Ploughing matches or competitions will not take place behind closed doors, as initially planned, the National Ploughing Association executive has confirmed.
The decision has been taken in light of the recent surge in confirmed Covid-19 cases, the NPA executive announced today (Friday, August 28th) following a meeting earlier this week.
Six of the twenty-one planned ploughing matches will, however, occur in early October. The senior qualifier classes for 2021, which include qualification for the World Ploughing Content, will take place during this period, but are conditional on HSE and government recommendations at that time.
Back to ‘the ploughing’ as we know it
NPA managing director, Anna May McHugh, said: “As public health and safety is the NPA’s foremost priority, and with the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, the association felt that the safest option for everyone involved was to cancel the competitions.
“When lives are potentially at risk, then we all have to take stock and just limit our activities to an absolute minimum.”
“We will see brighter days, please God in 2021, and I look forward to getting back to ‘the ploughing’ as we know it,” McHugh added.
The NPA has planned a programme of online activities during what should have been ‘ploughing week’, starting on September 14th.
Image source: National Ploughing Championships / Facebook
