The ISU has established a deadline for deciding whether events can take place ©Getty Images

International Skating Union (ISU) has established deadlines to determine whether short track and speed skating World Cup events can take place amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The ISU Council determined that a decision will be taken at the latest by August 31 on the opening Short Track World Cup event of the season in Montreal, scheduled for November 6 to 8.

A decision on the Speed Skating World Cup event at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, due to take place from November 13 to 15, will also be made on the same day.

The ISU will decide by September 11 whether the Junior Speed Skating World Cup competition in Minsk, scheduled for November 28 to 29, can go ahead.

A 10-week deadline will apply for cancellations for subsequent short track, speed skating and junior World Cup events, the ISU said.

A separate time frame and deadline for possible cancellations of ISU Championships will be determined later.

An ISU working group is overseeing issues related to coronavirus’ impact on planning and hosting events.

The speed skating working group includes ISU vice-president of speed skating Tron Espeli, speed skating sports director and event coordinator Hugo Herrnhof and Fabrice Prahin, the discipline’s sport manager.

Alexander Kibalko and Nathalie Lambert, the Technical Committee chairs for speed skating and short track, also feature on the working group.

The group is completed by ISU anti-doping manager Christine Cardis, who will also act as a liaison to the ISU Medical Commission.

A working group has been established to oversee the potential impact of coronavirus on events ©Getty Images
A working group has been established to oversee the potential impact of coronavirus on events ©Getty Images

The working group will interact with hosts for the coming season, with the aim of monitoring a series of criteria and communicating with ISU members and the Athletes’ Commission.

They will monitor safety and health protection measures implemented at events, evaluate cancellations should they become necessary due to the situation in the host city, as well as taking into account potential travel restrictions and concerns people may have over travel and preparation time.

The group will be tasked with evaluating both postponement and potential replacement events should the need arise, as well as determine whether competitions could be held without spectators.

Consequences of possible multiple cancellations of competitions within a series would also have to be assessed by the group, in order to maintain or adapt rankings and criteria for entering ISU Championships, as well as examining the financial consequences of event cancellations, postponements and replacements.