The Kilrich Yukon Native Hockey Tournament is being cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
The annual tournament usually takes place in March in Whitehorse, and is the largest native hockey tournament in the North and attracts First Nation hockey players from the territories, British Columbia and Alberta.
This year the tournament was set to take place from March 25 to 28.
The board made the decision to cancel the tournament on Dec. 27 due to uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic and the Omicron variant.
The majority of tournament participants and fans reside in rural communities, according to the board.
“The continued pandemic and the threat posed by the variants that are circulating have left so many variables outside of our control that our Board felt that cancelling the tournament was the best option given the continued uncertainty,” said Yukon First Nation Hockey Association president Michelle Dawson-Beattie.
“Although this is a difficult call to make, our focus was on protecting our communities and especially our Elders,” she said.
The Yukon First Nation Hockey Association was created in 1973. The 2020, 2021 and now 2022 events have all been cancelled due to the pandemic.
Contact Haley Ritchie at haley.ritchie@yukon-news.com
