World Championships could potentially be rescheduled to mid-October 2020
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The International Skating Union (ISU) has officially announced the cancellation of the 2020 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which were set to take place next weekend in Seoul, South Korea.
On February 26, the ISU announced that the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, scheduled for March 13-15 in Seoul, South Korea, would not be staged as originally planned. This decision was made in light of the Coronavirus situation in South Korea, which forced authorities in the city of Seoul to close the Mokdong Ice Rink and order the cancellation of all planned competitions.
Since that announcement, the ISU evaluated the situation and concluded that, considering the current uncertain developments surrounding the Coronavirus, a rescheduling or relocation of the above-mentioned event within the current season, even if the season would be extended by several weeks after its normal end in early April, could not be reasonably considered.
Over the coming weeks, the ISU will evaluate, in cooperation with all stakeholders, whether the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020 could possibly be held later in the year, but in any case not before mid-October 2020. A decision on this possibility will be announced as soon as possible by the ISU.
The ISU’s complete statements on the cancellation of the World Championships can be found below:
- Coronavirus: ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020 – Seoul (KOR)
- Coronavirus: ISU World Short Track Championship Cancellation and 2019-2020 Events Season
SSC STATEMENT
Considering the evolution of the Coronavirus globally over the past few weeks, Speed Skating Canada is fully supportive of the ISU’s decision to officially cancel the 2020 ISU World Short Track Championships. While the cancellation of this season’s most important short track competition is disappointing for our team, we believe the ISU made the right decision, one that protects the health and well-being of all participants, including the skaters. We would like to thank the ISU for their diligent work in evaluating this unique situation and commend them for their leadership in making such an important and difficult decision.
We will await further information from the ISU regarding the potential of rescheduling the competition during the 2020-2021 season and evaluate our team’s plans once the details are known.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630