Mixed Doubles Curling Trials cancelled due to rising COVID-19 cases
Curling Canada is cancelling the 2022 Mixed Doubles Curling Trials due to a variety of reasons regarding COVID-19.
In a news release Sunday morning, Curling Canada said it is cancelling the tournament due to a rise in positive tests for COVID-19 among athletes who were scheduled to attend and the risks associated with travelling.
The event was scheduled to begin on Tuesday at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, Man., and was to decide Canada's mixed doubles team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Curling Canada said it looked at making a bubble for the athletes, but a lack of prep time and the rise of the Omicron variant made it impossible to create.
"There was just no feasible way to do this in a safe and responsible manner for everyone that was going to be involved in the event," said Al Cameron, Curling Canada's director of communications.
The curling organization said it would consult with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium to decide the best process to nominate a Canadian mixed doubles team that will compete in China. It said an announcement of the nominated team will be made when the process is complete.
"I would characterize it as disappointment but understanding as well under the circumstances," said Cameron when asked about how the athletes are feeling.
Curling Canada said it is working with health authorities for the remaining 2021-22 season and remains optimistic that its championship events can be played.
Canada is the defending Olympic champion in mixed doubles, which made its debut in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes captured for the first gold medal awarded in the discipline.
Arrangements are being made for 2022 Mixed Doubles Curling Trials ticket-holders to be refunded.
-With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.