Canadian figure skating championships pushed back a month due to COVID-19

OTTAWA — The Canadian figure skating championships have been pushed back a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is now scheduled to take place Feb. 8-14 at Vancouver’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. 

The championships were originally scheduled for Jan. 11-17 at the same venue.

Skate Canada said in a release Thursday that the event will still take place in person, but the number of competitors has been reduced to accommodate safety protocols. 

Only junior and senior categories will compete, and each discipline will only have two flights of skaters.

The Skate Canada Challenge will take the national championship’s original spot in the schedule.

Originally scheduled for Nov. 23-29 in Edmonton, the competition is instead being held remotely with skaters participating from their home regions.

The Skate Canada Challenge is a qualifying event for the national championships.

The Skate Canada Grand Prix event, originally scheduled for later this month in Ottawa, already had been cancelled.

“The global pandemic has put forth challenges for us all, and our priority is to support the development and goals of our skaters in a safe manner,” Skate Canada chief executive officer Debra Armstrong said in a release. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2020.

The Canadian Press