It’s a sad day for hockey fans in London and Kitchener after a joint bid from both cities failed to win hosting duties for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
The tournament will instead be played in Halifax and Moncton.
It was originally scheduled to be hosted in Russia, but was moved to Canada due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Zanth Jarvis, the director of sport tourism for Tourism London, said in a statement on Thursday that while the city is disappointed with the news, that won’t stop London from trying again.
“London is the strongest junior hockey community in the country and would no doubt make a phenomenal host city,” Jarvis said.
“We won’t rest in our pursuit of bringing the World Juniors to London and look forward to working with Hockey Canada to bid again in the future.”
A similar statement was shared by Explore Waterloo Region’s director of sport hosting Allister Scorgie, who described London as “an incredible partner to work with.”
“We genuinely believe that our two extremely strong hockey communities can and should host the World Juniors in the future.,” Scorgie added.
The world juniors run from Dec. 26, 2022, to Jan. 6, 2023.