Curling fans in Fredericton (New Brunswick) will be so disappointed.
Why?
Because Curling Canada, due to the Omicron variant, had to cancel the 2022 Continental Cup.
According to Curling Canada, isolation requirements for European teams headed to the Winter Olympics also played a part in their decision.
The 2022 Continental Cup was on for Jan. 20-23 at Willie O’Ree Place in Fredericton. The event would have seen Team Canada face Team Europe in a series of traditional 4-player, mixed doubles, skins games and more.
Ticket sellers will soon reach out to those who purchased tickets for the 2022 Continental Cup about a refund.
It is what it is
Curling Canada said increased travel restrictions for visitors to Canada made it difficult to hold the event. Especially with Europeans required to satisfy the isolation requirements before the Beijing Olympics (Feb. 4-20).
“We did everything we could to make this happen, and I know Fredericton was truly excited to be welcoming the Continental Cup,” said Katherine Henderson, Curling Canada’s CEO.
But the events of the past couple of weeks related to the new variant have made it impossible.
“The travel restrictions,” Henderson added, “as well as the proximity in date to the Winter Olympics were going to prevent most, if not all, of the European teams to attend [sic]. And that would affect the integrity of the competition.”
“I will guarantee, though, that Fredericton remains in our sights, and we look forward to a time in the near future when we can hold a major event there.”
The organizers said the announcement would not impact other scheduled Curling Canada events this season.
Looking forward
When it does go down, the Continental Cup will pit six North American teams against six teams from Europe.
The 2021 national championship teams will lead Team Canada, including Kerri Einarson (Gimli, MB) and team Brendan Bottcher (Edmonton).
Formats and the 2022 Continental Cup team lineups are still under wraps.
The last Continental Cup took place in 2020, in London (Ontario), before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Curling Canada also had to cancel the 2021 tournament planned for Oakville (Ontario).
