OREANDA-NEWS. The Women's Curling World Cup, which was scheduled to take place from March 19 to 28 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, has been canceled due to the risks associated with COVID-19. The World Curling Federation (WCF) made this decision in accordance with the instructions of the Swiss Local Health Authority. The organizers of the tournament and the Swiss curling association proposed to develop a set of security protocols so that the tournament could still pass, but the authorities of the country did not accept the proposal.

According to the WCF press service, the interested parties are currently holding consultations to determine the order of completion of the Olympic qualification. The possibility of postponing the World Cup or replacing it with a separate qualifying tournament is being considered.

According to WFC President Kate Caithness, staff and local organizers have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of all athletes, officials, staff and volunteers. «We are extremely disappointed, that the athletes who worked so hard to compete for the world title will not have such an opportunity for the second year in a row due to the cancellation of the competition», she said.

The last tournament in 2019 was won by the Swiss national team. Sweden is in second place, and the Republic of Korea is in third. The team from Japan took the fourth place, and the Russian team took the fifth.