Switzerland witdraws from AG and RG Euros

Switzerland is the latest country to announce they are pulling out of the upcoming Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships due to health risks for the athletes.

Switzerland also canceled the upcoming Artistic Gymnastics National Championships because one of the gymnasts tested positive for COVID-19 and the national team now has to be quarantined.

Meanwhile, in the draw of lots for the RG Euros that are supposed to start in less than a month, more countries are stricken out. Italy that hasn’t yet given an official announcement appears to have withdrawn from the competition. Originally, 39 countries registered for the event. By that point, some, like Russia, had already opted not to register. By now, only 23 countries still remain registered with only 8 of them sending senior groups.

In addition, it looks like the competition will not have a venue. As Ukraine is in the middle of the second wave of COVISD-19, with over 9000 new cases in the past 24 hours, the authorities are now converting the Palace of Sports into a temporary hospital. Even if the organizers still want to proceed with the competition despite this, they will be pressed to find another venue.

The news from Turkey which is the host of MAG and WAG Euros are not full of hope either. Turkey, in an attempt to save the tourism industry, opted not to restrict entry to foreigners and not to require a recent negative coronavirus test. They also do not have quarantine requirements for arrivals in the country. That led to high rates of infections among the local population and tourists alike. Tourists returning from Turkey have been identified as sources of infections in their home countries. For example, 20% of Israeli tourists returning from Turkey tested positive for COVID-19. Russian media reported that around 9,000 tourists returning from Turkey since August tested positive. At this point, it seems that the decision to proceed with either rhythmic or artistic Euros is not very wise.