Chatham-Kent Athletes Shut Out Of OCAA Sports, With College Sports Suspended Until 2021
Tyrone Mulder carries the ball for St. Clair – Photo by St. Clair Saints Athletics
The OCAA, Ontario’s governing body for college sports will shut out many Chatham-Kent athletes attending institutions including St. Clair College, Fanshawe College, Lambton College, Redeemer College and many more across the province after the OCAA announced they were cancelling all sports until 2021.
Read the OCAA’s statement below:
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) and its members announced today the decision to suspend varsity sports and recreation activities planned for the 2020 fall semester at the OCAA’s 27 member schools. The decision was made in response to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.
Sports affected by the suspension of the OCAA 2020 varsity sports fall schedule are baseball, softball, rugby, rugby sevens, outdoor soccer, golf, and cross country running.
“In collaboration with our members, extensive contingency planning, and aligned with current fall academic delivery models, this is a difficult, but necessary decision in order to protect the health and well-being of all of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff,” said OCAA President, Nathan McFadden. “The safety of the entire OCAA membership and our participants is our top priority, but we understand and share the deep disappointment this especially causes for our 4,000 student-athletes. We will get through this, and when we resume competition, the viability of the OCAA will be more important than ever before in uniting both our campuses and communities together in sport.”
For the 2021 winter semester, the sports of basketball, volleyball, badminton, curling, and indoor soccer are currently planned to take place, but with reduced schedules. The OCAA will continue to monitor the evolving situation on an ongoing basis and will make decisions based on public health and safety in regards to the well-being of our student-athletes and membership as a whole.
For more information about the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association, please visit www.OCAA.com.