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Late Sunday evening, the news broke that the “Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) will not send athletes to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the risks of COVID-19” per a release posted on the Team Canada website.
And now it looks like Australia is following suit.
The two Canadian organizations (COC and CPC) “made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020” and want the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Olympic Games for a year because of the on-going threat of the Coronavirus pandemic.
RELEASE: The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020: https://t.co/HyOBA5wwp4 pic.twitter.com/x9OWABVxMA
— Team Canada PR (@TeamCanadaPR) March 23, 2020
It looks like Australia is following suit as news from the country indicates the “Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said it was telling athletes to prepare for the Games to be postponed, potentially for an entire year to mid-2021, after agreeing that ‘Australian Team could not be assembled in the changing circumstances.'”
“We are now in a position where we can plan with greater certainty.”
AOC plans for postponed Olympic Games 👉 https://t.co/7YYRMp4xMI#Tokyo2020 #covid19australia #TokyoTogether pic.twitter.com/oPW6nXGdZk
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) March 23, 2020
Part of the Australian release contained the following quotes from the Australian Olympic Committed (AOC):
“The AOC says Australian athletes should prepare for a Tokyo Olympic Games in the northern summer of 2021, following the IOC’s announcement of a potential postponement of this year’s Games and changes in public health landscape in Australia and across the globe.
“It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July. Our athletes have been magnificent in their positive attitude to training and preparing, but the stress and uncertainty has been extremely challenging for them.”
As it pertains to Olympic softball, Canada and Australia were two of six teams to qualify for the Tokyo Games starting in July; the others were Japan, the United States, Italy, and Mexico.
Team Canada punched its ticked by finishing second at the WBSC Softball Americas Qualifier in September of 2019.
The Aussies made the half dozen qualified teams by clinching the last Olympic spot by winning at the WBSC Asia/Oceania Qualifier.
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Here is the full release issued by Team Canada:
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), backed by their Athletes’ Commissions, National Sports Organizations and the Government of Canada, have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020.
The COC and CPC urgently call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year and we offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring. While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.
This is not solely about athlete health – it is about public health. With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.
The COC and CPC reviewed the letter and news release sent Sunday by the IOC. We are thankful to the IOC for its assurance that it will not be cancelling the Tokyo 2020 Games and appreciative that it understands the importance of accelerating its decision-making regarding a possible postponement.
We also applaud the IOC for acknowledging that safeguarding the health and wellness of nations and containing the virus must be our paramount concern. We are in the midst of a global health crisis that is far more significant than sport.
The COC and CPC would like to thank our athletes, partners and the Canadian sport community for their patience and for lending us their voices during these unprecedented times. We remain hopeful that the IOC and IPC will agree with the decision to postpone the Games as a part of our collective responsibility to protect our communities and work to contain the spread of the virus.