Officials may not be sharing information on course at the moment but they are doing it 'virtually' in Australia
Eventing competition may have slowed down little since the new requirements for social distancing came into play but Australia’s eventing officials are remaining engaged and active.
Some of Australia’s eventing officials have been meeting ‘virtually’, partly with the objective of connecting with each other and simply keeping in touch, but each meeting has also covered a particular topic of interest to keep officials ‘on their toes’ during the period of inactivity in lockdown.
Sessions covered to date have been the latest requirements for officials accreditation by Roger Kane, the past National Safety Officer for Equestrian Australia, and cross country guidelines with international course designer Ewan Kellett.
Plans for the coming weeks include Gear Rules, with Australian FEI Chief Steward Chris Wallace, COVID-19 updates applicable to equestrian sport with Dr Vince Roche plus design and construction of portable cross country fences and correct MIM installation with Darryl Burgess. And there is much more to come …
The virtual get-togethers have been a great opportunity for officials to remain engaged and motivated but more importantly, for them to stay socially connected during this challenging time. The initiative has been a team effort, driven by officials themselves.
Some time ago Technical Delegate Matt Bates set up a Whats App group supported by James Leva, to share information and experiences and to connect with other Technical Delegates. The group grew in size and, since isolation has been enforced, the activity has been extended to a new form of regular online communication. This allows officials the ability to connect regularly face to face via the Zoom App.
The support and interest in the new meetings has been encouraging and officials have already requested that it continue after restrictions are lifted.
Any and all Equestrian Australia officials are most welcome; if you are interested and would like to receive an invite to the Zoom meeting, please drop Michelle Debenham a line and she will include you. [email protected]
Australian officials Matt Bates, James Leva and Des Hughes
