At a time when EEC and ESAKE have suspended their action in their leagues for two weeks, while in the Euroleague all the matches of the 19th match were postponed due to cases, the decision taken by Hellenic Wheelchair Basketball Federation to continue the games normally has provoked reactions in players and teams.
As the dissidents point out, this decision endangers the health of players as, in addition to being people with some form of disability, there will be matches where players will be forced to travel by plane, stay in hotels as well as come in contact with the opposing team during the match.
The federation may have proposed a rapid test before the players travel, but this is not considered an adequate protection measure due to the aggravated epidemiological situation across the country. The two teams that are forced to be exposed to danger are Alexander the Great (trip from Thessaloniki to Heraklion, Crete) and the General Assembly. Dodecanese that will travel from Rhodes to Athens for a match against Panathinaikos.
THE Dodecanese Gymnastics Association sent a letter to the federation notifying it and the General Secretariat of Sports. She states:
Following our unfortunate verbal attempts against the decision of the UCITS not to take the obvious position in the danger of the athletes of all clubs (those who will move, but also those who will be in the position of the hosts) with the continuation and conduct of the games endangering the lives and health of athletes, attendants, agents, fans and consequently these families and violating any principle of necessity in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis due to the rapid spread and outbreak of the Covid pandemic 19, we send you present and WE PROTECTLY PROTEST against this decision.
Molecular or rapid test before the games does not guarantee us at all, since we will use road and air transport for our travels and after the game we will have to spend the night in hotels, in the hotel, at the airport and on the plane and with other people.
It should be noted that ESAKE has already issued an official announcement on 31.12.2021, according to which they unanimously decided to postpone the next two games (12th and 13th) of the regular season of the 30th Professional Championship, with a view to protecting the health of athletes, actors and fans.
At the same wavelength, EOK after a decision of the Board. officially announced that the matches scheduled for January 26 have been postponed.
The reasonable question arises>. Why should we be excluded from general prevention measures to deal with the Pandemic? Is not our health and the health of our families endangered?
Given that every day in Greece there are more than 50,000 active cases, the possibility of some of us being infected or getting sick with coronavirus is more than possible and is a blatant insult to our personality. And all this just because our Federation does not comply with the current emergency epidemiological conditions as the other Federations did.
Because the protection of Public Health outweighs any expediency, we ask you to move in the same direction as required by logic and medical science and to postpone the competitive obligations of athletes, as decided by the other Federations for the safety of the whole and the protection of the health of each individual.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
