(Free photo via Pexels.com)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge-hosted Junior Canadian Little League Championship cancelled

May 2, 2020 | 9:10 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – This summer’s Junior Canadian Little League Championship has officially been cancelled.

The tournament was scheduled to take place in Lethbridge from July 31-August 9.

The cancellation announcement comes after Little League International (LLI) stated that the Little League World Series and all regional tournaments had been scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After a thorough assessment of the impact the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has had on 6,500 community-based Little League programs in 84 countries and based upon the direction of government and public health authorities, and in consultation with medical professionals and our Board of Directors, Little League International has made the difficult and disappointing decision to cancel its seven World Series tournament and their respective regional qualifying events,” read an LLI statement.

Some of the factors that went into cancelling the World Series and Regional Tournaments included:

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: September 27, 2024

Sep 27, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: September 20, 2024

Sep 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: August 30, 2024

Aug 30, 2024

· The inability to play qualifying tournaments in many of their U.S. and international regions, coupled with direction from federal officials regarding the complexity of international travel restrictions and immigration requirements.

· An indication from teams from around the globe that they will be unable to participate or travel to these tournaments.

· The testing and mitigation protocols that would need to be in place at these significant public events should an individual participating or attending an event be diagnosed with COVID-19.

The health and safety of all players, volunteers, staff members and the community was listed as a top priority. However, the decision was still a difficult one to make.

“This decision is not a surprise as we all realize that the circumstances as they stand right now many any summer event a challenge in so many ways to find a path that would allow us to safely hold the event,” stated tournament director, Kevin Kvame.

“Thus, it is with disappointment that we put pause in the annual event in Lethbridge and look forward to welcoming teams again in 2021 from across Canada.”

Local leagues are being encouraged to offer a regular season for kids when it is deemed safe to do so by the government and local authorities.

This past week, the Western Canadian Baseball League – home to the Lethbridge Bulls – announced that it’s postponed the start of its season until at least late June.