Dates set for Summer Games
The national event was recently delayed one year because of pandemic
The Canada Games Council and the Niagara Host Society have announced the Canada Summer Games will run Aug. 6 to 21, 2022.
It wasn’t as simple as circling alternative dates on a calendar, said Doug Hamilton, host society chair.
The council and the host society selected new dates after discussions with the provincial and territorial teams, national sport organizations, venues and different levels of government.
“We needed to consult with our venues and our partners so they could reserve those dates,” Hamilton said. “At Brock University, we are using their residences. We will be using the Meridian Centre for the opening ceremony and basketball.
“We also had communication with the provinces and territories, so their athletes are ready for the Games.”
The Games — billed as Canada’s largest multi-sport event — were recently moved from 2021 to summer 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken the lives of almost 10,000 Canadians.
“The Canada Summer Games are traditionally held in August,” Hamilton said. “Many of the sports use provincial championships and trials in the spring and early summer to select their athletes and teams.
“We didn’t want any significant overlap with the Henley Regatta. We also didn’t want to go too deep into August. That would impact Brock University’s preparations for their coming school year.”
The move to 2022 will impact the eligibility of some of the athletes.
Hamilton said that is something various sporting partners are working out.
“We expect to have clear answers for all athletes and their families early in the new year,” said Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault. “We know this is an especially tough time for athletes, for coaches and all sports organizations.”
The Canada Games is a national competition for thousands of up-and-coming Canadian athletes and is considered an essential step in developing the country’s next generation of national, international and Olympic athletes.
More than 5,000 athletes, coaches, and support staff from across the country will participate in the Summer Games — along with thousands of volunteers and spectators.
The opening ceremonies will be staged Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines. The closing ceremonies are Sunday, Aug. 21, at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls.
When the Games were planned for 2021, the opening ceremony was scheduled for a Friday. The closing ceremony was scheduled for a Saturday.
“The Games are actually a series of two one-week events,” Hamilton said. “We have two different waves of athletes. In the middle is a ‘turnover day.’
“The new dates allow us to make much better use of that weekend. The turnover day is now on the Sunday. That puts the gold-medal and championship games for the first wave of events on the Saturday, which is good for spectators and broadcasters and webcasters.” Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley said an added year allows the host society to present the Games in a way that is closer to what they originally envisioned.
Most sporting events underway in North America are taking place without spectators — or with extreme limits on their numbers to ensure social distancing.
“The new Aug. 6 to 21, 2022 schedule will allow Niagara to reap the maximum economic benefits out of this important event while keeping everyone safe and healthy,” Bradley said.