Student athletes stuck in pandemic holding pattern
WATERLOO — Tre Ford is training as hard as ever, preparing for what is likely his final season of university football.
Thing is, the Waterloo Warriors’ elite quarterback, arguably the best at his position in program history, is in the dark about whether the Ontario University Athletics football campaign is even going to happen.
That will depend on recommendations from public health officials and a forthcoming decision from the OUA’s board of directors that will be based on input from 20 member institutions in this province. Talks with athletic associations in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Western Canada and U Sports, the national ruling body, will also be part of the decision-making process.
Until a verdict is issued, student athletes at the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and across the country are in wait-and-see mode because of the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You always want to be ready, to be prepared, so I’m practising now and getting ready for the season. And if there’s not a season, I’m getting ready for the one after that,” said Ford, a recreation and leisure student from Niagara Falls.
“For me, this is supposed to be my biggest year because (professional) scouts are going to be coming to these games and I really have to perform. And this is my last chance to win a championship with this team and I don’t want to leave without a championship.”
Ford has not ruled out the possibility of returning for a fifth year at Waterloo if the 2020 season doesn’t happen, but his first choice would be to play as a professional next year. He has probably done enough to showcase his athletic prowess during his first three seasons, but another campaign of highlight-reel plays would obviously bolster his stock. Campuses will resemble ghost towns this fall because of the move to online learning, but there remains a glimmer of hope that varsity athletics will survive.
There are also questions aplenty about recreational programs and clubs and how they’ll be modified to address the needs of students who are returning to class in September.
Gord Grace is the president and chief executive officer of the OUA and expects a decision on the fate of 2020-21 seasons for all 23 team sports to be made by mid-June, pos
sibly sooner. The board of directors is next scheduled to meet June 16, he said, but there’s nothing to prevent them from gathering for a virtual session to tackle the issue.
“The decisions we’ll make will be first based on what the health authorities say we can do and then, second of all, what we think is in the best interest of our student athletes and participants like coaches and referees, people who host events for us,” said Grace.
“We’ve got to think of all those parts as we make this decision but first and foremost is what’s in the best interest of our student athletes.”
The OUA football season was expected to be first out of the gate this fall with 10 schools competing on Aug. 30. The schedule was released in January, but does not appear on the OUA website.
The best-case scenario for the fall seasons, said Grace, is a delayed start to the football season and a reduced schedule for many sports because of the uncertainty and decreased funding for athletic departments. Sport and recreation fees help fund varsity sports and with students not on campus, those dollars might not be available. No matter what route the OUA follows, Grace said a decision needs to be made in the next week or two so all affected parties can plan accordingly. Waiting until later in the summer to decide, he said, isn’t an option.
“Perhaps there’s an athlete at Wilfrid Laurier who lives in Kingston, they need to know whether they should they be coming down or should be staying home,” said Grace.
“If they make a decision to stay home and save some money because we say we’re not playing, how can you call them all of a sudden and say we’ve decided to play later in September or October. You can’t.”
A similar situation exists on the recreation side of things, with department heads at both local universities saying decisions on what programs will be offered in September will depend on updates from public health officials. Sports and recreation complexes have been closed for more than two months now and there’s no way of knowing when they’ll reopen for students living in the area.
Peter Baxter, director of athletics and recreation at Wilfrid Laurier, has been working from behind a computer since midMarch and is preparing for the possibility of a school year without traditional intramurals and clubs. In his role, he oversees about 600 student athletes and some 350 student leaders who oversee intramurals and clubs.
In a typical school year, half the student body participates in the intramural program that includes traditional sports as well as activities such as inner-tube water polo, dodge ball, table tennis and wallyball. As well, 20 sports clubs are run by students in activities such as ultimate, lacrosse, dragon boat and cricket.
“We’re all in a holding pattern right now ... and this virus is the one that sets the timetable,” said Baxter. “Someone told me you can’t say the ‘new normal’ anymore, so obviously everyone wants to get back to the ‘new weird’ as soon as possible. But health and safety is paramount.”
Baxter said virtual activities have been running for several years and will continue to be offered in the fall. The addition of competitive video gaming, widely known as esports, is also on the horizon.
It’s a similar situation at the University of Waterloo, where esports recently made its debut as part of the intramural program.
Roly Webster is the director of athletics and recreation at Waterloo and he said he’s been conducting business from his basement since March. The move to offer additional online programs needed to be immediate, he said, because there are about 12,000 co-op students who are technically still in school at the moment.
“We had to transition as quickly as possible, not just people to work from home but moving our programming to online as well, so I’m proud of our team because if we were not the first, we were one of the first out of the gates to keep students engaged,” said Webster.
“We’re big advocates, obviously, for being physically active and I think everyone in society is realizing the importance of that for your mental health right now.”
Waterloo offers 250 recreational programs at a variety of levels and more than 200 clubs and campus activities.