SILENCE will envelop the Borderline Speedway this weekend as the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an effect on the region, with various sporting events already called off.
This weekend’s Tyson Perez Memorial sprintcar meeting, along with the South Australian Wingless Sprint championships have been cancelled due to the government regulations placed on crowds set in place to control the spread of the virus.
Club president Cary Jennings said it was an unfortunate situation.
However, he said the club had little choice but to make the call.
“We had a meeting Friday night and made the decision to call the meeting off,” he said.
“We just have to be smart about what we do.
“There are speedways all around Australia that are cancelled.
“It is a bit of a worry.”
Jennings said with competitors coming from South Australia, Victoria and NSW, it was too big a risk to hold the meeting for the health of competitors and staff involved.
According to government regulations crowds of more than 500 people are now not allowed to gather, which also posed a financial issue for the club.
However, Jennings said it was the health risk the club was concerned most about.
“It does not effect everyone as life threatening, but you have to think about everyone, including the elderly who might be at risk,” he said.
Jennings said he would look to possibly schedule the meeting for the start of next season.
“We just do not know what will happen yet,” he said.
“It could be cleared in the next fortnight, but at this stage you just cannot plan for anything.”
Jennings said he had heard of various speedways around the country who had shut down their seasons and the remaining meeting on the Borderline Speedway program – the Easter Sprintcar Trail – now looks in doubt.
“We may not even get Easter in yet,” he said.
“We will have a meeting with Hamilton and Warrnambool and discuss where we go with the Easter Trail.
“We will be governed by our national bodies and the government, so we will just have to sit down and work out where we are going to be with the future of this season.
“It will hurt us all.”
