(ATR) The Wildwater World Cup is the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic on the calendar of the International Canoe Federation.
The president of the ICF, the Spaniard José Perurena, informed Around the Rings on Wednesday of the suspension of the event in the Catalan city of La Seu d'Urgell, scheduled for October 23-25.
"It was expected, the situation of the pandemic in Spain does not improve," said Perurena.
"In addition, having very few registrations (necessary to have countries from three continents) the Organizing Committee has decided to cancel the event," he added.
In addition to Covid-19 concerns and the assessment of likely National Federation participation, the host's potential financial exposure was also a factor in the inevitable decision.
"The ICF and national canoe federations around the world have always placed the health of the participants as the number one priority when evaluating the viability of this year's events," remarked a statement from the federation.
The Spanish Canoe Federation hopes to successfully host major competitions in 2021, including the Canoe Slalom World Cup in La Seu d'Urgell, in a region where the Segre Olympic Park was built in 1992 for the Olympic Games in Barcelona for canoe and kayak competitions.
Four other major events, initially postponed, still remain in play: the Sprint and Paracanoe World Cups in Szeged, Hungary, from September 24 to 27 and the Slalom World Cups in Ljubljana-Tacen, Slovenia from October 16 to 18 and in Pau, France, from November 6 to 8.
"For now, they are still on the calendar," says Perurena
"I hope and wish they can be held if the coronavirus does not tighten our belts more because you never know until the week before."
Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez
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