Sport and COVID-19 - new challenges or old issues?

Aim. The study proposes a rationale for sports perspectives during current epidemic situation and provides practical guidance for safe training practices. Materials and methods. 162 athletes of different age participated in an anonymous survey. The main sections of the survey included aspects of athletes’ competence and consciousness regarding the safety of the training process during COVID-19 pandemic. Results. It was found that although 100% of adolescent participants were informed about the negative effects of training load on physical health when suffering from cold-related diseases, meanwhile 49% continued training and competitive activities. Moreover, 20.4% of athletes did not follow the announced restrictive measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. At the moment of the survey, 9.3% did not wear a mask and 11.6% did not use hand antiseptic. Conclusion. Athletes are in high risk during pandemic not only because of their thoughtlessness but also due to neglecting healthcare recommendations, as well as refusing to stop training and competitive activities despite of symptoms of virus disease.