The following messages has been sent to the Norseman athletes.
Eidfjord/Oslo 26.05.2021
Update #7 2021 COVID-19 Attachment
Hosting a safe race is always priority #1 for the Norseman team. At the back end of a pandemic even more so. This year’s athletes will have an extra set of guidelines to abide by. They are all described in an attachment to our Athlete Guide and can be found here.
Eidfjord/Oslo 15.02.2021
Update #6 on Norseman and COVID-19
We hoped it would be over by now, but we were too optimistic as many others. COVID-19 will still be a defining factor for a lot of what’s happening in 2021.
Norseman is a truly international event, with athletes from every corner of the world. For us, understanding and respecting the challenges that our global community is vital. Right now, we know that there is still a lot of uncertainty out there. There is uncertainty about the availability of vaccines, international travel, travel restrictions between countries, and so on. Uncertainties that we may have to live with through spring and summer.
Norway has so far managed well on controlling the pandemic. But access to vaccines has proven slower than planned, and the various mutated virus strains have put our health authorities on high alert. As a consequence, travel to Norway is currently “complicated.” We do expect this to ease up, but forecasting when is challenging. Find the current Norwegian travel advice here: Coronavirus in Norway: Travel advice – helsenorge.no
The Norseman Board met on February 10th and decided the following. Long story short: We aim to host Norseman 2021 on August 7th. You and we will have to expect COVID-related adjustments to the race.
We want to give you the best options for your Norseman journey. Some of you would race tomorrow if you could. Some realize that it’s doubtful that they will be able to make the journey this year. For others, priorities have changed, and they have embarked on other challenges.
For us, it’s a balancing act. Keeping you, our crew, and our local communities safe is priority one. Keeping Norseman financially viable is becoming increasingly important. We want to be here for many years to come!
The decision you will have to make before March 1st is:
- Wait – Put yourself at ease, and defer your starting slot to 2022.
- Drop – Lost focus? Want to focus elsewhere? Get a refund!
- Ready – You, like us, are willing to gamble that there will be a 2021 race and that you can make it to Eidfjord in time to jump.
Eidfjord/Oslo 26.01.2021
Update #5 on Norseman and COVID-19
Welcome to 2021.
Even if the new year feels a little like last year, we strongly believe that this year will hold many more opportunities than what last year managed to give us. We hope you are safe and healthy wherever you are and that you share our hopes for a better 2021.
Norway has managed really well through the whole pandemic, but fall and winter has been headlined by strict social limitations. As we were about to ease up only a week ago, a variant of the mutated COVID 19 virus appeared, and all brakes are on again. Basically, all of eastern Norway is on lockdown, borders are closed, and most people work from home.
Eidfjord/Oslo 18.12.2020
Update #4 on Norseman and COVID-19
What about 2021?
There are many unknowns looking into next year. Norway has managed very well through the whole pandemic, so we feel confident that we will deliver Norseman 2021. Still, we realize that we most likely will have to make some adjustments to the way we organize the race. The organizing team is now working on the 2021 plans. There are working on several scenarios to prepare for Norseman 2021 in the best possible way.
We have given ourselves January to get an outline for Norseman 2021 ready. We will come back to you athletes on February 1st with more information on next year’s plans.
This was the full holiday message to our athletes.
Eidfjord/Oslo 15.04.2020
Update #3 on Norseman and COVID-19
Due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, we have postponed Norseman 2020. All registered athletes have been invited to join us on August 7th, 2021.
Eidfjord/Oslo 25.03.2020
Update #2 on Norseman and COVID-19
We in the Norseman team hope you are well despite the turbulent times we are in.
In an update to the nation from the Norwegian government yesterday it was announced that there are early signs that the lockdown imposed from March is having an effect. Still it was too early to make any conclusions so the lockdown will be extended to April 13th.
The Norseman board met last night to asses the situation. As you may be aware, yesterday it was announced that our sister races, Celtman and Swissman, both scheduled for June, has been postponed to 2021. As has the 2020 Olympics.
The pandemic is global and Norseman is a global event. The decision about what will happen with Norseman 2020, will therefore also be affected by the situation regarding the pandemic in rest of the world.
We have moved up the timeline to make a decision to proceed or not with the 2020 race, from mid May to April 16th. Immediately after this we will update you all.
If you have questions, please contact us.
Stay safe, train safe and follow advice on social distancing.
Eidfjord/Oslo 13.03.2020
COVID-19 Coronavirus
With the current situation with the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, and the impact that it’s having around the world, we in the Norseman team want to provide a status message from our side.
For all practical purposes, Norway closed down yesterday (March 12th). All schools, kindergartens, sports venues and cultural events have been closed/cancelled. Everyone that can have been encouraged to work from home. How hard the pandemic will hit us is still very much up in the air.
Currently Norseman is considered to be so far down the road that it at this point in time is impossible to know if we can proceed as planned or not.
For now we are continuing our work preparing for Norseman as planned. Our team will in parallel work on plan B and C. We are following the instructions from Norwegian Health Authorities as well as the advice from ITU and WHO.
We will come back with more informations when the situation stabilizes.
