The multiple reports from over the weekend were confirmed Monday morning.
The Canada West Conference announced the cancellation of all fall sports in 2020. That means football, women’s and men’s soccer, women’s rugby and field hockey are toast, decisions that were unanimously ratified by the 17 member schools back on Friday. In all cases for those sports, student athletes will not be charged eligibility and will remain eligible for athletic financial aid in the form of scholarships.
In addition, Canada West announced that no two-term sports…hockey, volleyball and basketball…are to commence prior to January 1st with a decision to be made no later than October 8th as to whether they will be played.
The six football teams in Canada West…the Saskatchewan Huskies, Regina Rams, Manitoba Bisons, Alberta Golden Bears, Calgary Dinos and U-B-C Thunderbirds…were to play a shortened five-game schedule. However, Football Canada president Jim Mullin said, while Canada West has a challenge with four schools from four provinces under their jurisdiction, his hope is that the governing bodies for university sports in Ontario and Quebec respectively, will find a way to play within their own borders if it is safe to do so.
And, decisions are to be made by July 15th on Canada West championships in golf, cross country running and swimming. Following is the news release from Huskie Athletics and the Canada West Conference…..
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2020
Canada West makes decision to cancel first term sport season
USask Communications
SASKATOON – Following the recommendation of the Canada West (CW) board, the 17 members of the CW conference voted on Friday, June 5 for the cancellation of first term competition team sports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Saskatchewan (USask) will follow this directive, meaning that the Huskies first term seasons for football, and men’s and women’s soccer will be cancelled. While a difficult decision, explained Dave Hardy, Huskie Chief Athletics Officer, it was the only choice possible when considering the health and safety of our student athletes, our fans and the greater community. “We will always have the best interests of our student-athletes in mind, this decision was not taken lightly and Huskie Athletics as a whole will continue to work to support the student-athletes impacted,” said Hardy The announcement comes on the same day as both the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conferences announced their own first term cancellations. Nationally, U SPORTS also announced the cancellation of all U SPORTS first term national championships. The CW board came to the recommendation after extensive work from a COVID-19 task force that included CW board members as well as medical professionals. The decision falls in line with both federal and provincial health directives. It is important to make this decision now to give Huskie student-athletes certainty as they begin to plan for the fall, including whether they plan to relocate based on the delivery model of their respective colleges, said Hardy. “All Huskie student-athletes will continue to receive the supports necessary for their success even without the fall season, including physiotherapy, nutrition, strength and conditioning, mental health supports, access to training facilities as well as academic and coaching supports,” said Hardy. A decision on first semester individual sports, including cross country at USask, will be made no later than July 15 following further consultation. For sports that span across both first and second terms-this includes basketball, hockey, track and field, volleyball and wrestling at USask- a decision will be made no later than the fall CW meeting on October 8, with those sports starting no sooner than January 2021. “Until we have further decisions from Canada West, Huskie Athletics will continue to prepare for the return of sports and we look forward to welcoming all of our supporters back once it is safe to do so,” said Hardy. “As always, our goal remains to make Huskie Athletics the top program in Canada for our student-athletes. We are only able to do that because of the dedication of Huskie staff, coaches and supporters. Now is the time, more than ever, when we support our Huskies.” Season ticket holders who had reserved seats in any of our venues for 2019-2020 will continue to have those same seats held and reserved for them for the 2021-2022 season.
