The Carifta Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Team Relay, scheduled to be held in Bermuda on September 24 and 25, has been postponed as a result of the potential impact of Hurricane Fiona.

With the Bermuda Weather Service expecting the hurricane to be at its closest point on Thursday night and into Friday morning, an early decision has been made to cancel the competition in order to prevent many of the 100 youth athletes from travelling to the island.

Teams from Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad &Tobago, and Puerto Rico, which is still without power after experiencing the effects of Hurricane Fiona last week, were expected to start travelling to Bermuda as early as Monday.

The Carifta event was the first time in two years that junior athletes from across the region were expected to travel to Bermuda after the Covid-19 pandemic but the wait for competition goes on.

Sharon Hammond, the president of the Bermuda Triathlon Association, said: “We are very sorry to have to take this action but the overall safety of athletes and supporters is paramount.

“With the visiting teams beginning their journeys from the Caribbean as early as tomorrow, the local organising committee met this afternoon and made the difficult decision to postpone the event.

“While disappointing for everyone involved, Bermuda is looking forward to hosting the event in the near term and an alternative date will be communicated in the coming days.”

An event organiser confirmed this morning that a new date in 2022 is being worked on.

UPDATE: this story has been amended to correct that the Carifta Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Team Relay has been postponed and not cancelled. We apologise for any confusion caused.