Speed Skating Canada confirmed at the end of the evening on Monday the cancellation of the Olympic selections and the Canadian Junior Championships which were to be held in Quebec from December 27 to 31, due to the rise in positive cases for COVID-19.
Thus, the national federation has resigned itself to giving up the competitions planned at the Ice Center. Their presentation had been at the heart of speculation for a few days, since the tightening of health measures in the province. As reported on Monday The Journal of Quebec, the Minister for Education, Isabelle Charest, had authorized the holding of the event, Saturday, after obtaining the approval of Public Health.
However, the scenario has changed considerably in the last hours.
“In order to protect the health and safety of our athletes, staff and community members as we head into the important period leading up to the Olympics, we have now made the difficult decision to cancel the Olympic Trials and the Canadian Junior Long Track Championships. While we really hoped to run these selection events in a safe and fair manner, we face significant challenges brought on by the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and the easy transmissibility of the Omicron variant, ”said Speed Skating Canada. in a press release.
“Our best option in these difficult circumstances is to minimize risk to everyone by following public health advice and avoiding congregating for competitions at this time. We understand that this decision will have an impact on many members of our community and will have a significant impact on our selection processes. ”
Quebec has not organized the Olympic trials since 1983. Normally these are held in Calgary, which has been the case since 1987.