The IBSF Congress has been postponed until September ©IBSF

The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) has had to postpone its Congress until September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally set to take place in Shanghai in China, the Congress had already been moved to Antwerp in Belgium as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

It was due to he held on June 30, but has now been pushed back until September 27.

There will be an IBSF Executive Meeting on September 25 and a Pre-Congress on September 26.

A statement said the decision was made by the IBSF Executive Committee.

Belgium has closed its borders because of the coronavirus crisis ©Getty Images
Belgium has closed its borders because of the coronavirus crisis ©Getty Images

It is not the first time the pandemic has caused issues for the federation - IBSF committee meetings planned for April were earlier this month postponed, with the new dates also in September.

The final women's monobob race and a training camp in Lake Placid in the United States were cancelled because of travel restrictions put in place by US authorities in light of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe. 

The pre-homologation of the sliding sports venue for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, originally to take place in early March, was also postponed because of coronavirus.

Almost 25,000 people are known to have died as a result of contracting coronavirus across the world.