ICF update on coronavirus COVID-19 and event schedule

The ICF will continue implementing its coronavirus contingency plans to deal with the cancellation and postponement of Tokyo 2020 sprint, slalom and paracanoe qualifying events. The International Olympic Committee reiterated its commitment during a teleconference on Tuesday to staging this year’s Olympics, starting Friday July 24, but expressed its support for sports like canoeing which still has Olympic quotas to fill. The situation remains extremely fluid, with several key events already cancelled or postponed. The ICF and host organisers have now cancelled all continental qualifiers in sprint and slalom. The canoe sprint and paracanoe world Olympic qualifiers set down for Duisburg, Germany, will not be able to proceed on the weekend of May 21-24. However, organisers and the ICF are looking at the possibility of staging the event at the end of June. A decision regarding this will be made by the end of April, but the ICF will be guided by the ability of all athletes to take part in the competition. Under current international travel restrictions, many athletes are not able to cross borders. The ICF will use world rankings to allocate quotas for canoe slalom, and is currently in discussion with the IOC on using international results to determine which countries are allocated the remaining sprint Tokyo 2020 quotas. This decision will be taken by early April. If Duisburg is unable to proceed, the results from the 2019 ICF paracanoe world championships will be used to determine final Paralympic quota allocations, dependent on approval from the International Paralympic Committee. The IOC has expressed full confidence that the Olympics will proceed on time, and the ICF is working hard to ensure it is able to fill all available quota positions in the fairest and most appropriate manner. The ICF shares the disappointment of the canoeing community with the disruptions to the programme, but is acting to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone involved with our events....

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