Despite its cancellation – the first in the event’s 20-year history – the 2020 Women’s World Championship is commemorated on a Picture Postage stamp created by several west-coast collectors.
The world’s top women’s ice hockey tournament, the World Championship was originally slated for March 31-April 10 in Nova Scotia; however, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled just three weeks before the puck was set to drop.
“Stamps and covers were printed for an event which didn’t happen,” says collector Peter Lepold, publicity chair of British Columbia’s Kelowna & District Stamp Club. “Well, if you have lemons, make lemonade. Hockey stamp collectors were looking forward to a stamp for the cup, so we designed, and Canada Post printed, a stamp with a COVID overprint.”
Covers were also overprinted with “CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19” and then sold to collectors.
While the U.S. team has taken home the gold medal for the past five years, Canada and the United States are both tied with 19 medals since the tournament began in 1990.