Coronavirus: Atlantic University Sport cancels winter season

Atlantic University Sport will not proceed with a 2021 winter season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization announced on Wednesday.

In a press release, Atlantic University Sport (AUS) said the decision means there will be no conference-sanctioned regular season or post-season for the rest of the school year.

AUS will also not host any conference championships.

Sports affected by the decision include curling, hockey and basketball.

However, the organization and its 11 members organizations, have decided to allow “member-driven” competition over the upcoming semester.

It will be up to each school to determine how and if they will participate in competitions with other schools.

Those decisions will likely be made as a result of proximity and local health directives, the AUS said.

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“We had hoped to be able to get to a place where we could see some semblance of a regular season and postseason take place for our winter sport student-athletes,” AUS executive director Phil Currie said in a press release.

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“Unfortunately given the current realities in many of our regions, and evolving public health directives, this won’t be possible.”

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The AUS cancelled all fall sports earlier this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That decision was reached after consultation with the other university sports conferences, including Ontario University Athletics and Canada West, as well as the national governing body U Sports.

It means that the university in Atlantic Canada will not have had any competitive athletic programs during the 2020/2021 school year.

READ MORE: U Sports cancels men’s, women’s hockey championships amid coronavirus pandemic

Currie said he was encouraged by the decision of the AUS board of directors to allow member-driven competition if allowed by public health directives.

“The safety of our student-athletes, campuses and surrounding communities is the top priority. But we are also in the business of delivering sport opportunities to young people. And our member universities intend to provide those opportunities so long as the experts deem it safe to do so at that time,” said Currie.