All the planning put into this year's Mac's AAA midget world tournament in Calgary has been for not.

The tournament was cancelled last night due to the rise in Omicron COVID cases.

The Airdrie Bisons, which includes players from the Cochrane area, was one of the 30 teams scheduled to participate.

"With the rising cases and constantly changing environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel it is not appropriate to executive the tournament as planned," officials stated in an announcement last night. "The decision was made after weighing all options and is based on many factors."

Tournament organizers expressed disappointment over the impact it will have upon players, coaches, and families who were looking forward to the tournament's return after a one-year hiatus.

They are considering several options, including rescheduling the tournament to a later date.

"No matter what happens, we look forward to a bigger and better tournament in the 2022-23 season."