Sports has been one of the most badly affected industries by the global coronavirus pandemic. Athletes and sport stars from across the world have been badly affected by the virus and the damage and destruction it has caused to peoples health as well as economies across the world. We have also seen the dire effects on the pandemic on many athletes mental as well as physical health, and tragically in some cases this has led to loss of life. However, as time has moved on, more treatments and testing procedures have been developed in order to help expand and improve travel options as well as organisation of sporting events for athletes. The Heathrow fit to fly test has been instrumental in getting team GB athletes to the Tokyo Olympics as well as allowing many more sportspeople to participate in a number of sporting competitions globally.
What Changes Have We Seen Across Sports?
The changes that we have seen across the sporting world truly have been seismic. One of the most notable changes that we have seen from across the world of sport has been the way in which sports have been watched and participated in. 2020 was the year of sports being played without spectators across many major sporting events including the premier league and world tennis. This led to strange atmospheres and even stranger results in many cases!
If anything these kinds of events really highlighted the importance of the sports, but more importantly the fans and the sense of togetherness that many sportspeople and fans feel when they are participating in sport. In addition to many different sporting events being arranged without fans, we also a lot of different sports that were being hosted on online platforms and streamed online. This helped give fans a lifeline to watching their favourite sportspeople compete. However, many people agreed that this simply was not the same as seeing the sports in-person.
International sports came to all but a standstill whilst the pandemic was at its peak in March 2020. This was very damaging to sports organisations as well as historic sporting clubs and the fans of these clubs. In some cases lower league football clubs and other sporting clubs went into complete administration and had to close due to cash flow and income problems.
Emerging Solutions To These Issues
There are plenty of different solutions which are being found in order to solve these kinds of issues. One of the main solutions which is being utilised is the Heathrow fit to fly test. This specialist service is being operated out of Heathrow airport as well as a number of other locations across London by Randox. Randox have been instrumental in helping atheletes and sportspeople from the UK to be able to travel internationally as soon as it was possible in the wake of the emergence of covid 19.
The accurate and fast testing opportunities that they made available to travellers have allowed for far larger numbers of people to travel more safely from the UK to destinations across the world in-line with government guidance and legislation. To begin with, there was limited testing facilities across the UK. This in addition to government restrictions at the moment in time meant that travel simply was not possible internationally. However, the development of rapid antigen and PCR tests for Randox has helped the sports industry to get back onto its feet as well as helping to improve and regenerate tourism options for many different countries across the world.
As we exit the pandemic in the years and months to come, sport will continue to flourish and a new generation will come to learn about the importance of sports in communities and the amazing ways in which it can bring us all together in times of hardship.
