The Irving Oil Field House in Saint John. (Photo: Brad Perry)
Canadian university winter national championships have been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes the track and field championships the University of New Brunswick was scheduled to host in March at the Irving Oil Field House in Saint John.
U Sports, the national governing body of university sport in Canada, made the announcement on Thursday.
Interim CEO Dick White said the decision came after consultation with the four university sports conferences: Atlantic University Sport, Reseau du sport etudiant du Québec, Ontario University Athletics and Canada West.
“…We agreed that student-athlete safety remains our top priority,” said White in a news release. “It is not logistically possible for teams to be travelling across the country at this time. Therefore, U SPORTS is in the unfortunate position where we are unable to offer the 2021 winter championships.”
The impacted events include the women’s and men’s championships in basketball, hockey, swimming, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.
Curling Canada previously announced the suspension of the 2021 university championships.
“Our hosts are facing a variety of challenges due to COVID-19, including travel restrictions and limits on public indoor gatherings that impact event planning,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, chief sport officer for U Sports. “We look forward to providing the hosts of the cancelled 2021 national championships the opportunity to host in future years.”
Updated future hosting rotations are expected to be announced before the end of the year.
Official statement from U SPORTS / Une déclaration d'U SPORTS
🔗EN: https://t.co/b75Z0lXqdp /🔗FR: https://t.co/TNfQ98XdsG pic.twitter.com/i6TLptiS6c
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) October 15, 2020
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