Who is Elite?
"I am elite."
Across the board, it's time that we all appropriately respect, appreciate, and support the student-athletes across the OUA, OCAA, and all of U SPORTS and the CCAA because by every sense of the word, they are ELITE.#AllCanadian | #OCAAisELITE | #OUAisELITE pic.twitter.com/JCcfLIDFBZ
— All-Canadian Sports Network (@AllCdnSportsNet) January 12, 2022
What is "Elite"?
The Ontario College Athletic Association has been forced to delay the start of its 2022 varsity season. This comes after the Ontario government placed new restrictions on January 5th, hoping to limit the spread of the Omicron variant. The O.C.A.A. will reevaluate its season plans on January 21st, as Premier Doug Ford has implemented the five people inside and ten people outdoors gathering rule.
Sports isn't being restricted for all leagues in Ontario however. Leagues that have been deemed professional or "elite" by the province can continue with their seasons. Student-Athletes in the O.C.A.A have trained and waited patiently, working hard in the classroom and in practice so they may be deemed eligible by their school to play. This leaves people wondering, what more can college athletes do to be considered elite by our province?
Garret Holmes has started a petition to help classify Ontario college and university athletes as elite, so they can continue playing their seasons. Holmes played varsity football at the University of Western where he studied political science. In July of 2020, Garret created the Canadian Student Athlete Association to help bring issues affecting students participating in varsity sports to the public eye. Thousands of supporters have signed the petition, with most of the posting on social media seeming hopeful that this will encourage our premier to reevaluate his current league classifications.
Institutions such as Mohawk College, Centennial, and George Brown have all been active in this push on social media. They post their commitments to uphold safe environments for their students to train and compete in, so they may be accepted back in the game.
For fans, there's not much information available regarding updates on spectators being allowed to come back. If they are allowed back at sporting venues, they should expect reduced capacity limits, and mask mandates. COVID-19 Vaccines are mandatory for all participants in O.C.A.A. as well as negative rapid tests before all games.
Fans and athletes are hopeful this is the last extended penalty that we are faced with when it comes to playing or watching sports. Scoring on someone isn't the same when it's not sanctioned, just like cheering for your team isn't the same on your mom's couch.
-Matt Marsden
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