LANGLEY, B.C. – In light of Canada West’s cancellation of all first term conference competitions, we invite our student-athletes to take advantage of this new season to develop the on-field and off-field skills necessary for great performance. Trinity Western University anticipates hosting exhibition games, while ensuring that provincial health and safety measures are met.
“Sport is not life and death, and our staff had anticipated this possible outcome weeks ago. While Canada West seasons and championships have been cancelled, the ability to train, following health and safety protocols, has not been taken away, nor has the possibility of an exciting exhibition schedule against great rivals who will hopefully also be up and running,” says Jeff Gamache, TWU Director of Athletics.
Expansion of TWU Complete Champion Approach™
Gamache is eager to highlight the Complete Champion Approach™, which is available exclusively to TWU athletes.
“It is times like these that our Complete Champion Approach™ really shines as we have never said that sport is only for the purpose of athletic achievement. Within an excellent academic context, sport at TWU develops leadership, character, faith and personal wellness. These areas will only have more time to be developed by our dedicated coaches and staff."
Gamache describes his high hopes for the current generation of athlete-leaders.
“If you look at just the last few months, with both COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matters movement, you see a generation being prepared to be more creative and compassionate than ever before. Sport at TWU and across the Canada West has been dealt a difficult hand, but throughout history, Spartans, both ancient and at TWU, have never accomplished anything great by choosing the easy road.
“We will embrace the challenge and I truly believe we will have a training environment with as many exhibition games as possible that, when coupled with our Complete Champion Approach™, will produce a year that will be remembered for all that it was, not all that it was not.”
Placing Health and Safety First
Over the last several weeks Canada West’s COVID-19 Task Force has been working to inform the conference’s Board, who based on the Task Force’s report recommended the cancellation of first term competition. The Board's recommendation was subsequently supported through a unanimous vote of CW members.
Canada West announced Monday that no conference competition (regular season, playoff, or championships) will occur in football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s rugby 15s, and women’s field hockey during the first term of the 2020-21 season.
These cancellations are North America-wide and will be impacting all university athletes regardless of region. They were decided in the effort to safeguard the health and safety of all athletes, as well as of their families, trainers, fans and supporters.
"The challenging nature of today's announcement can't be understated. As a former student-athlete and coach I feel deeply for everyone who won't be able to experience the joys of university competition this fall," said CW president and University of Victoria athletic director Clint Hamilton.
"While cancellation isn't the outcome anyone associated with university sport wanted, I'm confident in the fact that this difficult decision is in the best interests of our student-athletes. Health and safety is at the forefront of everything we do and simply put there was no way to adequately ensure the safety of everyone involved in university sport during competition this fall."
Trinity Western University is committed to providing one of the top training programs in Canada. Our campus is open, and we look forward to welcoming all of our athletes to TWU this fall to train with excellence and to participate in exhibition play, while giving full attention to health and safety measures.
In line with the TWU Complete Champion Approach™, we will be investing in the leadership, character, faith and personal wellness of our athletes. We encourage our athletes to take advantage of the opportunity to train and develop skills in ways that a regular conference competition season may not accommodate.
To our incoming and returning athletes, we challenge you to make this next season your best one yet.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men’s rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships. For more information on Trinity Western University’s Spartans Athletics, please visit Trinity Western Spartans.
About Canada West
Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships. Canada West – training leaders, building champions.
Trinity Western University is Canada’s leading global Christian liberal arts university committed to inspiring hearts and minds.
For media inquiries, please contact media@twu.ca.
Photo credit: Mark Janzen