3 days ago
Air quality warnings force postponement of provincial track and field championships
Air quality concerns halted all scheduled events Thursday for the 2025 high school provincial track and field championships. Wildfires in the province have made conditions unsafe and the events were postponed with the athletes safety in mind.
The Manitoba High School Athletics Association pushed Thursday's track and field events to Friday with hopes that air quality will improve by then.
Events rescheduled include junior and senior boys and girls' pentathlon events, the 100- and 400-metre heats, the medley relay and the 1500-metre heats on the track side of the championships. On the field side, the javelin, long and short jump and shot put were delayed until Friday.
Air quality has made outdoor sports difficult for Winnipeg-based athletes since last Friday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers pre-season game against the Roughriders in Regina was delayed an hour until air quality improved from wildfires burning in Saskatchewan. And, on Wednesday, Bombers practice was forced inside because of deteriorating air quality conditions.
The Winnipeg Valour also had the start to their match against Pacific FC Sunday delayed by two-and-a-half-hours at Princess Auto Stadium because of wildfire smoke.
