In this September 15 article in the Niagara Dailies, Victoria Nicolaou writes about the current state of Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) sports at NC and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) sports at Brock University. She mentions how the OCAA announced in June that its 2020 fall schedule would be suspended until December 31, 2020, which affected NC’s varsity soccer and golf teams, with both sports losing their fall seasons. All winter or double-term sports, including Knights’ volleyball, basketball and curling, are scheduled to play in January with reduced schedules.
Michele O’Keefe, NC’s associate director of athletics and recreation, is quoted throughout the article. She mentions that no sport has been officially cancelled by the OCAA, which is considering the option of a replacement fall season next spring, and explains how NC coaches have been encouraging their athletes to stay in shape by sending them at-home training programs.
O’Keefe also mentions that she has been working with student services and coaching staff to ensure all NC student-athletes feel supported and understand that help is available during this challenging time. She closes out the article by saying:
“Everything is so uncertain. You go in one direction thinking you’re making the right moves, and then you have to pivot,” she said. “So I think to be successful and come out of this on the other side, you’ve got to be creative, you have to be open-minded and you want to know that what you’re doing is right for the students.”
Read the article in the St. Catharines Standard at this link.
