Another major national sporting event in B.C.’s northern capital is being postponed.
The Canadian Masters Badminton Championships will stay in Prince George, but has been moved to April 2021 as concerns for the coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to grow in the province.
Chair Lisa Davison tells PrinceGeorgeMatters while the city’s tourism sector may feel a pinch this year as a result of the event’s rescheduling, she believes the economic impact will pick back up again by Badminton Canada allowing the city to keep the tournament.
She says the change was also made possible thanks to Calgary’s 2021 committee deferring its hosting duties of the national championship to 2022.
"The reason for the delayed announcement was to ensure that the renovations at the Calgary Winter Club would not interfere with moving their event from 2021 to 2022,” Davison explains as the championships were set to take place April 27 to May 2 at UNBC's Northern Sport Centre.
“Our committee would like to give the Calgary Team a huge shout out and "elbow bump" (instead of a high five) for offering to make the change. As Chair, I am in awe of just how awesome our badminton community is in supporting each other.”
Another major Prince George sports event is postponed due to COVID-19 as the 2020 Canadian Masters Badminton Championships is moved to 2021 🏸 Chair Lisa Davison says B.C.'s 50+ gathering ban came into play, but is grateful the city can keep the tournament | #CityOfPG @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/3KZoF5h8v6
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 20, 2020
The Canadian Masters Championships were set to bring in over 200 badminton athletes aged 30 to over 80 years old from across Canada and other countries like China, England, India, and the United States.
“The health and safety of the athletes, coaches, volunteers, delegates, and the greater badminton community are our top priority," said Badminton Canada Executive Director Joe Morissette.
"Due to the escalating situation related to COVID-19, we must make the tough decision to postpone and cancel some events at this time. For those that remain as scheduled, we will continue to monitor the situation and update our communities accordingly.”
The event is the latest of several other sports events to either be postponed or cancelled altogether.
This includes the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championships, the 2020 Western Canadian Ringette Championships and the 93rd Kelly Cup and Ladies’ curling bonspiels.
Dates for the 2021 tournament will be released at a later time.
