China Cancels International Sports Through End of Year; Decision Axes FINA World Cup Stop

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that China will not play host to any international sports competitions through the end of the year, except for events connected to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and its neighboring city of Zhangjiakou. The decision was made to neutralize the possibility of COVID-19 cases being transmitted by visiting athletes, and others associated with the scheduled sporting events.

The decision was handed down by the Chinese General Administration of Sports and affects events across a variety of sports. For swimming, the ruling means that the FINA World Cup stop in Jinan will not be conducted. The Jinan leg of the World Cup was scheduled for September 10 and was to be the second stop behind the opener in Singapore, which is scheduled for September 4.

By canceling international events to be held within its boundaries, China dealt a big blow to the tennis and golf schedules. According to the Associated Press, six WTA and four ATP tennis events were scheduled while the PGA and LPGA tours were to hold golf tournaments. Cycling and Formula One auto racing also had events scheduled.

China’s call to halt international sporting events through the end of the year comes a day after the Ivy League announced that it was postponing its fall sports until at least January 1, 2021, with the possibility of those sports being played in the spring.

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