Kng Zheng Guan
THE Badminton World Federation (BWF) have released details on safety protocols as they prepare for the return of international competitions.
This came after the world body announced their plans for the remainder of a season that has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The season will restart with the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark on Oct 3-11.
Next will be two European legs — Denmark Open I (Oct 13-18) and Denmark Open II (Oct 20-25).
A proposed Asian leg, styled the Asia Open I and Asia Open II, has been scheduled for Nov 10-15 and Nov 17-22.
While the Covid-19 situation is still a major concern, the BWF are determined to get their competitions going.
The European legs, starting with the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, will be drawn into three categories — green, orange and red.
The green category covers players and key accredited personnel who are required to undergo a Covid-19 test before leaving their countries and need to present a negative test result upon arrival at the tournament destination.
The orange category comprises media personnel, volunteers and other non-essential personnel. They will not need to undergo a Covid-19 test, although temperature checks will be taken.
The red category is for spectators, and they will not need to undergo a Covid-19 test.
All players and officials are, however, advised to practise social distancing.
They are required to wear face masks when they are not practising or playing on court.
According to the BWF, this is a bubble system designed to take care of each other and to ensure the safety of participants.
Procedures will be put in place to ensure minimal contact with those in the green category.
Any breach of guidelines will result in accreditations being revoked and participants not allowed into the venues.
The BWF said participants for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals are not required to undergo any quarantine period upon arrival in Denmark — a negative Covid-19 test result and relevant travel documents will suffice.
Players and officials who are committed to entering the European and Asian leg tournaments are also advised not to return home after the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals as they may have to undergo 14-day quarantine period then.