Riley Rathwell is from the Battlefords and is in his second year attending Lakeland College. (submitted photo/Rustlers Athletics)

By Martin Martinson

Season cancelled

Lakeland Athletics adjust to cancelled ACAC season

Nov 12, 2020 | 5:30 PM

Following several setbacks and changes, the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association (ACAC) officially announced, this month, the cancellation of all winter sports for the 2020/2021 season.

In a statement, the league revealed they based the decision on the surge of COVID-19 cases in Alberta, which has caused the majority of member institutions to extend online delivery of programs in the winter semester.

The move follows that of other athletic organizations cancelling competition for the calendar year, including the Canada West conference.

Riley Rathwell is a local athlete from the Battlefords, attending his second year at the college. Rathwell followed his passion for basketball to Lakeland, and said it was tough to accept the news earlier this month that the season was in fact cancelled, following months of uncertainty.

“It was tough because we were told they working on a season, or some form of a season, so we’ve been going hard practicing [several] times a week to get ready,” he said. “It was definitely hard news to hear, for sure, but we have a really good group this year, so hopefully everyone sticks around and we can keep getting better and be ready for a good season next year.”

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Lakeland’s Athletic Director Alan Rogan said while it’s certainly tough news to swallow, he’s been impressed by the response of both coaches and athletes alike, in their ability to stay positive and make the best of the situation.

“I’ve had conversations with our student reps from each team, and they told me they understand that we can’t supply them with a lot of competitive opportunities right now [due to the rules],” he said. “But they just appreciate the fact that we’re able to give them an opportunity to at least train and create some competitive opportunities within their own team(s).”

He said the credit goes to the school’s coaches, for staying dedicated to their teams’ development, and working with the players even with the challenging circumstances.

“Our coaches are finding creative ways to keep our student athletes engaged,” he said. “It’s not just about training physically in the gym; it’s other ways [too], until we can get some kind of better competitive experience for them.”

Rogan said the school is working to try to continue to provide an engaging experience for the student athletes, while also keeping safety the top priority.

“The safety of our student athletes and our Lakeland community is our number one priority, but we also want to try to create an experience for our student athletes that they’re going to enjoy,” he said. “When the year winds up, we want to be able to say that while it was a different year, they were still able to really enjoy it.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1