Funding crunch scuttles city track and field U20 championship bid
The newly-branded Edmonton International Athletics Committee was ready to host some of the best young track and field athletes on the planet in 2020.
They were then tripped up by an insurmountable hurdle.
Unfortunately for the EIAC, with a major international triathlon scheduled for the same summer, there wasn’t enough government funding to go around.
So despite winning the bid for the 2020 IAAF World U20 Championships, Edmonton will not host the event, instead opting for the ITU Triathlon Grand Final.
“We thought all along the two events were very complimentary, especially for 2020, when you have the Olympic Games, which are going to be in early August,” said EIAC chair Jerry Bouma. “Our event was going to take place within two weeks in advance of the Games and the triathlon would take place two weeks after the Games. We thought this was a real opportunity to really build an Olympic program, a summer sports festival, led by the junior athletic championships, then the Olympics and then the triathlon, where some of those Olympic athletes would be here.”
Edmonton city council had originally approved $250,000 in funding for the EIAC to prepare a bid to the International Association of Athletics Federations to host the under-20 track and field championships.
The bid was accepted in August and the EIAC was ready to sign off on the agreement when funding issues arose. The City of Edmonton has already committed $2.8-million to host the triathlon event in 2020. They were unable to secure funding from the provincial and federal governments to bring the track and field championships to Edmonton, as well.
“We didn’t realize that it was the issue that it became,” Bouma said. “We didn’t really learn about the concern or the issue until around mid-November. Obviously, it was a much bigger issue than we realized.”
Edmonton has hosted a major international athletics and triathlon event in the past. In 2001, the city held the Edmonton ITU Triathlon World Championships in July, and in August, hosted the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.
“One sort of led into the other, it was a very festive, engaged city, that was where we were going from,” Bouma said.
“But I guess there were concerns raised over resources, and we appreciate that, we know funding is never easy.
“We recognize that Alberta and the city are both in difficult situations (economically), so we’re not unrealistic in terms of the realities of funding requirements, especially when there is concerted efforts, particularly in the part of the province, to look at ways to reduce expenditures. We fully understand that.”
Regardless, putting an international bid together, having it accepted, only to be forced to back out is extremely disappointing to Bouma and the committee, as well as a blow to track and field in the city.
The committee may try to apply to host the same event in 2022, but there aren’t any assurances they’ll be successful in winning the bid again.
“Will the IAAF be receptive to us, given that they were supportive and offered us the event and we were unable to follow through? There is a bit of reputation damage that we have to recognize and work through,” Bouma said. “Secondly, are we in a better position to get the support from the city and the province and the federal government in 2022? That’s always the question.”
The IAAF may also change the makeup of the U-20 event by 2022, said Bouma.
““They may have different requirements, we don’t know,” he said. “It’s early, but our intent at this stage of the game is to be in a position where we can certainly pursue it if the opportunity arises and the conditions are in place.”
For now, the EIAC, formally known as Track Town, will regroup and formulate a strategy going forward with the possibly on bidding on other track and field events.
They were unsuccessful in getting the Canadian Championships back in 2019 and ’20 after successfully hosting national events in 2015 and ’16. They also hosted the Pan American junior championships in 2015.
“Edmonton is such a great host and has such a reputation of being a great host,” Bouma said.