IIHF World Junior Championships cancelled four days into tournament after COVID-19 outbreak

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed reports the 2022 World Junior Championships have been cancelled. Cancellation of the tournament came after three separate national teams were forced to forfeit matches and enter mandatory team quarantine following confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst their ranks.

IIHF President Luc Tardif commented, “together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada.”

“The ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant forced us to readjust our protocols almost immediately upon arrival to attempt to stay ahead of any potential spread. This included daily testing and the team quarantine requirement when positive cases were confirmed.”

Tardif concluded, “We owed it to the participating teams to do our best to create the conditions necessary for this event to work. Unfortunately, this was not enough. We now have to take some time and focus on getting all players and team staff back home safely.”

The IIHF Council ultimately decided to cancel the tournament on Wednesday, after a recommendation was made by the COVID-19 Medical Group and the IIHF Medical Committee. It was also noted that the decision was taken on grounds that the sporting integrity of the tournament had been compromised due to the number of forfeited matches.

The United States squad was the first to be hit with complications related to positive COVID-19 cases, forfeiting their match against Switzerland on the third day of the tournament. Czechia and Russia then fell to similar issues the following day.

All three teams would have faced both health and logistical challenges to continue playing in the tournament. Members of each team would have needed to test negative for COVID-19 twice in a 24-hour period to be allowed to return to the ice. It is likely more forfeits or further rescheduling would have been required to carry on with the tournament.

Commenting on the cancellation of the tournament, Hockey Canada President Scott Smith and CEO Tom Renney, stated, “Hockey Canada has worked tirelessly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure it would be equipped to host world-class, international events in a safe and healthy environment.”

“Despite our best efforts, and continually adapting and strengthening protocols, we have unfortunately fallen short of our goal of completing the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship and handing out medals on Jan. 5 due to the challenges of the current COVID-19 landscape.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have always made the health and safety of event participants and the community at large a priority, and given the news that we have encountered positive cases within the World Juniors environment, we understand and support the decision to cancel the remainder of the event.”

“Although we know this is the right decision, we sympathize with all participants who have earned the opportunity to represent their countries on the world stage and that will not be able to realize that dream in its entirety.”

The cancellation of the tournament will likely serve as a cautionary tale, reminding sports organizations of the difficulties of hosting an international sporting event during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also marks the cancellation of yet another high profile winter sports event in the lead up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Chinese organizers have remained confident in their abilities to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in spite of the current epidemiological climate. However, both the local organizing committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have likely taken note of the recent high profile sporting event cancellations and the increased rate of transmission among athletes.

The 2022 Winter Olympics remain scheduled to open February 4, 2022; a mere 36 days away.