Rebels players ‘heartbroken’ as season axed

Westshore Rebels head coach Shane Beatty said his players are devastated by the announcement that their 2020 B.C. Junior Football Conference season has been wiped out by COVID-19.

“The kids are heartbroken,” said Beatty. “I really feel for the players who will be graduating from junior football.” Beatty said he hopes a way can be found to allow the graduating group to return in 2021 as over-agers.

“We thought there was a glimmer of hope the 2020 season could be played,” Beatty said.

The Rebels, however, are understanding of the situation. “Obviously, the health of the players, coaches and support staff is paramount and comes first,” said Beatty. “It’s all about the players and their safety.”

Not that 2020 has been easy on anyone involved in sports. “You work so hard, especially recruiting, and I was looking at having my best team since 2015,” said Beatty.

The Rebels made it to the 2019 Cullen Cup league final against the champion Langley Rams.

The other Island team in the BCFC is the Nanaimo-based Vancouver Island Raiders. The rest of the BCFC consists of the Rams, Valley Huskers of Chilliwack, Okanagan Sun and Kamloops Broncos. The league has had numerous alumni play in U Sports and several who have gone on to play pro in the CFL.

“We are very disappointed for all the players, who put in a whole lot of work to prepare for a season,” said Rebels president Rob Lervold.

“But we couldn’t find a way. We needed a lot of things to fall our way and that didn’t happen. We tried to wait it out as long as we could and eventually you just run out of time. In the end, it was the right thing to do in terms of safety.”

All junior football across Canada was cancelled Aug. 6. “It is very disappointing to make this announcement, but our priority is the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, and team administrators,” Canadian Junior Football League commissioner Jim Pankovich said in a statement. “Our teams play an important role in their communities. All CJFL teams will continue to engage with their players and communities as regional public health regulations allow. We look forward to returning to competition in 2021.”