16/03/2020
NEWS UPDATE: March 16, 2020
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: WSB TO POSTPONE ALL BATTLEGROUNDS QUALIFICATION EVENTS FROM MARCH UNTIL MAY
A message from WSB Founder and hip hop impresario Marco Andre Selorio
“MAS and WSB Management will officially postpone all WSB ASIA/ Battlegrounds-related qualifiers from March until early May across Australia and the Philippines until further notice.
The travel bans and social distancing have been put in place by the Australian and Philippine governments. We are following government directive and advice from the Department of Health.
Our Philippine events management has already postponed competitions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Australia is now following suit.
WSB/Battlegrounds is one of the most popular street dance competitions in the Southern Hemisphere. We pride ourselves in delivering great family events as it brings plenty of joy and opportunities to the youth. We had been eager to continue our expansion through the creation of WSB Asia qualifiers in Sydney and Perth as well as five regional qualifiers in the Philippines.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus and COVID-19 is a highly contagious illness that has no cure nor vaccine available at this stage.
It would be irresponsible and unethical for WSB to put our competition ahead of the safety and health of all our dance athletes, crews, competitors, supporters, our WSB production staff and audience.
Hence, our decision is purely based on the health and well being of all the participants and their supporters, family and friends.
Any other competition or dance event that tries to do so otherwise is not only endangering the lives of dancers, they are also increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus into an already anxious community. That is not our prerogative.
We look at the implications of what has recently happened in American sporting competitions such as the NBA, NCAA, MLB and NHL. We commend them for putting safety first. We can only learn from those experience.
There will be a major financial hit to our company and employees but we will try to absorb the losses as much as we can. Health and family come first, everything else is secondary.
In the hope that the coronavirus gets contained or slowed down in the next few weeks, WSB will assess our situation. We err on the side of caution. In the meantime we will closely monitor any developments and update you regularly.
We hope and pray that everyone stays safe, well-stocked and in good health.
God bless our dance community.
