Canada West fall sports have officially been cancelled.
The organization made the announcement on Monday morning, meaning that there will be no competition in football, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer, women鈥檚 rugby 15s and women鈥檚 field hockey during the first term of the 2020-21 season.
All of the decisions announced Monday were ratified unanimously through a vote of Canada West鈥檚 17 member universities on Friday.
馃摙 CW cancels 2020-21 1st term team competitions
鈥� Canada West (@CanadaWest)
Key takeaways:
- Decision made by CW's 17 members
- 2nd term competition determined by Oct. 8
- Student-athletes retain eligibility, remain eligible for scholarships
- U SPORTS 1st term champs cancelled
馃憠
Additional decisions on whether first term conference championships scheduled for men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 golf, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country, and men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 swimming will be made by July 15th following further exploration around feasibility.
The decision to cancel first term competition in team sports also impacts men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 volleyball, along with men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball. The aforementioned sports traditionally span both the first and second terms, but conference play in these sports will commence no sooner than January 2021, with a decision on the matter being made by Oct. 8.
Whether second term competitions (men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 wrestling, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 track and field, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 curling, and women鈥檚 rugby 7s) are staged will also be made by the same October 8th deadline.
Canada West鈥檚 announcement came on the same day as both Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced their own first term cancellations, which were made independently by each conference鈥檚 Board of Directors.
These cancellations and delays impact B.C. student athletes at UFV, UBC, UBCO, TRU, TWU, UVIC and UNBC.
Steve Tuckwood, director of athletics and campus recreation at the University of the Fraser Valley, stated that in order to mitigate impacts to student-athletes in Canada West sports, UFV will honour athletic financial aid commitments made to them for the 2020-21 season.
鈥淲e understand that today鈥檚 news is devastating for our student-athletes, who have worked hard towards maximizing their potential in preparation for the fall,鈥� Tuckwood said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud of the adaptability they have shown in pursuit of excellence in their academics and their athletic training throughout this COVID-19 physical distancing period, and we empathize with them at this difficult time.
鈥淐anada West has made this decision with the best interests of student-athletes at heart, and we understand the need to give these student athletes certainty as they look ahead and plan for the fall.鈥�
It鈥檚 with heavy hearts that we relay this news.
鈥� UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades)
Canada West has announced that no conference competition (regular season, playoffs & championships) will occur for team sports in the fall semester, due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
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More to come.
