It is with a sad and heavy heart that the AYF-YOARF Central Executive announces the postponement of the 2020 Worcester Olympics until 2021. This decision was made after careful deliberation amongst the Central Executive, the Olympic Governing Body and the Worcester Steering Committee to safeguard the health and safety of our members and community.
Only the emergence of an unprecedented world health pandemic has managed to disrupt our continuous 86-year track record of hosting the AYF Olympics, the longest running ethnic sporting event in the country that even took place during the years of World War II.
The annual AYF Olympic Games are a sacred event that consistently brings our entire community together. For most, Labor Day weekend is for outdoor barbecues and end-of-summer trips to the beach. For us AYF-agans, however, it is a weekend that is always reserved for Olympics. It is this weekend that our members, alumni and community collectively travel tens of thousands of miles to create, as William Saroyan said, a New Armenia.
From Friday morning’s tee-off to the last echoes of our revolutionary and national songs at Sunday’s grand ball, we cherish each moment of Olympics. The AYF Olympic Games are certainly the premier social and athletic event for our community— yet they are so much more than a social and athletic gathering.
The importance and profound nature of AYF Olympics cannot be understated. The revenue from Olympics enables the AYF to carry out its mission: to work towards a united, free and independent Armenia, and to foster pride through educational, political, cultural, social and athletic activities. We uphold these causes through our yearly programs such as the Junior and Senior Seminars, Junior Olympics, NATs, the AYF Internship in Armenia, and so much more.
Despite the cancellation of this year’s event, the Central Executive will publish a Commemorative Olympic Ad Book in place of the Worcester 2020 Olympic Ad Book. This ad book will highlight the 86 year history of the Games and serve as a critical fundraiser for the 2021 AYF year.
We are calling on our membership and the wider Armenian American community for their support and contribution as we navigate this uncharted territory. Your contributions will help ensure the success of our programming and goals and support an organization that has stood the test of time to remain a foundational element of our Armenian identity in the Eastern Region.
If you booked a room under the AYF rate at either the Hilton Garden Inn or the AC Marriott, the hotels will be issuing refunds in the coming days.
The Central Executive will be releasing information regarding the commemorative ad book and any other information in the very near future.
For further information or questions, please email ce@ayf.org.
Stay safe and well, ungerner.
Ungeragan Parevnerov,
—AYF-YOARF Central Executive, Eastern Region, USA
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