Ottawa sports teams cancelling U.S. tournaments over safety fears

For Teri-Lynne Belanger, no sports competition is worth risking the safety of her athletes. That's why her association, the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA), and several other organizations across the city are cancelling plans to travel to the United States for sports tournaments. Belanger says the decision was in part due to an executive order U.

S. President Donald Trump signed following his inauguration on Jan. 20, stating that the U.



S. will only recognize two genders . When Joe Biden was in office, he implemented a range of policies aimed at protecting rights for 2SLGBTQ+ people.

Trump quickly rolled back at least a dozen after taking office. "Travelling down to somewhere where you're not able to be who you are, and be able to display your identity, and declare that without fear is not something that we felt was a safe place for [the athletes] to be," said Belanger, program manager of OCUA's junior competitive program. Each May, over 100 athletes from her program typically travel to the U.

S. to play in a disc tournament, and have every year since 2014. As the political upheaval continues south of the border, including Trump introducing tariffs and threatening Canada with annexation, Belanger said her organization decided to cancel their travel plans two weeks ago.

"Safety is the number one priority, but when you also have a country that is constantly threatening your sovereignty, I think that that becomes very difficult for us to be able to financially support that country," she said. Parent Andrew Anderson says he advocated withdrawing from the tournament, as his daughter has friends in the program who are non-binary. "My daughter was on board with 'lets not go,'" he said.

"She's been very vocal in thinking it's the wrong thing to do right now." Andrew Anderson's daughter plays in the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association and says she advocated boycotting the tournament. (Emma Weller/CBC) Other associations boycotting The Ottawa Valley Roller Derby (OVRD) says they too have abandoned plans to compete in the U.

S., citing safety concerns for athletes. "Our league is very queer, very trans, and with the executive order of the U.

S. stating the two gender rule, that doesn't account for a lot of our membership," said Angela Ives Thurston, OVRD's director of external communications. She says travelling to the United States in the current environment would be too dangerous for their athletes.

"These transphobic ideologies put everyone at risk," Ives Thurston said. "We've seen the warning signs of this for years and it's not something that is like foreign to Canada. We're absolutely seeing the rise in .

.. blatant transphobic hate and discrimination," she added.

The Nepean Minor Hockey Association will also not approve travel permit requests for tournaments in the U.S. until further notice, it told CBC in a statement.

"This measure will help us to protect the safety and privacy of our members, including those who are in Canada on temporary status. It also recognizes the volatility of the economy and fluctuating value of the Canadian dollar, by mitigating affordability risks to our members," the statement read. As for next season, the association says it will follow guidance from Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO).

On Mar. 26, HEO told CBC they are "monitoring the situation and will be having ongoing internal discussions." Angela Ives Thurston with the Ottawa Valley Roller Derby says her league have opted to not travel to the U.

S. for competitions as she says it would put many of their members at risk. (Submitted by Angela Ives Thurston ) U.

S. organizers 'incredibly supportive' Belanger says she's surprised and disappointed that cancellations to compete in the U.S.

are not more widespread. Of 19 ultimate frisbee programs across the county which typically attend, she says only one other has opted not to travel to the May tournament. "At first we thought it would be every Canadian team, we'd do whatever all the Canadian teams wanted, but as we continue to have the discussions, we decided that we needed to make the hard decisions, even when that means that we're going to lose something," Belanger said.

When informing the U.S. organizers, Belanger said they were "incredibly supportive and they completely understood," and refunded their money.

As for what's next, the ultimate and roller derby associations say they're now looking to plan alternative events here in Canada. "It won't be the same, but that's OK. Sometimes change is good," Belanger said.

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