Confirmed: Agility World Championship 2020 in Estonia canceled

A few days ago there was a rumor that the Agility World Championship 2020 in Estonia had to be canceled due to the current global situation with the corona pandemic. These rumors have now been confirmed in an official letter. Until the end, attempts were made to maintain normality and to hold the tournament in September as planned. However, when the situation in Europe deteriorated dramatically in March 2020, the situation was forced to be reassessed. Most of the European countries are closed, border crossings are only possible in special cases, more than half of all flights have been canceled without replacement, ferry connections are not in operation and qualifications and training are currently practically excluded.

The latter reason was one of the motives in the end. Due to the different handling in the countries all over the world, a fair World Championship would not be possible. The first countries in Europe have started to take the first steps towards normality. However, it is uncertain whether an event on the order of a World Championship with participants and thousands of visitors from over 40 nations would already be possible in September. Not to mention the high risk of infection for the volunteers, judges, participants and spectators.

The decision was made in close consultation with the FCI. After the European Open and the Junior Open Agility World Championship, the last official FCI Agility event this year is now canceled. The Agility World Championship in Estonia should have been an anniversary in two ways. It would have been the 25th edition since it started in Montreux in Switzerland. And the Estonian Kennel Club would have given its own 30th anniversary gift by holding the tournament. But they don’t want to give up. That is why a request has been submitted to the FCI to host the Agility World Championship 2021 instead. This was originally already awarded to Russia. This would postpone all future World Championships by one year if the request will be accepted.

Source: https://agility2020.ee/wp-content/uploads/AWC2020_Notice_Public.pdf