Olympic Qualifications Heating Up
As the North American Olympic Qualification is approaching, and the Canadian selection tournament that precedes it is only a few days away, the anticipation and tension is rising. Who will be the two Canadian men and two Canadian women selected to represent Canada at the final North American Olympic qualification? Who will be the Canadian mixed doubles pair who will confront the USA for a spot in the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?
Many questions are in our heads, and surely in the heads of all the participating players. The answers will be known on Sunday 8th March 2020 when the qualifications are over in Kitchener, ON.
At the same time our top juniors will compete for places on the Canadian Junior Team to represent Canada at the Pan American Junior Championship, which is the qualification event for the World Junior Championships to be held in Portugal (29 Nov – 6 Dec 2020).
Some of the Canadian players were in different parts of the world competing and training. We could see good results for our players in Sweden, USA and other events. Also, some have just come back from international training sessions abroad. Others have stayed home and trained intensively in preparation for this weekend.
This qualification is a razor-sharp event, where only one man, one woman and one mixed doubles pair will qualify for the Olympic Games. There is virtually no margin for error, only the very best on that day will get their ticket to Tokyo. The winners’ reward is the Olympic Games, but we may have also a special reward for the players finishing in second place. So, we urge all players to do their best and finish as high as possible, even if they do not win the qualification.
On the junior side, the players will be competing to gain a place on the Canadian Team that will participate at the Pan Am Junior Championship in Argentina on 22-27 June 2020. Although the Pan Am Junior Championship is a great event in itself, and we hope for medals for our improving Canadian juniors, it is also a qualification for the World Junior Championships, which is the ultimate event for any Junior to which to aspire.