OTTAWA — Following careful consideration and internal and external consultation, Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) has decided to move the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Trials and 2022 Canadian U17/U19 Wrestling Championships, in order to give all competitors sufficient time to prepare.

“COVID-19 continues to negatively impact wrestling activity across the country,” said Tamara Medwidsky, executive director, WCL. “While we anticipate training for all groups to resume at the end of January, we recognize that may not be the case and so the current schedule is not achievable.”

The 2022 Canadian Wrestling Trials, which were scheduled for March 10-13, at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, will be moved to May 26-29, at the same location. Meanwhile, the U17/U19 Canadian Championships, originally scheduled for March 25-27 at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex in Calgary, will move to June 9-12 at the same location. WCL is also exploring the possibility of adding a U15 competition to this event, for 2022.

“We want to avoid cancellation of events, so in conjunction with the existing host organizing committees (HOCs), we have identified these alternatives, while also recognizing the amount of work and cost already expended by the current hosts.”

Both changes were proposed during a WCL Town Hall with stakeholders from across the industry and were met with positive feedback. Rescheduled dates were then approved by the WCL Board of Directors.

Multiple factors were taken into consideration before changes were brought forward, including: training time needed, exam schedules, national team schedules and international competitions.

“At the end of the day, we recognize how important running these events are to the athletes and all stakeholders involved in our sport. We believe these new dates give our athletes the proper amount of time to prepare and set up the HOC to achieve success with their events.”