At a meeting in Ivalo on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 October, the Board discussed various alternatives for the implementation of ArcticSkills 2022. We know for a fact that there is a serious spike of Covid 19 in Russia which has forced the country into a temporary lockdown. The situation is somewhat better in the Murmansk region, but still there are no signs of opening of the borders. Consequently, the Board must prepare for a change in the rotation, and consider a Tournament in either Finland, Norway or Sweden. This means that there might be an on-place tournament for Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish competitors combined with an online participation from Murmansk.
The Board decided to postpone the final decision till late November when both the experts and the Board will gather in Rovaniemi. So far, many options are on the table, but they demand participation and good will from all partners. This means that various aspects of the Tournament still remain open: date, duration, competences and distributed arenas. “We have to join our forces and share the responsibility. Cancellation is not an option” to quote Øystein Hansen from the Lead Partner.
The picture shows the Board of ArcticSkills gathered both on place and online. From left to right: Jani Harju, Tiisu-Maria Näkkäläjärvi, Svein Tore Jacobsen, Robert Flatli, Øystein Hansen, Sara Ellen Anne Eira and Taisto Arkko. On the screeen you can see Elenea Rudnik and Elena Zubritskaja from Murmansk and Katarina Lindberg and Mattias Söder from Övertorneå. Peter Mariin and Satu Gahmberg were absent.
