The world of Sport has ground to a screeching halt since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic earlier this month.
Almost every major sporting league – FIFA, EPL, NBA, NHL, MLB and ATP Tour – has cancelled or suspended activities.
Sports fans will not get an opportunity to watch many of the world’s favourite athletes compete for at least the next few months.
Euro 2020 has already been pushed back until 2021 and there is an air of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the Summer Olympics scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to August 9.
The only major sport which has continued its operations is UFC, with several fights having taken place in the past weeks.
No region in the world has been left unscathed by COVID-19.
Closer to home, the potentially fatal virus has caused the postponement of a plethora of regional junior and senior competitions, including the CARIFTA Games which features the creme de la creme of junior track and field athletes in the Caribbean.
Right here at home, the organizers of the Barbados Secondary School Athletic Championships (BSSAC) were left with no choice but to cancel it, while almost all of the local sporting federations also suspended their respective leagues after news broke on Tuesday that Barbados had recorded its first two cases of COVID-19.
The loss of these major sports for the near future has not only had a crippling effect on economies around the world but also shows how important sport really is to our daily lives.
While some people only tune into major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals or the Olympics because of the hype attached to them, for many people, sport is a way of life.
For now, gone are the nights where men huddled together either at their favourite sports bar or at one of the boys to root for their favourite sporting teams.
In that moment, while sports were responsible for bringing them together, it also provided an avenue for men to chill and relax and to have robust discussion.
Even the boys on the block, the ‘troublesome” ones, are affected by sports.
A visit to many of those blocks on a Saturday or Sunday morning when the English Premier League is being played would be met by young men glued to televisions set up solely for that main purpose.
Sports also provide opportunities for both the young and old to live healthier lifestyles.
With the cancellation of the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) and the Barbados Football Association’s (BFA) leagues, it means many of those athletes who compete in the Masters’ divisions now have one less avenue to exercise.
The presence of COVID-19 in Barbados also means that people will be more sceptical to converge in public spaces, including the gym.
The global sports market is valued at almost $500 billion, with thousands of people directly employed.
With the cancellation of sports across the world, it also means that many people stand to lose their jobs, with no date insight as to when this pandemic will end.
So it was welcoming news to hear from the chief executive officer of the Barbados Turf Club, Rosette Peirce, that the BTC is doing everything in its power to ensure that employees would keep their jobs.
She admitted that even though shortened hours were a possibility, those in the industry did not have to fear losing their jobs as the track at the Garrison Savannah would remain open.
Sport is life for millions of people around the globe, from junkets to jobs, on couches and in companies and it has taken a viral epidemic to remind us that while there is no cure for the illness, have nothing to watch and no one to cheer is no sport.
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