Canada West confirms cancellation of first term sports season

Cancellation of the season effectively wipes out the season for WolfPack men and women’s soccer.

Curtis Atkinson is the athletic director at Thompson Rivers University, and is also on the Canada West board of directors.

“When I hear sports medicine experts talk about the need to stay two metres apart, and having to put strategies in place to manage risk that would really compromise sport, I knew what the decision was that we had to make.”

So no fall season for soccer as it relates to Canada West.

Could there be soccer in some other form, outside of an actual league schedule with playoffs and championship?

“I certainly hope that as B.C. schools at some point during the year we can engage in some form of exhibition play.” says Atkinson. ” It won’t lead to a national championship that we are accustomed to, but I think I think there is going to be an opportunity to engage in some form of games.”

The cancellation also wipes out the first half of the volleyball and basketball seasons for both the men and women’s teams at TRU.

There is hope to return to a shorter season in January —- a decision on that won’t come until October.

“If there is no vaccine and the physical distancing requirements have not changed across our four provinces, it is going to be hard to envision us playing a January to March season.” says Canada West President Clint Hamilton.

Curtis Atkinson says it is hoped that teams can get back to full team practices sometime in the fall — that coaches will be able to work with athletes in a more concentrated way than they have ever been able to before — that it’s an opportunity for athletes.

“I use the example that our men’s basketball coach points out — when Kelly Olynyk took the year off at Gonzaga he became a different athlete.” says Atkinson.

“He came back stronger than ever and he really changed his game. That’s a fantastic example for our student athletes to see — that they can focus on a lot of improvement right now and that’s our expectation.”.

by Earl Seitz

Canada West confirms cancellation of first term sports season

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