The 2020 T&T International Great Race will be held on September 26.
Approval for the 52-year-old event was given by the government, through Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Minister of National Security Stuart Young on Sunday. And in a release to the media soon after the approval was granted, T&T Powerboat Association president Marcus Gomez called on his membership to not break the trust shown to them by the prime minister and national security minister, as well as prevent any breaches to the regulations while running the race.
Gomez said the event would not have been possible with the new regulations that were put in place by the government recently, and therefore they redid a proposal and took it to the government.
Apart from the relative ease of the sport taking place, as it doesn't need a crowd to take place, Gomez said they ensured in their proposal that there were a lot of precautionary measures to guard against breaking restrictions and guidelines.
" The guidelines that we have put in place, the racers are all going to be doing their part. They will have close-faced helmets, they will have to wear a mask while racing, the teams less than three people normally in a boat and normally two is the average persons in a boat, we are not having anything in Tobago and there will be no spectators allowed for the race.
The race can be viewed online as we are going to be live-streaming the race but there will be no spectatorship at all anywhere along the course," Gomez explained. Streaming will be done on the T&T Powerboat Association's Facebook page and organisers are working on achieving other avenues where it can be streamed.
Organisers are also trying to get the race broadcasted live on radio and will make sure that when the boats cross the finish line in the sister-isle of Tobago that they will engage in immediate preparations for their return to Trinidad, thereby eliminating any type of gathering.
Former champion Iron Man which races in the 130mph A-Class category is set to join a field of 25 already registered for the event, which will feature last year's 130-mph winner Mr Solo Too, an 18-time winner of the event, and Energiza, the 95mph class winner.
Gomez said Iron Man has been awaiting two engines and he heard that they have arrived, so once they are cleared the boat will be joining the race.
Participants will also be subjected to a mandatory medical test before the event Gomez said, and he noted that anyone showing symptoms of COVID19 will not be allowed to race.
He added that since the great race is one of the longest-running events in the world, it is important for them to keep it going and keep it alive.
Please put in a Box
So please see the guidelines below:
1. Please advise all support boats there is to be no rafting up in Tobago as well as no swimming while in Tobago .
2. The TTPS and the TTCG will patrol the areas where there are usually crowds gathered to watch the race to ensure there are no crowds etc.
3. Racers who wear open face helmets are required to wear masks as per regulations. Full face helmets that cover the nose mouth and chin are considered adequate.