WLA falls victim to COVID-19
Shamrocks’ Mann Cup chase ends before it begins as lacrosse season cancelled
For the first time in seven decades, Victoria sporting summers will not be imbued in green and white.
The Western Lacrosse Association season was cancelled Tuesday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scrubbing the 2020 campaigns for the Victoria Shamrocks, Nanaimo Timbermen and five Lower Mainland teams.
Emerging star Brad McCulley was looking forward this summer to playing for the team he grew up idolizing. The former Victoria Junior Shamrocks star was taken in the first round of the 2019 WLA draft by Langley and the rookie led the Thunder in scoring last season before a blockbuster offseason trade brought him back to his hometown Shamrocks.
“I was really excited for the season and this is unfortunate,” said McCulley.
“It sucks and we’ll just get ready for next year. But this is far bigger than lacrosse. We’re making a small sacrifice for the greater goals of health and safety.”
Coaches teach lacrosse players to roll off cross-checks, which are legal in the sport. McCulley has also learned to roll off the many checks administered by the pandemic. He graduated this month from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, where he won two field-lacrosse conference championships with the Colonials and qualified for two NCAA Div. 1 tournaments.
School was completed online with in-person graduation cancelled because of the pandemic
“We missed the cap and gown and walk across the stage but we got together on Zoom and made it special in our own way,” he said.
At the other end of the Shamrocks career arc is team captain Matt Yager. At 32, every season is precious.
“Who knows how many seasons are left? With the body and injuries, at this point in my career I take it year-by-year, but I will come back next season” he said.
“We were prepared for this and expecting it. But it really sinks in when it becomes official. I will get my first taste of summer in a long time.”
The provincial health officer’s indefinite ban on gatherings of more than 50 people is the main reason for the season cancellation. The WLA is gate driven in terms of revenue. So it could not afford to play without fans, in contrast with major-pro sports leagues like the Bundesliga or NHL, which have other sources of revenue.
“Our players are rarin’ to go. But it became increasingly clear we were left with no other choice but to cancel the season,” said Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch.
“The younger players will have many more chances. But for veterans like Rhys Duch and Matt Yager, it’s a moment of pause. It’s a lost year they will never get back.”
The Shamrocks would have opened the 71st season in franchise history Friday night against the Burnaby Lakers at The Q Centre.
“This unprecedented cancellation reflects the gravity of the situation the world currently faces,” said WLA commissioner Paul Dal Monte.
“While we know this is a huge disappointment for everyone involved in lacrosse — all the players, coaches and fans — our primary responsibility is the health and safety of the competitors, volunteers and fans.”
The Shamrocks concluded their 70th season last September losing to the three-time champion Peterborough Lakers of Ontario in five games in the best-of-seven 2019 Mann Cup national Senior A final. The 2020 Ontario Major Series Lacrosse season was also cancelled Tuesday.
The Mann Cup will not be presented for the first time since the modern era of lacrosse began in 1926. The next version is scheduled to take place in 2021 with the WLA champion visiting the home of the Ontario champion.
The Shamrocks will again be in the hunt, Welch vowed.
“This is not the end. We’re just on hold. I want to assure all our fans and supporters the Shamocks will be returning [for future seasons],” said the Victoria GM.
The announcement is the latest in a long list of cancelled or postponed Island sporting events. The Victoria HarbourCats baseball season in the West Coast League has been cancelled. The start of the Pacific FC season in the professional soccer Canadian Premier League has been postponed, as has the Western Speedway season.
The Canadian women’s rugby team was to have hosted the cancelled Canada Sevens this month at Westhills Stadium as part of its Olympic preparation. The Canada men’s soccer games against Trinidad and Tobago, considered key for 2022 World Cup Qatar qualifying in CONCACAF and scheduled for March at Westhills Stadium, were cancelled.
Cancellation of the 2020 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, caused the scrubbing of the Canadian Little League championship in for August at Layritz Park.
The annual Mackenzie TourPGA Tour Canada DCBank Open, slated for June 4-7 at Uplands Golf Club, has been postponed. The Tokyo Olympic basketball qualifying tournament, originally scheduled for June 23-28 at the Memorial Centre, has been rescheduled to June 29-July 4, 2021, to coincide with the new Olympic starting date of July 23, 2021.