Sports leagues awaiting green light amidst COVID-19 crisis

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

This may become the summer of limited sports activities, or maybe the year there was no sports at all.

With the original dates for summer sport activities now being pushed back to an undetermined time frame, some leagues, if not all of them, are going to find themselves struggling to get things underway in 2020. 

The original start date of April 5 for several sports, has been revised with no new projected date offered as to when leagues can get back to business.

The OHA has banned all gathering of teams, ice time, practices, and even executive meetings for the foreseeable future.

This means tryouts have been suspended. So have practice sessions, and training in any facilities. No facilities are currently open at all.

The Junior lacrosse season, which usually gets underway in mid May is now at a standstill.

Tryouts have been suspended and teams have been unable to fill the rosters for the new season. Many teams have a few players lined up, while other teams have been unable to form any kind of player associations at all and have a blank line-up heading into April.

The Orangeville Northmen, A, B, and C clubs are currently at a standstill waiting to see what happens over the next few weeks.

That leaves around 90 junior team hopefuls still waiting for their chance for a shot  at making a team.

Lacrosse normally has teams together at the beginning of April to start practicing ahead of the new season.

“As it's looking right now, it will be delayed even more,” said Northmen Junior C GM, Kent Cotton. “We could certainly expect that the season could start later and go from a 16 game schedule to say, a ten game schedule. There's no indication of what we are going to be doing within the next three weeks.”

Even baseball clubs are going to be affected. While the season usually gets underway for many leagues around the May long weekend, spring tryouts usually start in April. Parks are currently closed and permits not being issued for practices.

The North Dufferin Baseball League, which runs senior and junior divisions, has already announced the possibility of a shortened season once things get underway.

All League meetings have been postponed.

Local junior division team, the Orangeville Rockies, are waiting it out to see what happens before they start their tryouts. The Club usually starts tryouts in April when many players return from school.

However, with local parks closed, they will have to delay tryout sessions until they get the green light from the League.

The NDBL usually starts their summer schedule around the May 24, weekend.

At the high school level, there's going to be a lot of disappointed athletes.

With the return to school at all for the remainder of the year now in doubt, the likelihood of spring high school sports even taking place is dismal.

Local spring high school sports included badminton, track and field, rugby, and girl's soccer,

For now, it's a waiting game for the sports world.