The downright depressing and disrupted 2020 sports year will reminisce for massive lost revenue, cancellations, and empty arenas. However, it’s great to see the attention return to sports for the past few months. But when things seemed to go back to normal after 21 months, the Omicron variant again affected global activities, including sports.
The intensity of how bad the omicron variant of coronavirus hasn’t been justified, including how worse it can get. But, the discovery of its emergence is creating numerous effects on world affairs.
Impact of Omicron on Global Sports
The variant has affected the sports world to a great extent. The Winter Universiade, a popular Olympic-like event for the athlete students, was canceled in the third week of December 2021, less than a few weeks before it was scheduled in Switzerland. Moreover, the government established quarantine measures for travelers coming from abroad, causing further difficulty in continuing the competition.
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Cancellation of Grand Prix Figure Skating Final
The second most reputable annual sports event, known as the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, is also at the risk of cancellation due to the new variant dangers. All of the globe’s true elite skaters compete in the competition despite any illness or injury. But Japan has banned foreigners from entering the country for a month to reduce the risk of spreading the new variant. However, the decision may result in the event’s cancellation, causing serious uncertainty regarding conducting the finals of Grand Prix Figure Skating. In the next few days, the cancellation or continuation of the event is expected to be announced
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Threat to Beijing Winter Games
The omicron variant is threatening other major sports events, such as the Olympics. This suggests a great threat to the Beijing Winter Games scheduled in February. Additionally, a Chinese government spokesperson mentioned that the variant could bring some significant challenges, but the government plans to conduct the games as scheduled. Anyhow, foreign fans have been banned from attending the Olympics due to China’s latest and strict anti-virus measures.
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Effect Of The New Variant On The NHL Activities
Even before discovering the new variant, there were several reasons for concerns regarding the administration of NHL Sports events. Recently, the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators experienced outbreaks resulting in the delay of numerous games. The NHL sent a memo to its team members to cancel public appearances and holiday parties for the current time. The mention of Omicron was not prominent in the memo, but it played a major factor in the order decision.
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The Uncertainty of Administrating Sporting Events
The sports world, unlike 2020, is expected to make decisions with re-evaluated policies and caution rather than completely canceling the events.
Further, the holiday season sporting events are hung under a cloud of uncertainty but not with the complete shutdown of events. Additionally, more precautions are known about the variant than it was known in March 2020. The players have been vaccinated most significantly, resulting in a reduced chance of hospitalization, severe illness, and death due to the new variant.
