The 2023 junior and U23 Canoe Slalom and Wildwater Sprint world championships scheduled to be held in China have been cancelled

The 2023 junior and U23 canoe slalom and wildwater sprint world championships scheduled to be held in China next have been cancelled because of ongoing uncertainty over the Covid situation in the host country.

The ICF has re-opened the bid process for both events for next year, with a deadline of July 15.

The Chinese Canoe Association confirmed after a visit to the event venue last week that it could not be certain Covid restrictions will be lifted before the world championships.

“CCA and local governments have great interest and enthusiasm in the development of canoeing sports in China and we were very honored to have the chance to host ICF events,” a CCA spokesperson said. 

“CCA officials early last week especially went to Province Fujian to inspect the local condition of host international competitions and got to know that it is still very difficult to say that the travel restrictions will be totally removed in the next year. 

“To ensure the event run smoothly, we totally understand and agree to reallocate the competitions.”

ICF canoe slalom committee chair Jean-michel Prono said while the decision was disappointing, he understood and appreciated the difficulties facing the event hosts.

“We are grateful to the CCA for the efforts it made to prepare what we are sure would have been a wonderful world championships for our young paddlers,” Mr Prono said.

“We also appreciate that CCA has taken this decision early enough to allow us to find a new host for next year. This will be a fantastic opportunity for a federation to showcase the future of our sport, just one year from the Paris Olympics.

“I would encourage all potential hosts to contact me as soon as possible, so we can talk through how we can ensure this event can go ahead.

“And of course we will look to return to Asia as soon as possible with a world championships or world cup, as we know this is a region where canoe slalom is growing fast.”

International Canoe Federation