Fall sports cancelled at Ontario universities
Pandemic continues to cause disruption on Laurier and Waterloo campuses
She planned to live in residence, attend classes with other first-year students, soak up the atmosphere of campus life and play varsity field hockey for the University of Waterloo Warriors.
Sarah Dunbar’s transition to life after high school took another hit Monday when Ontario University Athletics announced the cancellation of all sanctioned sport programming and championships until Dec. 31 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Similar moves were announced by Atlantic University Sport, Canada West Universities Athletic Association and U Sports, the national ruling body that called off football’s Vanier Cup and five other Canadian championships.
Dunbar is wrapping up her final year of studies at Bluevale Collegiate and learned of the cancellation from Warriors head coach Maria Leahy.
The news didn’t come as a huge surprise, she said, but it’s still a letdown for the skilled defender who won four local and two all-Ontario championships at Bluevale and had the chance to play immediately at Waterloo.
“Obviously I wish this whole pandemic wasn’t a thing and we had a normal finish to our high school seasons and our high school courses,” said Dunbar. “I was just hoping that everything would be cleared up and we’d be able to go about freshman year as most people get to experience it. And yeah, I’m really bummed that we’re not going to have a field hockey season because I was really looking forward to that as well.”
The cancellation is the latest shot of bad news for student-athletes at Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, who earlier learned most classes would be taught online and campus activities would be greatly diminished as many students choose to remain at home rather than relocate to this area.
Dunbar said she hasn’t abandoned the idea of living in residence, but expects that option might soon be taken away.
“Other universities have been cancelling their residences, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Waterloo goes that route as well,” said the soon-to-be recreation and leisure student.
The decision to cancel fall sports, according to a post on the OUA website, was based on provincial public
health guidelines and with the health and well-being of all participants at the forefront.
“Unprecedented times require unprecedented action, which is what led us to this difficult decision,” said Dr. Mike DeGagné, chair of the OUA board of directors. “The health of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials and fans is our No. 1 priority, and after significant consultation, we believe that OUA sport cannot be delivered prior to Dec. 31.”
Football, rugby, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, golf and crosscountry running are among the other seasons that were cancelled, while the OUA left the door open for the possibility of winter sports, such as hockey, basketball and volleyball, to be played after Jan. 1, 2021, with reduced schedules.
The OUA didn’t set a deadline for a decision on a second-term return to athletics, saying the situation will be monitored in the weeks and months ahead.
“We remain hopeful that we can provide quality experiences for our student-athletes starting in the new year and will be closely monitoring the ongoing health considerations and viability for these future opportunities over the coming months,” said OUA president and chief executive officer Gord Grace.
London native Taylor Elgersma had an inkling the football season might be a writeoff when he committed to the Wilfrid Laurier football program in April.
Still, the highly recruited quarterback weighed his options and decided to forego a fifth year at Oakridge Secondary School to dive headfirst into his kinesiology studies while familiarizing himself with the Golden Hawks playbook.
“This is not the way you want to start, you want to get down there and play, to meet the guys and familiarize yourself with the area,” said Elgersma.
“I need to talk to the coaches but at this point I still don’t even know whether I’ll be living in London or Waterloo or what school’s going to look like. Will we be able to do some sort of workouts together or get together as a team? I don’t know.”
Michael Faulds, the head coach of Laurier’s football program, said he had been anticipating Monday’s announcement for the past two months but there was still a jolt when it became official.
“Right from the beginning of April, I’ve known this is ultimately what was going to happen. I never foresaw a world where university presidents would feel comfortable with students on campus and with student-athletes running around on sports fields,” he said.
“It’s something we’ve been prepared for but when you finally rip that Band-Aid off, first and foremost you feel bad for the players and in particular the senior players.”
Jess Botta’s final game with the women’s rugby team at Wilfrid Laurier took place in October, a loss to the Western Mustangs that ended a disappointing season.
The soon-to-be senior, a kinesiology student from Oakville, is disappointed she won’t get a shot at redemption and the opportunity to be a leader to the team’s incoming players. The cancellation also means she won’t likely return to Waterloo and pay rent to take online classes.
“It sucks not being able to see your teammates because our teammates are our best friends,” said Botta.
“We look forward to spending time together so I don’t know how we’re going to maintain relationships and the cothose hesion of our team.”
In addition to the Vanier Cup, national women’s field hockey and rugby, cross-country running, men’s and women’s soccer — all scheduled for later this year — were also cancelled.