thank you for your personal contributions to the track & field community. There are a lot of people in this community working tirelessly to 'pay it forward' as soon as possible. Keep your head up.

Yours in Sport,

Nigel

Nigel Hole (he, him, his)
The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Track Classic

778 891 9350

nigel@thunderbirdstrack.org