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The Junior World Championships in Canada will start today with the representative selections of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the federal derby. Even before the initial throw-in, however, the organizers face unexpected complications.
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On the eve of the start of the tournament, thousands of tickets for various championship matches were available to fans. The problem is that hockey fans are simply not interested in them. According to Professor Dan Mason, from the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation at the University of Alberta, international tournaments are very popular in Canada and spectators will not miss the opportunity to see the “Maple Leaves” in action on their way to victory.
Spectators’ enthusiasm is reflected in the purchase of ticket packages that include other matches in addition to home matches. “Matches such as Latvia vs. Slovakia should also be sold out because if you want to get tickets for the Canada game, you have to buy a package that includes some of the other games.” stated for CBC.
According to information from the Canadian portal, approximately 1,500 tickets for Tuesday’s match between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and around 1,300 tickets for Canada’s first duel against Latvia were available on Monday.
Even the final match was not sold out, for which 1,500 seats remained. Hundreds of tickets are waiting for their owners for other matches of the tournament. “The fact that there are still tickets available for Canada suggests that demand is much lower than it usually is for this type of event.”
Professor Dan Mason sees the date of the replacement championship as one of the reasons for the decline in interest. Over the last decades, the tournament of young talents during the Christmas holidays has become a tradition. In addition, other interests attract people in the summer.
“At this time of year, people probably already had plans to go to the lake, to the mountains, or to do something related to summer. I don’t think they’re willing to give up those plans and watch hockey.”
The promotion of the tournament, according to Professor Dan Mason, was not even helped by the Canadian junior team’s sex scandal in 2018. “I think there were a few undecided fans who weren’t sure if they were going or not. This could be the reason why they decided not to come after all.”
See also how Juraj Slafkovský and Filip Mešár entertained in a joint interview:
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