The women's ski jumping World Cup round scheduled for Jan. 15-17 at the Zao resort in northeastern Japan's Yamagata Prefecture will be canceled because of difficulties arising from the novel coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter said Saturday.
Without a loosening of Japan's current strict entry conditions for foreigners, aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, the event's executive committee believes it will be too hard to hold the event involving a large number of athletes and officials from overseas.
The organizers informed the International Ski Federation and Ski Association of Japan on Tuesday via an online conference of their decision to cancel the event.
In recent years, the event has attracted around 40 athletes from abroad. This year's meet was scheduled to have two individual competitions and one team jump.
Sapporo is scheduled to host a women's ski jumping World Cup meet on Jan. 9, while Semboku in northeastern Japan's Akita Prefecture is due to hold a men's freestyle skiing and moguls World Cup round on March 6-7, but the feasibility of both meets is also in doubt.