East Coast Games Cancelled Again

Atlantic Canada’s largest annual multi-sport tournament will not be going ahead again this year.

Organizers of the East Coast Games in Saint John have cancelled June’s event due to the pandemic.

Keith Raynes, the event co-chair, said things seemed to be looking good up until the last few weeks.

“Then the variant sort of hit and the Atlantic Bubble got pushed back and we said, you know what, there’s too much uncertainty,” Raynes said in a phone interview Friday.

Raynes said it was not an easy decision to make but they feel it was the right one given the current situation.

With the amount of effort involved in organizing an event like this, Raynes said they would not want to see it cancelled at the ninth hour.

“Even carry it a step further, say we were able to host the games and something broke out, that wouldn’t look good,” he said.

The event typically attracts more than 2,000 athletes and their families from across Atlantic Canada to Greater Saint John.

Raynes said it is their hope to welcome athletes back to the Saint John region next year.