The organising team at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee have confirmed the cancellation of this year’s event. Due to take place on June 28th, the event was also scheduled to host the 2020 ETU Middle Distance Triathlon, Aquabike and Aquathlon European Championships.
With the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and the European Triathlon Union (ETU) confirming that it will be not possible to organize sanctioned events in May and June, the Challenge Walchsee organising team had originally looked to postpone to September onwards. However, after a review, and with no guarantee that freedom of travel in Europe after June 30 will be re-instated, the organisers were forced to cancel this year’s event.
Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee will now take place on June 27th, 2021. The race directors, Andreas and Ilona Klingler, released a statement sent to all athletes…
10 years ago Ilona and me started Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee full with passion for triathlon. Today, due to the existing exceptional situation, we face one of the greatest challenges in the history of the race.
As one of the first races in the Challenge Family series, we have seen over the years how the sport in general but above all the Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee has grown. It has always been our greatest concern to make sure we can hold the race in the Kaiserwinkl-atmosphere: warm and friendly. Because we are sure that this is what makes our triathlon special and is appreciated by all the athletes.
Together with many volunteers, friends and our family, Ilona and I have been organizing Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee for over 10 years. Ten years of dedication and passion in which we have experienced more than we could ever dream of.
One thing is clear. As organizers, we have always been able to rely on strong support. Without the great support of the Kaiserwinkl region and the Challenge Family, Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee would not be the race it is today. On average, we’ve annually welcomed around 1,000 participants in Kaiserwinkl. Even when we are really proud of this number, we are not one of the ‘big players’ in the triathlon business.
In 2020, as in 2016, we were ready to host the European Championship middle distance triathlon, now with the Aquabike and Aquathlon in the Middle Distance Multisport festival.
The joy of a large European triathlon festival with more than 1,900 participants was huge and the prospect of generating a small financial buffer for the upcoming editions of Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee made us look positively and motivated into the future.
As you probably all know from the media, the current situation around the Corona/COVID-19-crisis will prevent Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee and the associated European Championships from being organized in 2020.
In Austria, the current restrictions and event bans apply formally until June 30, 2020. The International Triathlon Union (ITU) and the European Triathlon Union (ETU) have also decided that no ITU and ETU sanctioned events are allowed to take place before June 30, 2020. In addition, there is no guarantee that freedom of travel in Europe after June 30 will be re-instated to allow for international athletes to travel to Kaiserwinkl.
After careful and lengthy considerations we came to the conclusion that postponing to a later date in 2020 was unfortunately not a possibility. The risks, the uncertainty in planning and the general uncertainty on health and restrictions strengthened us in this decision.
Another crucial point is that it could not be guaranteed that important and necessary people will be available on the postponed date. In particular, we think of paramedics, doctors, volunteers, friends and family members. As the organizer of the event, we take care of the health and safety of the volunteers, athletes and everyone else involved in the race, which is why we think and act here in the best interests of everyone involved.
In light of the above-mentioned circumstances, we decided with heavy heart to cancel the 2020 ETU European Championships and the Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee and to start the preparations for the edition in June 2021.
We also aim to bring the ETU European Championships back to Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee in 2022.
We would be delighted if you would accept our refund or transfer options as we describe below or to consider the donation of the fee as a solidarity contribution.
Cancellation and / or transfer options:
- Cancellation of the entry, 2/3rds of the paid entry fee will be refunded.
- Free transfer of the entry to Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee, to be held June 25 to June 27, 2021 (no European Championship)
- Free transfer of the entry to another Challenge Family race that takes place in 2020 (available options in the online form)
- Cancellation of the entry and waiving of the refund as a solidarity contribution
All refunds will be made as soon as possible.
We kindly ask you to return [a] completed online form to us by April 30, 2020 latest to cancel or transfer your entry.
We are convinced that our solution is a fair and transparent approach in the interest of all athletes. True to the motto of Challenge Family: #AllAboutTheAthlete
We thank you in advance for your understanding and your support, so that we again can give you the goosebump feeling when the swimming leg starts in the 2021 Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee.
See you again!
Ilona and Andreas
Race directors Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee
