April 08

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FIRST EDITION OF OUREA TRAIL 2020 POSTPONED TO 2021: THE RACE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE FROM JULY11-18 MOVED TO NEXT YEAR

Posted by on April 8, 2020 in trail running, trail running spain | Leave a comment

 

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Ourea trail 2020 will be moved to 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is today affecting a vast number of countries and further to the various regulatory measures emanating from governments across both France and overseas, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the methods for organizing outdoor sports events over the coming months, it is with a heavy heart that we have decided to postpone the first edition of OUREA, initially scheduled to take place from 11 to 18 July 2020.
The continuous spread of Covid-19 has effectively prompted us to conclude that there is no other alternative than to push the Event back to 2021.

 

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Photo: Organization

 

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OUREA TRAIL 2020: First edition to be postponed to 2021

 

After several discussions between organizers and following regulatory measures from government it has been decided to postpone the first edition of the OUREA trail 2020 to next year. We do share with you the official statement that the organization has uploaded in their webpage.

Our initial thoughts go out to you, the athletes, who trust in us and have taken the plunge to sign up for this new concept. With our philosophy guided by the athletes’ well-being at the Event, we feel that our position is compromised in light of the current urgency of the situation. As a result, we cannot guarantee the health and well-being of our athletes, or the high-level organisation that you are entitled to expect. Even though we sincerely hope that the health crisis will be behind us by July, the fact remains that to date all the registered athletes, of 20 different nationalities, are on lockdown. Obviously this situation is set to last for several more weeks, making it impossible for them to train, which is a must for the long-distance races proposed at the OUREA event (namely 250, 130 and 120km and the OUREA Solos). It goes without saying that we are eager not to encourage our athletes to contravene the rules of self-isolation and, more broadly, the regulations in force in order to be ready for this July.

We are also particularly concerned about all the athletes working in the medical and paramedical domain, or directly on the front line, who are really up against it today, or those who may have contracted the virus themselves.
Similarly, we currently have no degree of certainty with regards to whether borders will reopen in July 2020, yet some 40% of our athletes are from overseas and 70% of the ELITE start list comprises athletes from all different countries.

The OUREA event is seeking to be a great festival of trail running to be shared with one and all. Knowing that some of you wouldn’t be able to participate in this event, which we have high hopes for, deeply saddens us.
Obviously, we’re also thinking about our volunteers, who are the beating heart of the event and who we cannot expose to any risk. The same is true for all the service providers, partners and exhibitors, who are going through this difficult period. Finally, like you, our small team is in lockdown at home, unable to properly fulfil its mission to organise this event, on the ground, particularly with our volunteers, where our input has been vital over the past four months. For various reasons then, we can no longer guarantee the high-level organisational conditions, which we are committed to providing.

The first edition of the OUREA TRAIL in 2021 will therefore run from 24 to 31 July 2021. To all our athletes, we do not wish to complain about the financial consequences this health crisis is having on our organisation. However, we cannot fail to ignore the subsequent economic impact that is directly affecting us at this time. Indeed, we’ve already committed some substantial budgets to various domains with the aim of ensuring OUREA is a high-quality event and as such we’ll be fulfilling any obligations incumbent upon us.

 

Photo: Organization
Photo: Organization

Consequently, all registrations will automatically be carried over to 2021 and the relevant athletes will receive an email detailing the necessary information prior to the opening of registration for 2021. Our General Terms and Conditions (art. 12), and our Exceptional conditions (XV) provide for the absence of a refund or any compensation in the event of force majeure preventing the OUREA TRAIL from taking place. Nevertheless, in light of these exceptional conditions, we have decided that athletes who so wish may request a partial refund of up to 55% of their registration on request by email to contact@ourea-trail.com, prior to midnight on 05/05/2020. For athletes initially registered for a stage race in 2020, carrying an entry over to 2022 is also a possibility where the athlete is unable to participate in 2021. The request must also be sent by email to contact@ourea-trail.com, the deadline in this instance being set at midnight on 31/07/2020.

We remain at your disposal via the aforementioned contact address should you have any questions about this matter.
A partial refund shall be made according to the method of payment used during registration within 30 calendar days of receipt of the refund request. In a bid to try to get back together and fill in the time until this date, for those who wish to do so, a ‘trail blanc’ (winter trail) will be organised this winter at Avoriaz 1800 insofar as the health situation has returned to normal. All athletes initially signed up for one of the races during the OUREA 2020 week have a free invite. Naturally, we will ensure that you are kept up to date with the practical details of this offer over the coming weeks. We’re obviously saddened not to be able to run this first edition of OUREA in 2020, but it’s important that this eagerly awaited festive occasion that we have been preparing for over a long period, takes place in a sporting, calm, friendly and happy atmosphere.

It is by steadfastly continuing to believe in our sport that we know that, thanks to you all, the first edition of OUREA in 2021 will be all the finer.
Take care of yourselves, stay at home and, once again, thank you all for your support.

 

 

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Info by Abel de Frutos for Trailrunningspain