World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen
The 2020 World Archery Field Championships in Yankton, USA, have been postponed until 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was due to take place in September this year at the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Center, the world's largest dedicated archery facility which has previously hosted the world youth and world indoor championships.
World Archery (WA) and Yankton organising committee took the joint decision recently to safeguard the athlete's well-being and due to restrictions still in place because of the pandemic.
WA said in a statement that it decided against a one-year postponement because of a cramped calendar in 2021. Yankton is also scheduled to host next year's World Archery Championships.
The world field event was planned as the primary qualifier for the upcoming World Games in Birmingham. That event was initially scheduled for 2021 but moved to 2022 following the delay of the Olympics.
The world body said a separate qualification event will now be held, likely in the summer of 2021.
International competition has been suspended since March due to the outbreak of the deadly virus.
"It is with huge regret that we delay the field championships but this decision had to be made in the current climate," WA secretary general Tom Dielen said.
“We will now focus on scheduling a successful World Games qualification event in 2021 and look forward to the Games and championships in 2022."
