The Show Me Games were not shut down because...

Posted on: July 13, 2020 at 22:51:54 CT

of the mask ordinance. There was nothing in the ordinance itself that would have prevented the games from occurring. The athletes themselves would have been exempt from wearing masks while competing. It would have affected the spectators, who would have had to wear masks if they could not, or would not, social distance (6 feet apart). And I don’t know enough about the SM Games to know what facilities are used, but if they were Mizzou facilities they would be exempt from the ordinance.

The organization itself cited these reasons for cancelling:

1. To protect the health and safety of the athletes, spectators, volunteers, officials, and the community.

2. The withdrawal of athletes due to health concerns

3. The ability to monitor and enforce social distancing and mask use.

4. The ability to recruit and train volunteers etc.

My understanding is that they had already cancelled 20 of the 40 events, prior to the mask ordinance being voted on,

So yes, their announcement mentioned they had concerns about how to enforce the wearing of masks, but it’s not like they were going to hold the Games and then said OMG Columbia has a mask ordinance now, we have to cancel!

They cancelled because it would be insane to hold these events in the middle of what is rapidly becoming a COVID hotspot, and they were rightly very concerned about the health and safety of everyone attending.