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National University Track and Field Championships to Go Ahead Without Spectators



Thank you for your continued support of the development of Japanese university athletics. In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Inter-Union Athletics Union of Japan (IUAU) is announcing that this year's 89th National University Track and Field Championships, scheduled for Sept. 11-13 at Niigata's Denka Big Swan Stadium, will not be open to spectators from the general public.

As the organizers we are deeply concerned by the resurgent nationwide spread of the virus since July, and as a consequence of those circumstances we have arrived at the conclusion that the meet must be held in a closed environment. We regret that this will disappoint and cause inconvenience for all those involved, including team members, alumni and alumnae, and family members who had planned to attend in support of their athletes, but this measure is necessary in order for the meet to take place at all under the current social situation and we ask for your understanding and cooperation.

Please understand as well that if the coronavirus situation continues to worsen and travel within Japan or Niigata prefecture is restricted, or if the local medical system is in an overburdened state, it may become necessary to cancel the meet entirely.

Entry to and exit from the stadium will be strictly controlled. A fixed number of registered credentials will be available for athletes and team staff, and the bearer of the credential will be required to submit a physical health checklist form when having their ID checked against the roster. Registered IUAU members not on the list will not be admitted. We ask that you respect this protocol. The number of credentials available and other details of entry control will be announced by the end of next week.

The entire meet will be streamed live on the Internet. Full details will be posted on the IAUA website the week before the meet. Please check the meet information page on the IAUA site regularly for the latest updates. Thank you again for your support of Japanese collegiate athletics.

source articles:
https://www.iuau.jp/ev2020/20200911_nihon.pdf
translated and edited by Brett Larner

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