It is with great disappointment that we are announcing the cancellation of the World Round-Up 2020 due to the situation related to COVID-19 / Coronavirus.
We know every skater, guest, sponsors, and staff eagerly anticipates the World Round-Up, but considering recent events, we felt it was important to put safety and peace of mind first. We know this is as disappointing to you as it is to us, but we do believe that this is the right decision.
In compliance with provincial regulations, we decided that it is not safe to host a gathering of international competitors from a large variety of countries, even though the contest is two months away in May.
One issue is that the government is strongly recommending that visitors from abroad self isolate / quarantine themselves for two weeks upon arriving in Canada, and then another two weeks when they arrive home in order to prevent the transmission of the virus. This is simply not feasible in terms of logistics or timeframe for the majority of our competitors.
You may notice that the Cloverdale Rodeo might move forward with their event. The rodeo competitors are more regional / national and may not require the same travel, visas, government approvals, etc. as our skate competitors. If they are already in BC, they don’t need to isolate themselves beforehand. They are also able to logistically push the Rodeo within two weeks of the actual date before they will announce a decision to move forward. We discussed this and did not think it was feasible for our skaters and families traveling internationally to be able to accommodate this short of a time frame. We have consulted with the Rodeo, and they understand and support our decision to cancel the contest.
We want to thank our competitors who have registered so far as well as those that have made travel plans to attend. Please contact your travel and accommodation providers to arrange for refunds or credits.
We also want to thank our sponsors, staff, organizers, and volunteers for their hard work behind the scenes in preparing for this year’s contest.
We do have some ideas to make up for the cancellation of the contest this year. Please stay tuned as we will have an announcement soon.
Thank you for understanding.
World Round-Up Staff