Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
TERRYVILLE, CT – The Yankee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America has given up hope of staging a National Meet in New England in 2020.
Having pushed back the dates of its annual event at the Terryville Fairgrounds to Sept. 11-12 from its originally scheduled July 31 and Aug. 1, the chapter late last week decided to cancel the show due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yankee Chapter president Ted Smith explained late Saturday afternoon that he had been in contact with the state over what the restrictions might be in existence in September.
“The conditions they’re imposing would be impossible to maintain,” he said, allowing that “all that could change, but they couldn’t tell me.”
Consequently, the chapter’s board made the prudent decision to cancel the show. Smith noted that many show-goers are 50-plus. “Lots and lots of health issues. We didn’t want to be responsible for anybody getting sick or dying,” he said.
In an email to membership, the Yankee Chapter’s board wrote, “First and foremost, we want to make sure everyone is going to be safe – the vendors, the attendees, chapter members and chapter volunteers as well as the fairgrounds staff.
“We did not feel we would be able to guarantee that given all the unknowns surrounding the COVID-19 virus, especially since, let’s face it, a lot of us are in a higher risk category based on our vintage.”
The National Meet is scheduled to be held in 2021.
Smith complimented the Terryville Lions Club, which owns the Terryville Fairgrounds, for its generosity in dealing the Yankee Chapter – not charging anything for this year’s canceled show and taking this year’s deposit and applying it to next year.
Hello! In you enjoyed this story, please share it by clicking on one of the social media buttons below.
