The world of sports in the midst of the recent times was naturally focused on the most important professional leagues, given the money, jobs and financial resources they can bring to ensure that adequate security measures are taken before restarting their seasons.
However, the most devastating effects of the recent times on Sports will be those leagues that are not able to resort to millions of dollars – small leagues or sports development stages, where there are no rich television contracts to get things done, and where the risk-return equation is very different.
On Monday, U Sports, the Canadian University Sports federation for 56 institutions, announced the cancellation of six fall championships, including the Vanier Cup, awarded each November for the supremacy of college football since its inception in 1965.
Each of the four conferences across Canada will determine which sport, if any, will continue with regular-season games or conference championships, but the football decision is official for anywhere but Quebec, where playing games in the province’s six programs remains a consideration.
This is a massive loss for the country’s largest football league and the main platform for the development of Canadian talent in the CFL.
In a sport where so many players play on and off campus, on the practice field and eventually in the classroom, it’s not hard to see why the risks outweigh the rewards.
But although it is a health and safety decision, it is also a financial decision, because in many places students do not return to campus and therefore do not have tuition to finance sports programs.
There is also the problem of those who privately contribute to underwater sports programs – their priorities may have changed due to the crisis.
Schools also felt the need to make students understand what would happen this summer, training camps for U Sports Football are planned for August.
The biggest concern beyond this Season is that some businesses that had to close during the recent times might never come back, could this apply to some football programs? In conclusion, sports departments that are now under financial pressure may have to consider whether the largest and most expensive programs are still profitable.
There may be other football leagues playing in Canada this summer and fall, with the Canadian Junior Football League an opportunity for some underwater sports players looking for an outlet. However, the rest of the players still have to wonder what it means for them to be away from the Sport for a whole year, especially for those whose goal is to play professionally.
It is worth noting that the impact on the long-term development of players in football may be less pronounced than in some other sports, given the history of players who stand out in this Sport after starting after or for a long time. It is also important to note that no football match means no football development for the players. It is not known how many teams can do when it comes to training sessions and exercises, but there could be circumstances in which players can train and coaches can continue body education.
It becomes a more difficult challenge on closed sites for returning students, but tips for body training and studying film will continue this Season even without a game plan.
On the CFL in general?
The league has had a lot of discussions with U sports officials about how the two can work together to help players who entered their final years of eligibility and were hoping to participate in next spring’s CFL draft.
But the biggest questions are for players who have entered their final years of eligibility and now have to decide whether it’s worth coming back for another semester in the fall, when they’ve already graduated. And what about the players who are flourishing in their final years of graduate school, a frequent phenomenon in a Sport full of laggards.
There are other questions that remain unanswered – like, for example, What about the players who have entered their fifth and final year of eligibility? And will this Season be considered a one-season suspension when it comes to permission to switch to another program?
And how will the CFL teams try to project the professional potential of players who want to enter the draft next spring, even if they have not played football for almost a year and a half.
“The only way to evaluate him is to get as many movies as possible and hope that he played six to eight games last season and there will be a combination to evaluate him,” Edmonton Eskimos general manager Brock Sunderland said. “If it’s a rotating guy who has a career start, it gets tough.”
This kind of dilemma goes far beyond the transition between U Sports AND THE CFL. Players entering their final years of high school face uncertainty about what a Season wouldn’t mean, especially those who have focused on getting athletic scholarships-either to Canada or the NCAA.
Similar scenarios face athletes at the developmental stages of each sport, including the Amateur Baseball schedule this summer, high school basketball in the fall and winter, and the Canadian Hockey League, the NHL’s largest talent provider.
It has been said for some time that mass sport could be one of the last things to come back from the consequences of the recent times.
But the path for players hoping to reach those higher levels of their sport will have a much bigger impact.
