Hundreds of eager soldiers will not be storming Juno Beach at Prairie Storm Paintball this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of the annual D-Day event.
Joe Dueck, owner of Joe’s Place Youth Centre, and Levi Dombowsky, owner of Prairie Storm Paintball, issued a news release recently saying they had to cancel the fun gathering due to all the restrictions related to the pandemic. They had expected to hold the massive paintball get-together on Saturday, Sept. 19, but instead, will hold a smaller-scale event on that day.
“It is with heavy hearts that we make this announcement. Most of you probably assumed this was the case since big events across our nation have been cancelled due to COVID; however, we still needed to make the ‘official announcement,’ they said. “Due to current regulations, we just could not have 250-plus players from across Western Canada gather during this time, so we are now working to ensure the 2021 event will be bigger and better than ever.
“We are still nailing down the details of the alternate event on Sept. 19, however, due to current regulations, we will have to restrict the number of players on the field and we will not be able to have out-of-province players participate. We are hoping that you will all try to support your local paintball fields during this time.”
Dueck and Dombowsky thanked all players, sponsors and volunteers who have helped make the D-Day: Juno Beach event a success every year. The 2019 event raised $16,000, which went to charitable organization Joe’s Place Youth Centre to support its efforts to help youths in Moose Jaw.
