The International Canoe Federation has postponed its Congress ©Getty Images

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has postponed its Congress in light of the coronavirus pandemic, but its Board hopes to stage international events before the end of 2020.

The body's 2020 Congress was scheduled to take place in Manila in the Philippines in December, but has been pushed back to March or April 2021 after a vote from the ICF Board.

However, at the latest Board meeting it was heard that organisers of Canoe Slalom World Cup events in Tacen in Slovenia and Pau in France are continuing preparations.

A canoe sprint and paracanoe event in Szeged in Hungary, as well as the ICF Wildwater World Cup in La Seu in Spain, is also still scheduled to go ahead.

These competitions are all scheduled to run between late September and November.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICF has had to cancel or postpone numerous events and more joined that list at the Board meeting.

The International Canoe Federation is hopeful that two Canoe Slalom World Cup events can go ahead later this year ©Getty Images
The International Canoe Federation is hopeful that two Canoe Slalom World Cup events can go ahead later this year ©Getty Images

The 2020 ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in Portugal, the Dragon Boat World Championships in India and next year's Under-23 and Junior Canoe Slalom World Championships in New Zealand have all been cancelled.

The ICF Board agreed it would aim to stage some competitions this year, but also accepted the health and safety of athletes and officials is still its first priority.

The ICF also reported that it "remains in a strong position financially, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the forced cancellation of most of the 2020 calendar"- but that "several cost-saving initiatives have been implemented in case the COVID-19 situation is prolonged".

A spokesperson for the ICF previously admitted to insidethegames that the governing body will suffer a loss this year, but declined to reveal the exact amount.