With cases of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant case rising rapidly, George Brown students have seen classes continue virtually for another semester, but another aspect of school life that the new regulations have disrupted are the varsity sports teams and the upcoming winter semesters sports season.
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) announced in December that they were postponing the start of the winter season until January 21 at the earliest and adopting condensed regional schedules. But after the government of Ontario announced further restrictions on January 3, the OCAA has been forced to push back again.
“As a result of the current provincial health measures, our student-athletes are currently prohibited from training together until January 27, 2022, at the earliest,” said Josh Bell-Webster, the head of media relations at the OCAA.
Bell-Webster says that the OCAA has been in discussions with the provincial government about how its leagues can operate in the latest COVID wave.
“The OCAA has been advocating with the government over the past week to be added to its exception list for elite amateur sports leagues. Once the OCAA is included, or current public health measures are lifted, the OCAA is optimistically looking at an early February start date,” said Bell-Webster.
But despite all the uncertainty, Bell-Webster says the OCAA is not envisioning a cancellation or postponement of its leagues into the summer.
“While it is possible that our winter league season could be extended into April, the OCCA is not considering a postponement to the following semester,” said Bell-Webster
This decision was made mostly in part to the logistical challenges that would arise due to most student-athletes not being at school between May and August.
If given the green light and the OCAA proceeds with a season start of early February, there will be limitations in place to protect the student-athletes and staff. In accordance with the provincial government’s regulations, the OCAA will also have all participants (e.g., Student-athletes, coaches, support staff, athletic therapists, officials) take a rapid test prior to every sanctioned OCAA competition on days of competition and tests must be administered before travel for away competitions. A negative test result must be obtained each time to be eligible to participate.
This is in addition to the other OCAA testing protocols established during the fall semester, all participants must provide proof of being fully vaccinated (14 days after the second dose) to be allowed to participate in any OCAA sanctioned competition. Those who are not fully vaccinated for any reason will be required to adhere to a testing protocol throughout the 2021-2022 season.
Fans and non-team personal will not be permitted at OCAA competitions until further notice but all OCAA basketball and volleyball regular and post-season games will be live-streamed on the OCAA Live portal.
When asked if there were any statements that the OCAA would like to make towards their student athletes, staff or just any statements in general about this semester sports season, Bell-Webster had this to say.
“It remains the OCAA’s priority to have a safe return to sanctioned competition at the earliest possible opportunity. Understanding the current challenges, the OCAA has already committed to additional health and safety measures in addition to those imposed during the fall semester.”
“The OCAA will continue to monitor the situation as it continues to work towards the provision of valuable sports experiences for our student-athletes.”
