To keep Manitobans safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19, Sport Manitoba and the Dauphin Host Society has announced the cancellation of the 2020 Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro. The basketball portion of the Games was to feature male and female teams ages 17U after initially being postponed from summer 2020 to 2021. Traditionally, the Manitoba Games features 16U age athletes but a change was made after the initial postponement to still capture the same age group a year later.
Earlier this year, the decision to postpone the Games to July of 2021 was made first and foremost to ensure the health and safety of all the participants, volunteers, and spectators expected to attend the Games in Dauphin. The unknowns of the pandemic, including when it might end, impacted decision-making required by the Host Society and continued postponements to important planning was no longer possible.
Sport Manitoba and the Dauphin Host Society worked with the City of Dauphin and Provincial Sport Organizations, including Basketball Manitoba, to reach the collective decision to cancel the event and will work with all Games partners in the coming months to prepare for the new Games date. The support of our title sponsor, Manitoba Hydro, as well as our presenting sponsors, Credit Unions of Manitoba, Calm Air, Konica Minolta, Travel Manitoba, and the Manitoba Dental Association, was welcomed in making this decision.
Basketball Manitoba thanks our base of Manitoba Games basketball coaches who were lined up to coach at the event and we hope to see the same base back leading up to the 2024 Manitoba Games.
Dauphin to host 2024 Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro
The City of Dauphin will host the 2024 Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro in the summer of 2024, which is the next Games available to host. The age categories, sports, and technical requirements for these Games are all still in the planning phase and will be confirmed and announced at a later date.
The Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro are staged every two years, alternate between summer and winter sporting events, and is the largest ongoing multi-sport event in the province. Each Games involves upwards of 3,000 athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers, and represents an opportunity for young athletes to compete and prepare to reach national and international sporting stages.
Quotes
"While we are all disappointed that the games will not happen as we hoped, we know this is the right decision and I support the hard work of the host committee and all the volunteers who tried to make it happen. My thoughts are with the athletes who trained so hard to qualify and participate in the games. Ultimately, we know that we have to take the time to allow things to gradually return to normal and our primary concern has to be the safety of all Manitobans. We will come back even stronger and I encourage everyone to join us in Dauphin for the 2024 games."
Cathy Cox, Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage
"The decision to cancel these Games was not an easy one, but it was necessary as we all want the event to be the best and safest it can be for the thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, sponsors and spectators from across the province. To put on the Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro requires extensive planning, and with Dauphin now hosting in 2024, this provides the essential time needed to prepare and put on a fantastic Games. We want to thank everyone for their understanding and patience and we look forward to heading to Dauphin in 2024.”
Janet McMahon, Interim President & CEO, Sport Manitoba
"With our games venues being primarily completed at the time of putting the 2020 Manitoba Summer Games planning on hold to do our part in fighting against Covid-19, our host committee is excited to be given the opportunity to wait in the wings for safer times and we will be ready to showcase the amazing City of Dauphin and our Parkland Region’s recreational assets in 2024!"
Carla Wolfenden & Clayton Swanton, Co-Chairs, 2022 Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Games Host Society
“We thank Sport Manitoba, the local Host Society, and all the volunteers who’ve worked on the preparations for the 2020 Manitoba Summer Games. We too are disappointed the Games, like so many other events, were not able to be held in 2020. But we look forward to hosting the Manitoba Summer Games in Dauphin in 2024!”
Allen Dowhan, Mayor, City of Dauphin
Source: https://www.sportmanitoba.ca/