News

Dear Runners!

As you already know, this year’s event will take place on November 14, 2020. We know that some of you don’t like this date, conflict with other competitions or just don’t like running in November. We understand this perfectly, that’s why we come back to you with information – what’s next!

We have considered all possible options related to the packages and we share all possible options in this post. Thus, we ask you to calmly consider the possibilities and make the best decision by April 14, 2020.

On Tuesday (31.03.) We will launch a special form in our registration system. Thanks to it, you will automatically complete all formalities and avoid the exchange of thousands of emails. The information will go to our database and we will finalize the changes. On Tuesday, we will also provide you with detailed information on individual options. You will be able to make your decision by April 14, 2020.

The possibilities will be:
– transfer of the entry fee to a new date – November 14, 2020,
– transfer of the entry fee to a new date – November 14, 2020 + change of course,
– transfer of the entry fee to the next edition of the event – April 24, 2021,
– rewriting the package to another person,
– resignation from participation in the event and refund of 60% of your entry fee.

We will give you detailed information on Tuesday, then we will answer all additional questions.

Perhaps some of you will ask us why we do not refund 100% of the entry fee. We believe that everyone deserves a reliable answer regarding the current situation, legal status and possible solutions. The question about the refund of the entry fee is obvious, but the answer is not. Even for the three different lawyers we consulted with in recent weeks, their opinions are not the same, as are the solutions proposed by organizers of sport events in Poland and in the world. Our law is full of gaps and understatements, and thus leaves a lot of room for overinterpretation for each side. As you have certainly noticed, since the very beginning of our event we have been looking for solutions that are beneficial for participants, and at the same time safe and realistic to be implemented from an organizational point of view. We argue about these solutions many times before they see the light of day. It is similar in this situation, we conducted a very detailed analysis, and as a result we propose a wide range of possibilities that should lead to a “win-win” situation, although closer to the truth would probably be “not lose-not lose”, because nowadays survival is the key and not winning.

90% of our event is taken from entry fees of participants, and the remaining 10% is support from public institutions and the contribution of sponsors, but it is also a derivative of the number of participants – the fewer they are, the less support there is. We are not a public institution that can show a loss without great consequences and we do not have a sponsor in the form of a state-owned company that would change this proportion of the budget. The BWS team has been working on the event since October 2019 and we also systematically incur costs associated with its preparation from October. We analyzed the entire process of preparation and production of materials and purchased services, as well as the budget of the event, which shows that so far we have incurred 51% of all assumed costs, i.e. in practice, if, for example, we decided to cancel the event and guarantee a 100% refund of start fees, this 51% of the budget would be the sum that we would have to withdraw simply from our own pocket. And even more, because you have to remember about the costs of commission on fees brought through online payments and the cost of return transfers.

You can say that canceling / moving an event is a business risk that the organizer should calculate and insure against it. It is true, we insure against many types of risk, but no insurance available on the market covers situations such as epidemics or national mourning, so the current “force majeure” goes beyond the scope of this wording. You cannot insure yourself against such situations.

You can also say that the state is taking certain actions to help companies survive, that the government is refining the special anti-crisis shield and that this will bring a solution. The dissolution of the government may, but certainly not the solution to the problems of thousands of companies, because the proposals are cut off from the real world, and our “shield” is unfortunately made of cardboard. To blow it off, you won’t even need a mountain breaking trees under Przehyba peak, just a light breeze. Only this time, broken trees (i.e., falling companies) will have no one to clean them up. The chain of dependencies is long, so speaking on our behalf, we also act on behalf of all our subcontractors – timekeeping companies, photographers, filmmakers, graphic designers, logistics, hotels, restaurants, medal makers, t-shirts, printers and dozens of others. And by sketching the picture, we want to show the picture of the entire event industry, not our single case.

To the merits: the situation is extraordinary and requires extraordinary solutions. Solidarity in action and a broader view. The state will not help companies not to fail, but we can together, it only requires everyone to make certain concessions.

We offer a number of options – start in autumn at the same or a different distance, start in 2021, exchange for another competitor in autumn – we hope you choose one of these options. We also offer total resignation and a 60% refund, even though we’ve already spent more on each and every one of you physically, but we believe that we will meet with most of you in the fall and this negative balance will only partially burden us and we will be able to bear it, and the brand “Pieniny Ultra-Trail” will not disappear with the first spring moutain wind.

Keep warm and stay safe these days!