World Junior Championships in Cairo
Suspended
In a surprise move Hugo Hannes, WSF
Championships Committee, Chairman. has announced the cancellation of the
World Junior Championships in Cairo due to security considerations. A
new venue is to be sort for the event which was scheduled to take place
from 25 July – 2 August.
Hannes has issued a statement saying,
”During the last few weeks the WSF has been reviewing and evaluating the
World Junior Championships in Cairo, reading and listening to the
many comments and concerns from our Member National Federations.
“Today
the Board has come to the conclusion that, due to the perception of some
parents about the extreme radicalism in the region – not specific to
Egypt and heightened by the tragic killing of tourists in Tunisia – and
because of the pressure of those parents on their Federation,
it is an inappropriate time for teams of youngsters to
travel to Egypt to compete in the World Junior Championships in Cairo
from 25 July – 4 August.
“So the Championships will be relocated
if possible.
“The decision to cancel the event in
Cairo has been taken with reluctance but, based upon prevailing
circumstances, we feel it is the prudent approach.
“While appreciating and thanking the
Egyptian Squash Federation for all their efforts in preparing for
the event, the WSF hopes that the Egyptian Squash Federation understands
the need to have the event relocated.
“The probable intention of a number of
countries not to send their players and teams would have affected the
World Championships enormously and would not have been good for squash
in general nor for the Egyptian Squash Federation in particular. It is
hoped that WSF will be able to return to the country with another
Championship in the not too distant future.
“At this time WSF is encouraging any
prospective hosts, who may be able to maintain the dates and
participating nation cost levels, to let us know of their interest in
the event.”
The last world championships event to be
held in Egypt was the Wadi Degla World Championships in Cairo in
December 2014.
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