Canada’s university sports are cancelled for the fall term
- Craig Clark
- 09 Jun 2020
Many universities across Canada took a blow after U SPORTS, the national brand of university sports in Canada, announced that its six 2020 fall national championships will be cancelled.
The announcement was made by the national university sports governing body on Monday after concerns for the health and safety of student-athletes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This answered a lot of questions in regard to student access to campus facilities in the fall after many universities, including McMaster University in Hamilton, announced they will be conducting the fall term strictly online.
U SPORTS cancels 2020 fall championships due to COVID-19 / U SPORTS annule ses championnats d’automne 2020 en raison de la COVID-19
🔗EN: https://t.co/8z4Mu450IQ /🔗FR: https://t.co/bx2hmn8qRy pic.twitter.com/AxT8LgU7de
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) June 8, 2020
U SPORTS have also made modifications to eligibility and scholarship regulations because of the organization’s relationship with an academic setting.
“U SPORTS has been working hard with the four conferences, our 56 member institutions and medical experts to examine the feasibility of delivering the fall national championships this season,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, U SPORTS Chief Sport Officer.
“Taking into account the academic realities of university sport, we arrived at a point where a tough decision had to be made.”
The ongoing uncertainties pertaining to student-athlete health and safety, travel and public health restrictions, and the different curriculum delivery models being considered by the 56 member universities were all contributing factors in U SPORTS cancelling the fall championships.
Sports that will be affected by the cancellation will be women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s cross-country running, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s rugby and football. The national semi-finals of the Mitchell and Uteck Bowls and Vanier Cup are also affected.
The university sports organization has been working with the four sports conferences within the organization since March to determine a safe way for university sports to continue amid COVID-19 restrictions. Ontario University Athletics have also announced the cancellation of their fall sports competitions.
U SPORTS are continuing to work with the four conferences to try to figure out how sports could resume for the 2021 winter season.
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