Organisers of cancelled Championships take evolving situation in stride

The 2020 World University Ski Orienteering Championship was one of the first FISU events of this year to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, as it was cancelled just days before it was scheduled to be held in Rovaniemi, Finland, in March.

Jarkko KomulainenJukka Tirri“We were very close to the beginning of our championship, when we had to make the decision to cancel it,” says Jukka Tirri of the Organising Committee. “As a matter of fact, it happened only ten days before the Opening Ceremony. It wasn’t easy for us to take that step after all the preparations and hard work. But in that situation – and even more looking back now – it was the only possible decision.”

“We are grateful to all the National University Sport Federations (NUSFs) for their understanding and co-operation in this difficult situation,” adds Jarkko Komulainen, President of the Organising Committee. “We received very supportive messages from many of them.”

“We understand that we are not alone in this,” he adds. “We want to send our warmest regards to the organisers of other World University Championships of 2020, who are facing this same situation. And of course, we salute all the university athletes, who had planned to compete this year. We hope to see you all soon!”

The level of the World University Beach Volleyball Championships is often of a high international standard, with both Olympians and for World University Beach Volleyball Championship gold medalists competing in 2016. Look for the same at the 2018 event.

Dealing with disappointment has also been the case for the organisers of the World University Beach Volleyball Championship that was to be held in Málaga, Spain, in June this year. One of the most popular championships on the FISU calendar, it has been tough for the OC to deal with cancellation of the event.

Manuel Trujillo Vargas“The COVID-19 outbreak is strongly affecting our country even though right now it seems it might be under control,” says Manuel Trujillo Vargas, CEO of the Organising Committee of the 2020 WUC Beach Volleyball. “We are dealing with the situation. At this moment it is very difficult for us to know what will happen in the future, because we don´t know yet how this crisis will end and its final impact on our society.”

“In a best-case scenario, it would be great to host the event during a similar period in 2021,” he adds. “Luckily though, our sport organisation is multidisciplinary and so we keep working on our different aspects of our institution.”

“The values of sport are now more important than ever,” says Trujillo Vargas. “We must project them in society by encouraging team effort, positive outlook and an ability to come back stronger.”