Air quality warnings impacting Manitoba amateur, professional athletes alike
This year's Manitoba High School Athletic Association Provincial Track and Field Championships have been cancelled due to ongoing air quality concerns caused by wildfires in the province, making conditions unsafe.
More than 1,500 athletes from grades 9 through 12 were set to compete in the three-day competition planned for June 5–7 at University Stadium on the University of Manitoba campus.
The MHSAA had originally postponed all scheduled events on Thursday to Friday, hoping air quality would improve, but updated at 6:15 a.m. today that the event would be cancelled entirely.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
This is the first time the Manitoba Provincial Track and Field Championships have been cancelled over unsafe air quality levels from wildfire smoke.
The MHSAA air quality protocol states, 'Poor air quality can impact the health and performance of outdoor sport participants, including athletes, coaches and sports officials. The MHSAA recognizes the potential short and long-term health effects of engaging in physical activity outdoors when the air quality is poor, and is fully committed to reducing the risk posed to outdoor sport participants to help contribute to safer outdoor activities and events.'
Chad Falk, the executive director of the MHSAA, said that, unfortunately, rescheduling is not an option.
'The nature of the event and how many athletes, the unique venue, access to officials, access to venues, kids travelling from all over the province, it was just impossible to look at finding a way to reschedule it,' said Falk. 'Especially with time constraints heading into the end of June with exams, all those types of things.'
The only other times the MHSAA track and field provincials were outright cancelled were during COVID years in 2020 and 2021. While there have been previous schedule changes and event condensing due to weather, such as severe rain or thunderstorms, there has never been a cancellation caused by smoke.
'I think this is definitely going to become a reality for us for outdoor sports moving forward,' said Falk.
The MHSAA uses real-time data from PurpleAir sensors, which are spread across North America, to monitor air quality, including two located at Princess Auto Stadium. Data from Environment Canada and recommendations from Health Canada are also consulted.
If the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) reaches eight or higher at any point during an event, the MHSAA pauses competition.
'It's heartbreaking,' said Falk. 'Especially for the Grade 12s, this was their finale to high school sport… It's always a great wind up, in a sense, of a school year, celebration of high school sport, and it's sad not to see it move forward.'
Other Winnipeg outdoor sports have been affected by wildfire smoke, including last week's Winnipeg Blue Bombers pre-season game against the Roughriders in Regina, which was delayed by an hour until air quality improved due to wildfires burning in Saskatchewan.
And on Wednesday, Bombers practice was forced indoors to the WSF South building due to the poor air quality caused by the Manitoba wildfires.
Next door at Princess Auto Stadium, Valour FC's 11 a.m. kickoff against Vancouver FC was pushed back 30 minutes as the AQHI was hovering around 12. On Sunday, Valour had a match that was pushed back two-and-a-half hours for the same reason.
It's a situation the Valour and the Bombers may very well face this season if the issue persists.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice was forced indoors to the WSF South building due to the poor air quality caused by the Manitoba wildfires.
For the Bombers, under CFL regulations if the AQHI reaches eight or above using Environment Canada metrics during warmups or games, the onsite League Representative will enact the league's air quality procedure, which includes automatically stopping the game and sending teams to their dressing rooms.
'We've come up with some pretty good protocols and we observe it well,' said Bombers long snapper Mike Benson on Wednesday, a CFLPA representative.
'I don't think we get distracted by it at all. We just know we have to get our work done no matter where we are. It's a relatively new protocol, it's only been around for a couple of years.'
'We're always tinkering with it to find the best solution, the fastest results, so we're not debating on the phone up to a minute before the game. But unfortunately, just like any kind of weatherman, you can't predict what's going to go on. All we can do is adapt, persevere and be OK with it as a team.'
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes have had no interruptions, playing yesterday at Blue Cross Park despite an air quality warning issued by Environment Canada and an AQHI index of 10 at game time, which began at 6:30 p.m. The Fish ended up losing the three-game series and the series finale against the Kane County Cougars 1-2.
There is currently no air quality regulations in place for the Goldeyes, however, they do offer ticket exchanges for people who can't attend games due to health conditions.
The Fish are scheduled to open their next homestand tonight against the Kansas City Monarchs with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.
— with files from Taylor Allen
zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca
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