Cancellation of 2020 ITU Groupe Copley World Triathlon Montreal / ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Update / Event and Qualification Updates
Triathlon Canada, along with our provincial sport organizations, have been working in partnership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the entire triathlon community across the country is able to return to sport training and competition safely.
There is no doubt the pandemic is taking a toll across all facets of our operation: events at all levels, training programs, and planning. That said, it also provides us with an opportunity—both individually and as organizations – to work more collaboratively and effectively to determine our priorities in order to come out of this period in a stronger position to ultimately recover while continuing to grow and move our sport forward.
We recognize August was a time we were to be celebrating the pinnacle of our sport at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. More importantly, it was a time that we should all be putting our training to the test and heading to a start line of our choice. However, while restrictions continue to be released at variable rates across Canada and around the world, we are obviously still in the midst of the pandemic and competition remains on hold, resulting in additional stresses for all in the Triathlon Canada Nation.
Triathlon Canada’s current focus within its Return to Sport strategy is on slowly and safely getting our athletes back to training while respecting guidelines outlined by the federal and provincial government health officials.
Click here for more information on Triathlon Canada’s Return to Sport guidelines.
Return to Events is also going to continue to be a slow process, and different for each province across the country. Working with our national sport partners, we will follow the same approach for returning to competitions when health officials deem it safe for us to gather again. At this time, we continue to encourage all athletes/coaches to follow your provincial health guidelines – stay safe, and stay local.
Given this, we would like to use this opportunity to update you on the following information with regards to competitions:
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RACING
Domestic Community Events
We are thrilled to see some smaller local community events working through the new return to sport protocols in preparation to stage competitions as part of the 2020 season. Our provincial partners are working tirelessly to support this process specific to their host communities.
Detailed Return to Sport Guidelines have been developed and published to the Triathlon Canada website. All events should have detailed plans in place and should communicate risk management plans to the community prior to the event. Be informed!
National Championships
Our National Championships for both Elite and Age Group athletes is officially cancelled for 2020. We look forward to seeing everyone in Montreal in 2021 – strong, healthy, and fully prepared to compete at an event that will showcase our entire triathlon community.
International Events
2020 ITU Groupe Copley World Triathlon Montreal – The International Triathlon Union, in cooperation with the Local Organizing Committee and Triathlon Canada have officially cancelled the 2020 iteration of this event.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause a global atmosphere of ongoing uncertainty around travel and event hosting. Working together, a significant effort has been made to navigate the public safety measures. However, given the continued border closures, ongoing uncertainty, and risk to the health of all involved it has been decided it is best to cancel the event scheduled for 2020 and focus on a successful and safe return in 2021.
2021 World Triathlon Grand Final Edmonton – The ITU has announced that 2021 will see a split Grand Final. Edmonton will host the “Grand Final” in August including:
- Elite & U23 Standard Distance
- Age Group Standard & Super Sprint Distances
Bermuda will host the first iteration of the “Sprint & Relay World Championships” in October inclusive of:
- Elite Super Sprint & Mixed Relay
- Age Group Sprint & Mixed Relay
All current Age Group Team Canada members will receive a follow-up communication shortly with options now that the format is confirmed.
A location for the 2021 Para Triathlon World Championships has not been confirmed, but will be a stand-alone event prior to the Paralympic Games.
2020 ITU International Elite Events / National Team Activities – There is no feasible solution to racing ITU events at this time without significant risks, thus Triathlon Canada cannot endorse or support any event on the current ITU calendar for Canadian athletes to target. We will continue to provide regular updates to our high performance community moving forward.
AGE GROUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS
Age Group World Championships Participation and Qualification
The qualification program for Age Group World Championships has been developed to spread qualification opportunities as broadly as possible across the country. The 2020 season was set to have 48 qualification events, many of which have already been cancelled or postponed.
The Multisport World Championships Festival in Almere, Netherlands, has been postponed to 2021. The status of the 2021 World Triathlon Grand Final has just been announced as a split format with events to be hosted both in Edmonton and Bermuda. More information will be coming shortly, but ALL athletes who qualified in 2019 for the 2020 World Championship events will maintain their position on Age Group Team Canada should they wish to compete in 2021. We will update the community as soon as we receive additional information.
Due to the postponement of the World Championship events, much of the limited space on the Team is already filled for 2021. It is also impossible to provide fair access to qualification events across the country as different regions are affected at vastly different levels. As a result, we are unfortunately unable to offer 2021 qualification spots as part of the 2020 event season.
We are hopeful the 48 events from 2020 will continue to be a part of the program in 2021 to qualify for the 2022 World Championship events.
Our focus is always on ensuring the health and safety of our community of athletes, coaches, volunteers, and staff. We will remain committed to providing regular communication to our community with regards to all domestic and international programming.
As always, we are available to answer concerns from our community. Should you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact .
Until we are permitted to see all of you at the start line, please stay healthy. Stay safe. And continue to #Triathathome.
Sincerely,
Kim Van Bruggen
Chief Executive Officer
Triathlon Canada