TORONTO, ON – A Canadian team will not be at the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games in China this summer.
U SPORTS announced on Friday that they would not send a Canadian delegation to the two years delayed summer games, the first FISU Summer Games since the Napoli 2019 event.
“U SPORTS Canada has made the difficult decision to withdraw its participation from the upcoming 2023 FISU Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China,” U SPORTS said in a statement.
“U SPORTS Canada remained committed to international participation and strongly supports FISU events.”
The organization states that concerns regarding travel and health risks to Canadaian student-athletes and delegation members were the final factors in the decision not to send a Canadian team.
Previously, Athletics Canada and Swimming Canada stepped back from sending a Canadian athletics team to the Games, citing similar reasons and the exceptional cost athletes would have had to undertake.
At the most recent FISU Games, the winter edition of Lake Placid 2023, Canada won 13 medals, their second-best-ever performance at the winter event, including two gold medals in hockey for the first time since Trentino 2013.