In what should have been the first week back on campus for student-athletes at Niagara College and Brock University, the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic has left athletic programs facing unprecedented challenges as the new school year gets underway.

Back in June, the governing boards for the province’s university sports — Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) — both announced that their 2020 fall schedules would be suspended until Dec. 31.

The decision affected Niagara College 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, but with reduced schedules.

Michele O’Keefe, the college’s associate director of athletics and recreation, said no sport has been officially ruled out by the OCAA, which is considering the potential of playing a replacement fall season next spring.

“Nothing at this point is actually cancelled, it’s more in limbo. Waiting to see whether or not we’re able to get started all up again in January,” said O’Keefe.

“It’s trying times and we’ll figure it out.”

Suspended OUA sports at Brock include baseball, cross country, golf, field lacrosse, rowing, rugby, soccer, softball, tennis and ultimate Frisbee. All other Badger sports remain on hold until the end of the year.

And, like the OCAA, the OUA has been looking into the potential of a spring season for the previously cancelled sports, but so far “nothing has come to fruition” said Emily Allan, associate director of athletics at Brock.

“We are following public health guidelines around return to training and competition protocols,” she said. “Brock University and the governing bodies for sports in this country are all working to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of student-athletes.”

The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) announced earlier this summer that student-athletes at colleges across the country will have their eligibility — the number of years an athlete is permitted to participate in a varsity sport — waived for the entirety of the 2020-21 season.

Regardless of whether a season is played, Niagara College athletes will not have their post-secondary status affected.

U Sports, the governing body of university sports in Canada, has laid out a different policy for its members. Allan said student-athletes at Brock whose seasons were suspended due to COVID-19 will not have their eligibility affected, but if there is competition in 2021, it will be treated as a standard athletic year.

“If there is no season, eligibility will stay intact and not be consumed,” she said. “If the season is held, the athletes will consume eligibility if they surpass the player participation threshold set out for each sport.”

For any student-athletes concerned about playing under the COVID-19 restrictions — assuming competition gets underway in January — they will have the choice to opt out of the season.

That decision will not affect their status at Brock.

“Our student-athletes’ health, safety and well-being are our prime concern and they have the option to opt out at any point in time,” Allan said. “If they do so, eligibility would not be consumed unless they have surpassed the participation threshold.”

All back-to-competition decisions will be made by the governing bodies at a later date, likely sometime in October, suggested O’Keefe.

But all return-to-training protocols are being left to the discretion of individual institutions, as long as the college or university meets the criteria set out by provincial and regional public health guidelines.

Brock is working on its return-to-train framework. Allan said basketball, hockey, rowing, volleyball and wrestling teams have returned to training in some capacity, and most teams have resumed their “strength training programs face-to-face, and a handful have begun sport-specific training in the gym.”

It’s a different story at Niagara College, where the gym and fitness centres remain closed. O’Keefe said coaches are encouraging their athletes to stay in shape by sending them at-home training programs to follow.

“We’re looking at doing some things during the fall online. And I get everybody’s ‘Zoom-ified’ out, but I think if that’s going to our new reality,” she said. “We have to figure out how to deliver a student experience online that is engaging.”

When COVID-19 shut down sports across Canada in March, it was a sudden and drastic change for athletes at both Niagara and Brock. Even with scheduled Zoom calls with coaches and at-home training programs, the uncertainty was — and remains — an adjustment.

“Athletes are slightly different in my perspective because they are so used to a routine,” said O’Keefe. “Exercise gives them an outlet and now they don’t have that so it’s something that’s been ingrained in them for probably 15 years of their lives.

“They now have to reinvent how they keep themselves busy.”

The potential negative impact — both physically and mentally — on student-athletes has not gone overlooked by Brock or Niagara, with both institutions offering mental health counselling.

Allan said Brock offers an “immense amount of resources surrounding mental health,” and the coaches and staff are ensuring student-athletes are aware of the resources available to them.

“We know that not competing this year will have a profound impact on our student-athletes, but we’re working hard to keep them engaged throughout this time by offering alternative training options and staying in close contact,” she added.

O’Keefe said she has been working with the student services department and her coaches to make sure all Niagara student-athletes understand help is available.

“There are some people who have really started to shine through this, and then there are still some people who struggle. It’s not easy because you think at some point it’s going to end, but perhaps not,” she said. “This could be the new normal, and if that’s the case, then we’ll figure it out and we’ll make sure our athletes get what they need.”

Ambiguity remains about what happens next for post-secondary sports. As optimistic as the departments may be about starting the season in January, Canada is facing a global pandemic and much remains up in the air.

“Everything is so uncertain. You go in one direction thinking you’re making the right moves, and then you have to pivot,” O’Keefe 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.”