Most arguably, this was Prince George’s defining moment in realizing the seriousness of COVID-19.
The 2020 Women’s World Curling Championships were about to get underway at the CN Centre, marking one of the biggest sporting events the city was about to witness in its history.
Olympic berths were on the line, Kerri Einarson was set to defend Canada on home soil against 12 other countries, world-class entertainment was on the agenda, including interactions with the athletes, and, by the end, a large trophy would have been raised.
However, on March 12, 2020, two days before the first match, organizers and partners for the international event made the decision to cancel the bonspiel out of respect for the health and safety of everyone involved.
“[It was], in our opinion, the right decision,” said World Curling Federation spokesperson Cameron McAllister in a conference announcing the disappointing news.
“Looking overnight, there were significant competitions around the world cancelled [...] We were starting to see much more national travel restrictions and again, with these, plus the recommendation from Northern Health today, this was the reason for the decision.”
Most of the athletes had arrived in northern B.C. in the days leading up to the championships, some even practicing at the P.G. Golf and Curling Club.
They were sent back home to their respective countries in coordinating with COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The city was already fired up about bringing a major curling event back to Prince George. The last significant one was the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada’s national women’s championship.
Nearly 400 volunteers had signed up to take part in ensuring a smooth and exciting event, with some that were supposed to fly in from Alberta and Ontario.
This was to include Prince George resident Andrea Johnson.
“A year ago I had just picked up the remainder of my volunteer kit for the Women's World Curling Championship that Prince George was about to host,” she said in a social media post.
“Four beautiful sheets of curling ice were already in place at CN Centre, the world's best teams (including Team Canada) had already arrived in town and excited volunteers and the entire city were all set to welcome fans from around the world. But as the coronavirus kept spreading, and the NHL and NBA paused their seasons, the World Curling Federation also cancelled the rest of its international spiels. It was the best decision and was a sign of things to come.”
It was also set to mark the 100th year of curling in the northern capital after a bid for the 2020 Tim Horton’s Brier, Canada’s national men’s championships, lost to St. Catherines, Ont.
UPDATE: The 2020 World Women's Curling Championships in Prince George has officially been CANCELLED, as per @worldcurling | #CityOfPG @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/zBExTdtGVK
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 12, 2020
Prince George had seen just a handful of cancellations prior to the Women’s World Curling Championship on March 12, 2020.
Hours before, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which oversees the Western Hockey League and Prince George Cougars, suspended its play, only to cancel it entirely six days later once the pandemic sunk in.
The Council of Forest Industries Convention was cancelled the same morning, originally earmarked for April 1-3, 2020 in Prince George, as speakers and guests from across the world were set to be in attendance.
As a result of the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 World Women’s Curling Championship was also cancelled.
Depending on when big events will be able to commence again, Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall said following the 2020 cancellation he remains hopeful the city will get another big curling event in the future.
“I feel pretty confident that we’re going to get a World Curling Championship back in our city at some point down the road.”
Northern Health confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases on March 14, 2020, and has since recorded 5,045 as of this publication (March 11, 2021).
This also includes 110 deaths in the region, 1,397 across B.C.
Today marked the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of a global pandemic related to the virus.
