For the third time, the Davis Cup brought Team Canada to the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. However, the event could not have been more different from its 2014 and 2016 predecessors.
The tennis-match-turned-shit-show ended in a closed-venue game set against a backdrop of protestors and national backlash.
On Sept. 12 and 13, Team Canada competed against Israel in the World Group 1 tie despite nationwide demands to cancel the event due to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Athletes, community members and activist groups all called for the event’s cancellation, but Halifax and Tennis Canada went ahead regardless.
On Sept. 8, four days before the event, Tennis Canada announced that the matches would be closed to fans and media, citing “escalating safety concerns.”
It’s understandable that the teams wanted to prioritize player safety, but why was media denied access? Closing the event to the public didn’t make anyone forget it was happening. Every decision Team Canada and Halifax regional council made to escape the hot seat only led to further criticism.
Tennis Canada acted as if the protestors were the problem — as if this was just about tennis. In their announcement closing the game to fans, they said their decision was “forced” and “very disappointing,” implying the protests themselves are the reason for the closed venue, rather than an outcome of their insensitive decision-making.
Although Tennis Canada claims their organizational goal is to “champion positive tennis experiences,” they haven’t aced it this time.
The city also pulled $50,000 in funding prior to the event, saying it will no longer bring tourism and economic benefits to Halifax, a city spokesperson told CBC.
Unfortunately for regional council, pulling funding did not sway public opinion or erase their initial decision to support the event. Halifax community members protested throughout the city to voice their discontent regardless.
A grim comparison can be made between the event’s once projected $2.2 million economic impact for the city and the 2.2 million Palestinians living in Gaza before the genocide. That number is now closer to 2.1 million. Thousands have been displaced, and more than 64,000 Palestinians have been murdered — roughly six times the capacity of the Halifax arena. No sporting event can rectify the appalling number of Palestinian deaths, and a lack of tourism shouldn’t be the reason Halifax pulled its funding from the tie.
Supporting colonialism abroad while ignoring it at home
At the same municipal committee meeting where members recommended that Tennis Canada receive funding for the event, they denied funding to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation for an event honouring residential school survivors. The planned event allows thousands of students to hear from residential school survivors and watch performances from Indigenous artists.
Committee members denied the $75,000 grant request, saying “the application does not meet the eligibility guidelines.”
During the same advisory meeting, the committee recommended increased funding for hockey and taekwondo tournaments.
Maybe the city can put its saved dollars toward truth and reconciliation with our Indigenous communities.
Our city seriously needs to get their priorities straight.
