… No Task Force approval, COVID-19 cited as reasons

ALIANN Pompey yesterday announced the cancellation of her fifth AP Invitational Track and Field event, which was set to be hosted on June 19 at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora. Pompey listed the effects of pandemic caused by the coronavirus, and the non-approval of the event from Guyana’s COVID-19 Task Force as the primary reasons for cancellation. In a very sorrowful tone in a video released to the media, the four-time Olympian noted the effects or consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which would not have allowed them to “properly prepare to host an international competition of this calibre”.
Guyana’s Commonwealth Games 400m gold and silver medallist saw the event, which started in 2016, like most sport events in 2020, postponed because of COVID-19.
This year’s AP Invitational was seen as the ‘gateway to Tokyo’, since it was scheduled to be the last resort for local, regional and international athletes who are seeking qualification to the July 23-August 3 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

According to Pompey, along with the rest of the AP Invitational’s Organising Committee, they felt that it was important to make the announcement now, as opposed to holding on for a few more days or even weeks “because the preparation of these athletes would have been gravely impacted”.
The inaugural AP Invitational saw 11 athletes, all from overseas, qualifying for the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
However, Pompey believes that absence from the games this time around, leaves a huge void to be filled, especially for athletes in Guyana and the Caribbean.
“When we hosted the event in 2016, it was used as an Olympic qualifier for, not just Guyanese athletes, but athletes from around the Caribbean. Actually, we had athletes from Africa and Europe who had competed at the meet.

So it was quite an international event; so when the Tokyo Games were postponed by a year, we were also hoping for a similar event where athletes can qualify for the Olympic Games,” Pompey said. The St John’s University coach noted the event’s cancellation will not only affect local athletes with Olympic aspirations, but also those from the Americas and the Caribbean, since many would have had the AP Invitational on their calendar as a qualifying event for Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Pompey said though she will not be able to host the games this year, along with other members of her organising committee, she’s hoping to still put something together for the benefit of local athletes. In February of 2020, AP Invitational was announced by World Athletics as part of its structured World Athletics Continental Tour. World Athletics had stated that the impetus for creating the Continental Tour was to provide more competition and earning opportunities for more athletes.