WWCC cancelled

World Curling Championships cancelled

Mar 12, 2020 | 12:49 PM

PRINCE GEORGE–The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced the cancellation of the World Women’s Curling Championships due to the spread of COVID-19.

This announcement came after Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, and BC’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry made a joint announcement recommending the suspension of the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championship due to the “changing global circumstances.”

“We made this decision after careful deliberation with local public health officials and the event organizers. We understand what the championship means to the athletes who have trained hard to compete, but the health of British Columbians is our first priority,” read the statement.

The event was to take place between Saturday, March, 14th and Sunday, March 22. The event would see teams from 13 countries compete for the world title and Olympic Qualification Points for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

The WCF says that with the cancellation they will have to consider the implications on Olympic qualification and discuss potential changes that will need to be considered.

According to the WCF the decision was also made considering the announcement of three other major sporting events announcing their cancellations over the course of the past 24 hours.

“It’s with regret we’re announcing it is no longer possible to run this world championship,” said World Curling Federation President, Kate Caithness, “however, the safety of our athletes, officials, staff and supporters is paramount which we cannot guarantee with the fast-evolving nature of this worldwide situation.”

For those who have purchased tickets for the event, refunds will be made available at the original point of purchase after March 23. If tickets were purchased online through tickets north, refunds will be processed automatically.

WCF says that there is ongoing evaluation into the LGT World Men’s, World Mixed Doubles, World Senior (both in Kelowna) and European C-Division (Ljubljana, Slovenia) Curling Championships 2020 to be played in the coming weeks.