National events returning this spring
It looks like athletes in university winter sports will have a chance to compete for a national banner for the first time in two or three years.
U Sports, the governing body for Canadian university sports, announced on Feb. 2 that eight national championships in 2022 will proceed this spring, including the University Cup men's hockey tournament at Scotiabank Centre.
Acadia was the host school for the 2020 University Cup when it was abruptly cancelled after the first day of play because of the COVID19 pandemic. All university competition was cancelled last season and the Axemen were awarded the 2022 University Cup for this March in Halifax.
The tournament was slated for March 17-20, but it has been pushed back to March 31 to April 3.
In December, the spread of the Omicron variant forced Atlantic University Sport (AUS) to postpone all competition. The AUS leagues – including men's hockey – are still waiting for their seasons to resume.
“Given the challenges that student-athletes and staff across the country have faced over the last two years, we are excited to finally welcome the best men's hockey teams to Nova Scotia to compete for the David Johnson University Cup,” Brian Finniss, Acadia director of athletics, said in a news release.
“The resiliency and determination that student-athletes have shown during this pandemic has been and continues to be inspiring, and we look forward to putting on a championship experience that honours that commitment.”
The U Sports women's
hockey championship at UPEI retains its original dates of March 24-27 in Charlottetown. The Panthers were hosting the women's nationals in 2020 when the tournament was cancelled after Day 1 of the event.
Both the men's and women's basketball championships have been pushed back three weeks. The women's tournament will be held March 31 to April 3 at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and the men's event is scheduled for April 1-3 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Both the men's and women's volleyball championships remain on their scheduled dates, March 25-27 at the University of Calgary (women's) and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg (men's).
The rest of the U Sports championships are as follows: wrestling (March 24-25 at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon), swimming (March 24-26 at the University of Laval in Quebec City) and track and field (March 31 to April 2 at UNBSJ in Saint John, N.B.).
“We are pleased that everyone has come together to find an opportunity to offer U Sports championships in 2022 to our student-athletes, teams and fans,” Dick White, U Sports interim CEO, said in the release. “We are thankful to the conferences and hosts who have worked with us to find ways to allow U Sports national championships to move forward this winter.”