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As McMaster students make their way back to campus, intramurals will be making a subsequent comeback.
Preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, the McMaster University Athletics and Recreation department organized a wide variety of intramural sports on campus for each fall term. These sports ranged from indoor activities such as volleyball, to typical outdoor activities like soccer. This year the intramural program will look different.
For most sports, the number of players on the teams will be limited. This is to mitigate potential community spread and to limit the number of player interactions as much as possible. The sports that are affected by these limitations are soccer, volleyball, basketball and floorball. The number of players per team is different for each sport.
According to the COVID-19 Back To Mac website, those planning for fall intramurals can expect to have a variety of outdoor intramural sports, including soccer, spike ball, ultimate frisbee, touch rugby and softball. These activities were chosen based on safety considerations and the ability to deliver them safely without compromising the experience for students.
Presently, the Athletics and Recreation department have delayed any official announcement regarding the intramurals for the fall term.
“Safety is their number one priority . . . We are still finalizing some protocol details as per the provincial government announcement,” said Peter McComie, the intramural sports coordinator.
Many of these decisions involved the inclusion of vaccine passports around Ontario for non-essential activities, allowing for further close contact between students.
"We must go through the McMaster health and safety channels before we can finalize our departmental plans and put anything out to the public about our recreational programs. Student and participant safety is the highest priority,” explained McComie.
"We must go through the McMaster health and safety channels before we can finalize our departmental plans and put anything out to the public about our recreational programs. Student and participant safety is the highest priority
Peter McComie, Intramural Sports Coordinator
The McMaster Intramural website has since provided further updates, having listed a total of 15 sports for registration throughout the fall. Out of the 16 sports, three of them are remote while the other 13 are going to take place on campus.
The three remote categories of sports are fantasy leagues, E-sports and National Football League picks. Within the E-sports category, FIFA, Madden, Rocket League and chess will be available to players to sign up for.
Every sport will offer a “PlayFun” league which is a division for those who just want to play casually, offering a social and active lifestyle blend. However, sports such as basketball, soccer and volleyball will also offer a “PlayComp” league, which is a division build for those interested in playing in a more competitive and higher effort league.
Thirteen other sports will take place on campus, which include indoor and outdoor activities. The indoor activities include softball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, touch rugby and spikeball. The outdoor activities include innertube water polo, pickleball, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, basketball and floorball.
Pricing for the fall intramurals ranges from free to $120 per team. The remote sports — such as the E-sports leagues or NFL picks — are the cheapest, compared to softball and waterpolo, which are the most expensive at $120 and $110 per team, respectively.
The season length for the fall intramurals differs from sport to sport. The outdoor sports will start in mid-September and will take place until early November due to the challenging weather conditions that occur mid-November onwards. Indoor sports will have their seasons shifted a month later, starting at the end of October and finishing by the beginning of December. However, the remote leagues will take place from September to December.
Registration for the McMaster fall intramurals will begin on Sept. 8 for outdoor sports and remote leagues, whereas indoor registration will begin on Sept. 19. Every student that wishes to participate in this semester's intramurals can do so through the IMLeagues website by creating an account and registering their team through the portal. If a student doesn't have a team and wishes to register solo, they can register as a free agent on the website and will be placed into a team.
For additional information, visit the McMaster intramurals page or the McMaster intramurals calendar.
OUA and U Sports cancel all games and competitions amidst COVID-19 pandemic
In March, U Sports cancelled their hockey and volleyball national championships following university closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 8, U Sports decided to further cancel all six fall 2020 national championships.
“Although the Canadian sport system is working together to create evidence-based return to training, practice and competition protocols, it is not currently feasible or safe due to the COVID-19 pandemic for U Sports to be able to offer fall championships given the academic realities of student-sport,” said Dr. Taryn Taylor, the chief medical officer of U Sports, according to the U Sports website.
U Sports came to this decision after considering virtual learning methods, public health guidelines and travel restrictions. The board understands that students are financially limited and made a decision as early as possible to allow students to adequately prepare for the fall term, including adapting to virtual learning and signing housing leases. U Sports has also made a variety of changes regarding eligibility and financial awards for athletes. Eligibility will not be considered for championship sports this fall term, in which students being deemed ineligible previously will be able to participate in the 2021 sports championships. Scholarships will still be permitted as long as students abide by regulations set out by their institution and U Sports.
U Sports’ national championship cancellations include the men’s and women’s cross country running, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s field hockey, women’s rugby and men’s football. This also includes the cancellation of the prestigious Vanier Cup.
Immediately following U Sports’ decision, Ontario University Athletics released its statement cancelling all fall sports until Dec. 31, 2020.
“The health of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials, and fans is our number one priority, and after significant consultation, we believe that OUA sport cannot be delivered prior to December 31,” wrote Mike DeGagné in a press release, chair of the OUA board of directors.
“The health of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials, and fans is our number one priority, and after significant consultation, we believe that OUA sport cannot be delivered prior to December 31,” wrote Mike DeGagné, chair of the OUA board of directors.
OUA’s decision is mirrored by Atlantic University Sport, who has cancelled all competition until January 2021. Canada West cancelled all team sports competitions for the fall 2020 term but will still allow individual sports championships, namely swimming and golf, to occur safely following direction from their own COVID-19 Task Force. This contrasts OUA’s decision to exclude individual sports, which they based on travel requirements, medical support and close living spaces during the national championship period. With that being said, Canada West cancelled their cross country championships, where the task force believed that the “reduction of team complement, altered start, creating defined passing areas or hosting regional championships (one BC, one prairie) – would too significantly impact the integrity of the championships.”
On the other hand, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec decided on Aug. 31, to continue school sports at the college and university level as of Sept. 14. Such accommodations will be regulated by the Ministère de l’Éducation, the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur and by Quebec’s public health guidelines.
Shawn Burt, director of athletics and recreation at McMaster University, released a statement providing support for the McMaster Marauders Athletes.
“McMaster currently sponsors 38 varsity teams across more than 20 sports, all of which will be affected by this cancellation. While the future is uncertain, the OUA remains hopeful that it can provide quality experiences for its student-athletes starting in the new year and will be closely monitoring the ongoing health considerations and viability for these opportunities over the coming months,” wrote Burt.
“McMaster currently sponsors 38 varsity teams across more than 20 sports, all of which will be affected by this cancellation. While the future is uncertain, the OUA remains hopeful that it can provide quality experiences for its student-athletes starting in the new year and will be closely monitoring the ongoing health considerations and viability for these opportunities over the coming months,” wrote Burt.
With the winter 2021 term being in-person as suggested by classroom allocations, it may be a possibility that university athletics and sports return for January 2021, while adhering to public health regulations. As gyms are recently opening and shutting down due to COVID-19 exposure, OUA is currently working alongside institutions on a safe plan to implement training while possibly re-implementing the cancelled championships for spring 2021.
