COVID- 19 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
DFLBU Organisers Response to COVID-19:

22 August 2020

To Our Running Community,
We know that both our athletes and our communities want to be racing; we do too.
While FatBurd Events’ mission is to provide exceptional, life-changing race experiences for athletes of all levels, from their first step to the finish line, we can only accomplish this by providing the safest possible environment, and safeguarding the citizens of our host communities.
COVID-19 has substantially altered the global sports landscape and will have material impact on the mass participation industry in the immediate term. We want to reassure you that the health and well-being of our community is our primary concern. To this end, we are doing our part to communicate effectively and follow public health agencies and governmental authorities’ recommendations.
We expect that there are going to be substantial and widespread event postponements in the coming weeks and months. The decision to proceed, restrict, modify or postpone an event will be based on availability of community resources and ongoing event-specific risk assessment in coordination with the relevant healthcare and government authorities and the FatBurd Events executive team.
For events that will continue, FatBurd Events has outlined a series of pragmatic and practical actions designed to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 or any other infectious agent to athletes and to members of our host communities. These steps will help athletes achieve their goals while allowing communities to secure the benefits of hosting our sporting events. They will be implemented at all FatBurd Events effective immediately and will continue indefinitely.

Self-care and Risk Minimisation
Athletes who are sick or have been potentially exposed to an infectious agent must not compete or attend events, as this puts others at risk. As a community, we each have a personal responsibility to protect each other by complying with this rule.
We ask that all athletes, volunteers and partners follow the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for basic protective measures against the new coronavirus:
1. Stay home if you feel unwell.

2. If you have a fever, cough or difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.

3. Regularly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash your hands with soap and water, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

4. Practice good respiratory hygiene. Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of used tissues immediately and appropriately in a bin.
YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ENTRY OR PARTICIPATION IF YOU HAVE A FEVER OR HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19.

Providing Flexibility to Athletes
Certain races may be postponed or cancelled due to the outbreak and we will communicate these as soon as practical. Our goal will be to move the race to a date later in the year. We work in close partnership with the relevant public health authorities and err on the side of safety for our athletes and the host community. If an event cannot occur on the scheduled date, we will take the following actions:
Postponement Registered athletes for events that are postponed due to COVID-19 by the local health authorities are automatically transferred to the rescheduled date. For those that the new date does not work, we will allow deferrals into the same event the next year.
Cancellation Registered athletes for events that are cancelled due to COVID-19 by the local health authorities are automatically deferred to the same race in 2021.

Safe Event Experience

In order to provide the safest experience for our athletes, we are instituting the following at our races, effective immediately.
1. Reinforcing Social Distancing in all elements of the event. Maintain 1m apart from others at all times where possible. Groups of no more than 5 people can congregate together with no cross-mingling.
2. The hours of on-site event registration will be expanded (see schedule).
3. Athletes will be allowed to pick up their athlete race kit/race bib and immediately exit the registration area.
4. Athlete density will be decreased by increasing individual race space staging, corrals, etc.
5. No-handshake behaviour will be encouraged for the duration of the event.
6. Athlete briefing information will be available digitally also (see website for information).
7. All staff, volunteers and racer crew who are interacting with participants pre-race, on race day and post-race will be required to wear a face mask.
8. Hand-washing is strongly encouraged.
9. No-touch waste disposal stations and receptacles will be rolled out where available.
10. Frequently touched surfaces at race venue locations such as workstations, product distribution areas, tables and electronic devices will be cleaned regularly.
11. No onsite interviews or press conferences with professional athletes.
12. No handshake/contact on the race podium.
13. Printed document distribution will be eliminated.
This is a highly dynamic situation and we will continue to adapt and adjust as appropriate. We appreciate your patience in the coming days and weeks.
We recognise that this is a challenging time but our community will endure. We are inspired by your ambition, and endeavour to be worthy of your commitment.
As further updates are available, they will be posted on the FatBurd Events' webpage and in addition to our individual event sites and social media pages.
Thank you for your support, and we wish you the best in health and wellness.