Ice Dragon Boat Festival cancelled as Rideau Canal Skateway remains closed
The ice dragon boats will not be taking to the ice in Ottawa this winter.
Organizers announced the cancellation of the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival, which was scheduled for next weekend on the Rideau Canal Skateway.
Despite cold temperatures in the forecast over the next week, organizers said they had to make the decision to cancel the festival.
"Organizers received official word from the NCC that the races cannot go ahead as planned and are aware that this is the first time in recorded history that the Rideau Canal Skateway won’t be open by Feb. 3," the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival said in a statement.
The sold-out races were scheduled to welcome over 100 teams, with 70 per cent of participations travelling to the capital from across Canada, the United States and around the world.
Organizers looked at holding the races at an alternate location or rescheduling the event, but "quickly exhausted all possible options" to hold the event, the festival said in a statement on Friday.
"The unique size requirements of the race course have eliminated organizers’ ability to relocate the races to another venue and, after consulting with participants, determined that rescheduling to a later date was not viable," the festival said.
"Participants who registered for the ice dragon boat races will receive a full refund."
The Rideau Canal Skateway has not opened for its 53rd season. The latest opening date for the world's largest skateway is Feb. 2, which was in 2002.
The coldest stretch of the winter is in the forecast for Ottawa this week, with temperatures in the minus double digits through Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.