Due to fears of spreading COVID-19, all levels of sport have been impacted–experiencing a shutdown far worse than anything seen in recent history.
Professional leagues around the world, as well as the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, have canceled or suspended play until further notice to reduce the transmission of the disease and keep the players, coaches, fans and staff safe.
In Canada, the same precautions have been made at the university level as U Sports has implemented some of their own adjustments, all of which affect the present and future state of varsity sport across the country.
Cancellation of national championships
Out of U Sports’ 18 national championships, 14 had national title winners–leaving the men’s and women’s hockey championships as well as the men’s and women’s volleyball championships without victors.
The men’s and women’s volleyball championships were scheduled from March 13-15 in Manitoba and Alberta respectively. On March 12, U Sports made an initial announcement that said both tournaments would be played with no fans in attendance. The next day saw the official cancellation of the tournaments.
Over the same weekend, the men’s and women’s hockey championships were to be played in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. However, unlike the volleyball tournaments, both were immediately canceled following Hockey Canada’s call to cancel all activities across the country.
“As a proud partner of Hockey Canada, we understand how difficult a decision this was to make,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, U Sports chief sport officer, in a press release.
“We understand the disappointment felt by our student-athletes, coaches, officials and wonderful hosts however the decision was made with the best interest of all participants in mind.”
Though no Carleton varsity teams were vying for the titles, multiple Ravens coaches agreed that canceling the remaining U Sports tournaments was the right decision.
“When doctors and the government recommend stopping playing, we stop playing. The health of our athletes is more important than sports,” said men’s hockey coach Shaun Van Allen whose team fell short of a spot at the national championship after a shock upset by the Concordia Stringers in the OUA playoffs.
“It’s unfortunate that the U-Cup got canceled because all the teams worked very hard to get there, but like I said before, the health of our athletes is more important. We must get the virus under control before we resume playing,” Van Allen added.
For men’s basketball coach Taffe Charles, whose team was crowned national champions for the 15th time just one week before the announcements, this was a necessary move.
“This is something people are taking seriously around the world. We are trying to get ahead of the virus by canceling sports and preventing the spread of the virus in large groups,” added Charles.
“I think we are facing something unprecedented locally and globally, we must prioritize our athletes’ health first over the competition,” said Kwesi Loney, director of soccer operations.
“It was the right call. It’s very unfortunate for the teams entering the playoffs … but we must put our health first.”
Training sessions put on hold
Carleton Athletics has also followed suit, shutting down their facilities on March 16 to keep all students, athletes, and staff safe. This means offseason workouts for all varsity sports will be affected.
Despite some initial complications, Carleton coaches trust their players to continue their training at home.
“Nothing is open, so kids who red-shirted and need practice can’t get it. But it’s not about one athlete who needs training, it’s about the health of all athletes and coaches,” said Charles.
“The students can still train at home, I trust them to be creative in their training methods away from school,” said Van Allen.
“It does put training on hold. But training hours would be going down for exam season anyway, so it’s not a huge change,” said Loney. “We must put the health of athletes first. Our guys can still do their own exercises at home.”
A step back in recruitment
Looking ahead to the 2020-21 season, the recruitment process has also been affected by COVID-19. On March 16, U Sports issued a “three-week moratorium on all in-person recruiting in the 12 U Sports-sanctioned sports, effective immediately.”
According to the press release on Twitter, this includes “all in-person recruiting visits (on- or off campus official or unofficial visits) as well as the scheduling and rescheduling of any future in-person recruiting; no travel arrangements can be made with prospective student-athletes during the moratorium.”
As a result, this forces coaches to change how they recruit players and will prevent them from holding open tryouts or attending skills combines. While digital elements like videos and player statistics can help, not seeing a player in person becomes an added challenge.
“The process will change for everyone. I can’t attend the national prep tournament at the end of March,” said Charles.
“A lot goes on through text and emails but meeting face to face is a serious way to tell if a kid is committing.”
At the moment, communication with prospective athletes can continue via text, phone call, and email but U Sports will determine whether to extend the restrictions in the next few weeks.
“We can still watch videos of games and talk to kids on the phone or through social media. Not a whole lot has changed right now. In a month, it could change, that is when kids come in for open tryouts and meetings,” said Van Allen.
Feature image by Tim Austen.
