News

Austin Tournament Unsanctioned and COVID-19 Update

Jun 24, 2020

Dear NAGVA Members,

As we start a new season, a committee of the NAGVA Board has been meeting weekly in setting out our return to play. We have also been monitoring the situation within Texas since the tournament was sanctioned. While we were hopeful that we would be in a position to resume play at Austin, the latest numbers coming out of Texas are going in the wrong direction. We do not have confidence that it will be safe to hold an event, no matter the amount of precautions that are taken. A short time ago, we informed the tournament director that we are removing NAGVA sanctioning from the event. To their immense credit, they have been very accommodating over the past couple of weeks as we develop the additional requirements we are mandating, but as we follow the news, we do not feel that it will be enough. We do not have the authority to cancel any particular tournament so those teams that have registered will want to contact the Austin organizers regarding the status of their event.

Our committee is in the process of finalizing individual and tournament guidelines that will be shared with the entire Membership. Our Vice President of Tournaments will also be contacting all of the tournament directors to set up a meeting with them to discuss our new guidelines and how/if they want to go about the process of sanctioning a future event in these times. We want tournament directors to know the additional sanctioning requirements and that conditions may deteriorate to the point that we would not continue sanctioning.  We are aware of the frustration Members must feel who register in anticipation of a tournament, the expectation that the event will happen, and then the decision is made to remove sanctioning. In these times, I think we all need to be cognizant that for the foreseeable future, this is our new normal, and to any extent possible, to remain as flexible as possible. As always, Member safety is paramount, along with our tournament partners and Regional Commissioners.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any board member. Our information can always be found here: nagva.org/officers

Please be safe,