The measures include:

• A protocol for event owners to protect athletes who have been selected for Tokyo Olympic Games or who are aspiring to selection for the Games, as well as Team officials.
• The postponement of multiple Team Appeal Dinners until after the Olympic Games in July.
• The replacement of scheduled Team Selection announcements involving athlete appearances with a virtual or packaged format along with alternative access arrangements for media

AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll says the aim to ensure athletes seeking to compete in the Tokyo Games are not exposed to unnecessary risk.

“We take the threat of COVID-19 very seriously and the health of our athletes and Team officials is our highest priority. The Olympic Games are going ahead and our athletes are training hard to get there and do their best.”

“These measures will help them achieve that. They reflect the situation as it is right now and we will continue to monitor.”

Event Protocol
The Event Protocol enforces standards and procedures to ensure athlete and officials’ hygiene is preserved. The Protocol applies to the owners of AOC sanctioned events, including the AOC’s own functions, where athletes and Team officials will be appearing.

Measures include standards for venue cleaning, social distancing, the exclusion of guests who have returned from overseas within 14 days of the event and those experiencing respiratory symptoms.

Team Appeal Dinners Postponed
Starting with the “Spirit of the Games” Gala dinner in Sydney which was scheduled for Saturday March 21st, the AOC has advised table purchasers and guests that the dinner is postponed and will be held after the Tokyo Games as a celebration event.

The postponements by the AOC and Team Appeal Committees also include Team Appeal dinners planned for West Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Mr Carroll says the decision has been received positively.

“We have offered a full refund, but to date the vast majority who have taken tables have rolled their contribution over to the post-Games celebration functions. Others have promised to recommit after the Games to celebrate the achievements of our athletes when they return,” Mr Carroll said.

Team Selection Announcements
A decision has also been taken to amend Team Selection announcements and some other announcements into a minimal format that gets the news out there, but not in a large set-piece manner.

Arrangements for each announcement will vary but provision will be made for media to access individual athletes remotely. Pre-packaged material will also be made available to media outlets.

These arrangements will be reviewed early next month.