As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread at an alarming pace, on 12 March, for the first time in its modern history the Czech government declared a state of emergency for the entire country.  On 16 March, Czechia closed its borders, forbid entry of foreigners and issued a nationwide curfew. Most European countries have also closed their borders and travel has ground to a halt.  As shown by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the situation has become severe.

Due to these unprecedented circumstances, and the uncertainty of how this will continue to affect Czechia and the rest of Europe, the Union of Boaters of the Czech Republic (IRF Member Organisation),  and the IRF have jointly agreed to cancel the European Rafting Championship (ERC) for this year.

Cancelling an event like the ERC is a difficult decision and should only be done if completely unavoidable.  It was right for everyone involved to give every possible chance for the ERC to proceed. While it was a tough decision to make, the IRF believes this to be the right decision given the current state of Europe. We’d like to thank the Czech organisers for stepping up and offering such a strong bid to host the ERC, and for their unwavering support of the IRF.  #strongertogether

We wish all of our member federations, athletes, coaches, judges and supporters around the world the best of health during this trying time. The rivers will be waiting for us when we get the chance to get out and enjoy them together again – all of them most likely looking a lot cleaner and healthier!

#weareirf #RaftersAreAwesome #irferc