2022 Native Hockey Tournament cancelled

The Yukon First Nations Hockey Association board of directors announced the cancellation of the 2022 Yukon Native Hockey Tournament on Dec. 27, 2021.

Scheduled for March 2022 in Whitehorse, the tournament has not been held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As many of the tournament’s participants and fans come from across the Yukon and Western Canada, the decision to cancel was made “in the interest of safeguarding the health and well-being of Yukon’s communities given the ongoing pandemic and uncertainty posed by new variants circulating within the territory” according to the press release.

“… (Our) board felt that cancelling the tournament (was) the best option given the continued uncertainty,” Michelle Dawson-Beattie, YFNHA president, said. “Although this is a difficult call to make, our focus was on protecting our communities and especially our elders.”