Athletes, communities disappointed with decision to postpone Ontario Winter Games in Renfrew County

The largest event set for Renfrew County in 2022 has now been postponed to next year due to the pandemic.

The 2022 Ontario Winter Games were scheduled to take place Feb. 24-26 and March 3-6 in 10 different communities throughout Renfrew County and Ottawa, featuring 26 events.

"We thought that it wasn't going to be safe," Peter Emon, Chair of the 2022 Ontario Winter Games, told CTV News. "We couldn't guarantee the safety as we have in the past."

It's a major economic blow to the region, as organizers estimated the games would bring in at least $6-million.

"Our community was looking forward to 6,000 people and spectators here coming through our community, and 3,500 participants," says Emon.

For 15-year-old Ottawa-based curler Mason Kemp, it would have been an opportunity to show off months of hard work - but that's now been dashed away.

"A lot of my family is here in Ottawa so it was really nice that it was close enough that it was a drive a lot of my family could make so they could get a chance to see how I curl," said Kemp.

There were considerations to limit spectator attendance at the events like some professional sports leagues have done, but organizers determined the mass numbers of athletes and officials was too large, which will ultimately leave venues empty come Feb. 24.

Kemp, who curls for Team Collins out of the Rideau Curling Club, says the journey to qualify for the games begins all over again now.

"It's definitely a whole other mountain to climb," says Kemp. "You can never really expect how teams will improve, especially within a year alone. Even months can change a team completely."

It's similar disappointment for 17-year-old curler Emily Rest, whose team in Ottawa played together for the first time this season.

"I think we were just all really excited to just get on the ice and we were practicing," Rest tells CTV News Ottawa. "I think we all wanted to see how far we could go, and then we qualified for the Ontario Winter Games."

With indoor sports facilities shuttered with the latest restrictions, it's an early end to the season for Rest and her team.

"I'm pretty sad because it's an early end, it's only January," says Rest. "But I'm hoping that we can at least get on the ice together again."

Emon says the county is not losing anything with the games being pushed to 2023, and allows for more details to be polished.

"It is a disappointment for us but it is a public safety issue."