Canada Pulls Out Of World University Games, Will Attend Commonwealth Games

Swimming Canada has announced that they will not be sending an official delegation to the 2021 FISU World University Games (WUGSs) in Chengdu, China. The Games are set to take place from June 26 to July 7, 2022.

The news that Canada won’t be sending an official team to WUGs comes days after the United States made the same call.  Swimming Canada High-Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson cited COVID-19 as the reason for the nation’s withdrawal;

“The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact events around the world. Having considered the health and safety issues, and the requirements to attend this Games, we feel there is no alternative but to withdraw” said Atkinson.

Atkinson went on to say that Canada is still planning on pursuing the World Junior Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, which are scheduled both to take place in the summer of 2022.

According to the most recent data from the World Health Organization, both Russia and the United Kingdom have reported significantly higher rates of COVID-19 in the past week. Russia has reported 879,947 cases in the last 7 days, the UK 622,803 while China has reported 1,647. Notably, however, experts have reported that China is likely underreporting its case counts and death rates.

The statement from the federation didn’t specify whether they will be taking a similar approach to the United States. In the USA, the United States International University Sports Federation has sent out invites to top-ranked college teams to send the American citizens on their team under the banner of “USA Team.”

If no schools accept the invitation, USA Team has stated that they will reach out to other collegiate teams or potential eligible club teams.

There are several Canadian collegiate swimmers who would be competitive at WUGs including Tokyo Olympians Gabe Mastromatteo (University of Toronto), Rebecca Smith (University of Calgary), Emma O’Croinin (University of British Columbia). Additionally, there are several Canadian swimmers within the NCAA who would be eligible for a spot like Olympic, World, and NCAA Champion Maggie MacNeil of Michigan, Olympic medalist Taylor Ruck at Stanford, and USC backstroker Jade Hannah.

Swimmers aren’t required to race for their college teams to be eligible for the World University Games.