BC Winter Games for high-level youth athletes cancelled due to pandemic, natural disasters
A perfect storm that includes the pandemic and multiple natural disasters has led organizers to cancel the youth BC Winter Games.
The games, which were set to take place in Vernon, are normally held every two years and provide a platform for young, promising, high-performance athletes and their coaches to compete, connect and build community.
“With so many challenges across the province this year, it has become clear that the 2022 BC Winter Games cannot happen this February,” said Val Trevis, president of Greater Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games Society in a statement.
“Our volunteer board of directors and chairs have worked relentlessly…and we are very disappointed for the athletes and volunteers.”
According to a statement from the games society, the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the havoc wreaked by the summer’s wildfires and the winter floods “have made it impossible to stage a safe and memorable Games this winter.”
Melanie Mark, minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport said in a statement that she knows how difficult this news will be for the athletes.
“I recognize how devastating this news is for the athletes, coaches, volunteers, and host region of Greater Vernon who have been working tirelessly to prepare…these are not easy decisions to make.”
As recently as Dec. 20, prior to the cancellation, the society had been advertising online that it was looking for volunteers to work at the games.
Prince George is slated to host the 2022 BC Summer Games while the 2024 BC Winter Games are set to happen in Quesnel. Additional information about a future version of the 2022 BC Winter Games will be shared when available, says the society.
According to its website, the games “bring together British Columbia’s best emerging high performance athletes, trained coaches, and certified officials for four days of competition. This experience is an important development opportunity and stepping stone towards higher level sport competitions.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.