By Tom Walker | Head of Sport
In an update on January 13, BUCS announced that all League and Knockout seasons will be cancelled for the remainder of the academic year.
The announcement comes as coronavirus cases continue to increase across the whole of the United Kingdom.
“Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the unpredictable nature of nationwide lockdowns and restrictions, it is not possible for the competition to go ahead in a safe environment.”
After no BUCS competitions across the whole of semester one, there was hope that university sport would be able to return in the new year, with BUCS adapting the structures of its competitions to ensure there were less travel for the teams.
Over the last few months, we did all we could to try and make sport happen.” The statement read, “We very much recognise the importance of sport, and the part it plays in the physical and mental wellbeing of students, especially at the moment.
“However, whilst our overarching goal is to deliver the best student sport experience, to put competition on during this time would risk player welfare and safety, and that is not a chance we are willing to take.”
Amongst the gloomy news, they did ensure that the Outdoor Cricket league set to take place in the third semester is still in their plans.
In regard to individual sports, they have all been postponed until March at the earliest, with hope that they can be played later on in the year, but of course this is subject to the ever-changing conditions of the pandemic.
They also laid out their plans to reintroduce virtual competitions for teams to participate in:
“We continue to provide virtual activity and other engaging opportunities”, enabling “healthy competition between individuals, teams and universities.”
There has yet to be any announcement in reference to the 2021 Varsity set to take place around April, however in the same vein as the BUCS decision, its hard to predict its status.
This news will undoubtedly bring much disappointment to teams across Cardiff University and the wider university sport landscape. The importance of sport to many student’s university experience cannot go understated, which makes the entire absence of it this year frustrating for university athletes and fans everywhere.
We cannot wait for university sport to return back to regularity in the 2021/22 academic season.
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