Equestrian Australia High Performance Weekly Update – 23rd November, 2020

We are now less than 250 days away from the commencement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and our identified High Performance (HP) athletes remain unwavering in their Games preparations. Our team of dedicated staff are working diligently to ensure our athletes are supported and remain informed as we face one of the most logistically challenging Games ever staged. A detailed and meticulous approach is necessary to ensure our team is ready to encounter the unique circumstances presented by Tokyo 2020 and we take confidence in the feedback offered by IOC President Thomas Bach’s recent visit to Tokyo. As there are still many unknown variables at this stage we continue to work closely with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), Paralympics Australia (PA) and the FEI to ensure we remain in the best position to provide our team with an environment in which they can achieve the podium performances they have all been working towards.

Last week HP hosted a virtual meeting for all Eventing Gold and Green Squad athletes in order to provide them with an update on the overall program, our Tokyo 2020 preparations and to answers any questions the athletes may have as we move closer to the postponed Games. The session allowed the riders to raise any concerns relating to Covid-19, discuss their current situation and to ‘check in’ with their fellow squad athletes. Virtual meetings and workshops have become a frequent feature of the HP communication platform as we continue to close the distance between our riders, staff, and coaches. The virtual nature of the meeting allowed all squad riders to dial in irrespective of their geographical location with athletes attending from Australia, Europe, UK and America.

Following on from the HP Para-Dressage Forum held earlier this month, our Para-dressage riders took apart in the 2020 Para-Dressage National Riders Virtual Meeting last Friday evening. All national riders meetings are ordinarily conducted in person at a major event identified throughout the year, however with the global pandemic continuing to effect the ability of our athletes to travel safely the decision was made to host the meeting virtually. The meeting was open to all levels from grassroots through to High Performance and offered discussion surrounding various topics relating to Para-dressage including updates from each State representative, FEI classification, domestic and international competition and how Para-dressage is governed within Australia. The discussions were productive, informative and inclusive demonstrating positive growth and advancement within the discipline as our riders look ahead to the 2020 Paralympic Games.

The FEI Board met last week to hold its first meeting of the FEI General Assembly where they addressed a number of emergency resolutions arising from Covid-19. These resolutions included issues such as competition calendar clashes, the number of foreign FEI officials present at events, further extensions to previous emergency resolutions and further discipline rule reviews. For full resolutions please visit: https://inside.fei.org/system/files/FEI%20Board%20meeting%20wrap-up_FINAL.pdf.

Furthermore, due to the complications presented by Covid-19 the 2020 FEI General Assembly will be held online and will take place today, 23rd November. The full meeting will be made available via live stream for public viewing and commences at 10:00pm AEDT. To view the live stream please visit https://inside.fei.org/fei/general-assembly/2020.

As always the health and safety of our people and horses remain our highest priority as we work together as a united high-performance community to navigate these unprecedented times.

We thank you all for your understanding and continued support and please feel free to contact the High Performance team directly if you have any questions or queries.

Article courtesy of Equestrian Australia