The FAI Executive Board met last week. A message from the FAI President, Bob Henderson:

Coronavirus outbreak in China.

Our thoughts are with our friends in China, their families and the wider Chinese community. The board and the office are monitoring the situation and are in regular contact with our colleagues at the Aero Sports Federation of China (ASFC).

As the fight to contain and eliminate the 2019-nCoV progress, the closure of national borders and travel restrictions can be expected to affect planned FAI events. This includes Cat 1 and Cat 2 events and also the 2020 General Conference and the 2020 World Drone Racing Championship (WDRC). We will be working closely with ASFC over the next weeks regarding the General Conference and the WDRC.

We will follow recommendations provided by the Chinese authorities, the World Health Organisation, and other leading health authorities around the world. As this situation progresses, we all need to be prepared to be modify planned events in the best interests and safety of everyone in the FAI family.

WADA ban on participation by Russia.

This recommended ban by WADA may also take some time to resolve as there has now been an appeal lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). There is no timeline available for a decision from the Court.

The outcomes of the deliberations by the CAS will determine who might be able to participate and how, who may be banned from participation and what events within Russia may be affected.

We are keeping a close watch on this situation and will provide updates anytime we do get information on what the Court is thinking. In the meantime, there is no impact on events in Russia or participation by Russian nationals.

However, we all need to be mindful that the decision of the CAS will potentially be effective immediately and will impact on our planned activities. We will work closely with our colleagues in Russia to mitigate, to the best of our ability, any negative impacts arising from the CAS decision.