St. Lucia Withdraws as Host of 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games

The island nation of St. Lucia has withdrawn as the host of the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games.

The decision was announced by the country’s prime minister Kenny Anthony in a video message on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Games General Assembly on Wednesday, removing the hosts that were named nearly three years ago.

St. Lucia is the latest in what has become an alarming trend of withdraws of hosting bids for major international sporting events, including recently three FINA Swimming World Championships that have had to be rehosted.

The country cited financial concerns, and specifically concerns over the availability of a stadium to host athletics (track & field). This is a unique situation as the country’s only certified track, the George Odlum Stadium in Castries, has been converted into a temporary medical facility after a first at a major hospital. Repairs at the hospital will not be completed until 2016, and St. Lucia had doubts that the reconversion of the stadium to an athletics facility would be completed in time for the Commonwealth Youth Games.

In the immediate aftermath, Canada and Scotland have volunteered their services as replacement hosts. Scotland hosted the very first Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh and also hosted the 2014 regular Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Canada has never hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games and last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1994.

The Commonwealth Youth Games are a scaled-back version of the senior event, and designated for athletes aged between 14 and 18 at the end of the calendar year. The event attracts approximately 1000 competitors from the 71 member nations, but have many fewer sports: the 2011, 2015, and 2017 events each are only scheduled to host 7, as compared to the newly-affirmed core of 16 sports for the senior Commonwealth Games. This puts the events, which include swimming, and required facilities on a much smaller scale.

No regular interval has been established for the event yet, though they’ve taken place every 2-to-4 years. The last edition was held in 2011 on the Isle of Man, and this year’s event will be held in Apia, Samoa beginning this weekend. Apia was the only bidder for the 2015 event.