Athletics Australia and the Government of Western Australia have withdrawn their expression of interest to host the 2016 IAAF World Junior Championships.
“After much deliberation and consultation with our partners at Tourism Western Australia, we regrettably agreed to withdraw our candidacy to bid for hosting rights for the IAAF World Junior Championships,” Phil Jones, Athletics Australia Chief Executive Officer, said.
“This decision has not been taken lightly, but reflects the challenges faced with regards to the heavily condensed timeframe and the significant new, support infrastructure required to augment the Western Australia Athletics Stadium within a matter of months.”
“Perth’s track record in hosting successful, global events makes the hosting of a major competition like the IAAF World Junior Championships a realistic option in the future. Our aspirations to welcome the global athletics family to Western Australia remain and we look forward to successfully bidding for and hosting major IAAF competitions in the near term,” Gwyn Dolphin, Tourism WA Executive Director – Events, said.
“We thank Athletics Australia and the IAAF for their collaboration with us during this process and look forward to a deepening our partnership in the years to come.”
Perth will remain a hub for athletics next year, with the Australian Junior Athletics Championships and the World Masters Athletics Championships descending on the city. They will also welcome the Perth Track Classic, one of eight Australian Athletics Tour events.
The relocation of the 2016 IAAF World Junior Championships, and the 2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships, follows the suspension of the All-Russian Athletics Federation and the cancellation of their hosting rights for these two events next year.
Bydgoszcz (POL) and a to-be-confirmed city in India remain as candidates for the IAAF World Junior Championships, with a formal announcement of the winning city to follow on 7 January 2016.
