 |
| Valkyries R Haley Girolami is a nurse in Saskatoon. |
On Monday,
WWCFL announced in a release its 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The WWCFL’s executive and board met via a conference call on Sunday
night and made a unanimous decision to call off the campaign.
With
regards to the cancellation, Monday’s release stated, “This decision was made
based on a number of factors the primary of which being the health and safety
of all those involved in our league. Additional factors included the financial
ramifications the COVID-19 situation has had on our teams and players to this
point and will continue to have, as well as the uncertainties posed by the
situation overall.”
The WWCFL
hit the field for its inaugural campaign in 2011 and hadn’t missed crowning a
league champion until this year.
Main
training camps for the WWCFL were expected to start around April 20 with
regular season expected to kickoff about May 2.
Last
season, the Saskatoon Valkyries won their sixth WWCFL title downing the host
Regina Riot 25-3 on June 29, 2019 at Mosaic Stadium. The Riot have won the WWCFL crown three times in their history.
Overall last season, the Valkyries posted a 9-0 record closing the campaign by downing the Montreal Blitz 39-12 in an exhibition tilt at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on July 6, 2019.
Overall last season, the Valkyries posted a 9-0 record closing the campaign by downing the Montreal Blitz 39-12 in an exhibition tilt at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on July 6, 2019.
The 2020 season
cancellation for the WWCFL follows a whole host of other cancellations and
postponements in the sports and entertainment world. Even the 2020 Summer
Olympic Games have been postponed for a start in July of 2021.
The
eight-team WWCFL is a working women’s league, which means the players are
affect by numerous off field developments due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
breakout.
It is pretty well known that significant layoffs have already occurred in a number of industries and a large number of businesses have seen a huge drop in daily revenues.
 |
| Valkyries OG Shelby Payne (#60) is a paramedic. |
It is pretty well known that significant layoffs have already occurred in a number of industries and a large number of businesses have seen a huge drop in daily revenues.
The WWCFL
faced challenges like most other leagues under the scare of COVID-19.
Eventually, each league hits a date where decisions have to be made to cancel
venue bookings in order to save money.
On top of
that, the WWCFL has to judge restrictions imposed by various levels of
governments regarding large gatherings and travel could still be in place by
the time the season comes around. With Saskatchewan under a state of emergency,
all athletic facilities are currently closed and gatherings of over 10 people
are banned.
The WWCFL
would have a hard time trying to push back the season, because the facilities
they play out of have a good chance of being booked for other events.
On top of
all that, it is safe to assume the WWCFL likely saw a drop in sponsorship due
to most businesses facing a revenue crunch at this time.
Of course,
the healthy and safety factor still comes down as the biggest reason to call
things off.
The Valkyries
would be very conscientious about the health and safety factor. Receiver Haley
Girolami, who had a breakout rookie season in last year’s WWCFL championship
campaign, works as a nurse, and standout offensive guard Shelby Payne is
paramedic in Saskatoon’s health system.
 |
| The Valkyries celebrate winning the WWCFL title last year. |
The WWCFL
release concluded stating, “We want to thank the players, coaches and staff of
all of our teams for the work they’ve put in leading up to this season, as well
as our fans, sponsors and volunteers for all of their support. We look forward
to playing and celebrating the WWCFL’s 10th season in 2021.”
Looking at
all the factors, the WWCFL pretty much had no choice to pull the plug on the
2020 campaign. It likely won’t be the only league that has to make this tough
choice.
CFL postpones training camps indefinitely
 |
| Cody Fajardo fires a pass downfield for the Roughriders. |
On Monday, the CFL announced that the start of the league’s
training camps had been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus
(COVID-19) breakout. Rookies had been scheduled to arrive on May 11 with a
rookie camp start date set for May 13.
Main training camps were set to open on May 17.
In a statement, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said, “As
for our future plans, we are in the hands of our public health officials, the
advice they are providing governments and the directives those governments are
issuing to us all, and we acknowledge their timetable will be dictated by the
virus itself. We will make further decisions when we can and share them with
our fans and the public as soon as possible.”
The CFL had
already cancelled two regional combines and its national combine. Its Global
Draft, which was originally set for April 16, has been postponed to coincide with
the start of training camps. Global players were to arrive in Toronto, Ont.,
for a combine before the Global Draft, but all of that is up in the air now.
The CFL Draft remains scheduled for April 30.
The CFL Draft remains scheduled for April 30.
 |
| Safety Mike Edem (#15) blitzes the quarterback for the Roughriders. |
Most of the
CFL’s players and coaches come from the United States and the border between
the United States and Canada is currently closed to non-essential travel. It is
unclear what type of travel restrictions could be in place, when the CFL
training camps are originally slated to open.
In Monday’s
statement, Ambrosie thanked the workers on the front line of health care and
the supply chain.
He said those
in the CFL are “pragmatic optimists.”
The
statement closed with Ambrosie stating, “We continue to look forward to a CFL
season and the Grey Cup.”
During these uncertain times, it is still possible things could change to allow CFL training camps to start on time. Due to the fact the number of cases of COVID-19 are still rising, the CFL made the responsible decision to postpone training camps until further notice.
Of course,
these developments are followed hard in Saskatchewan, which is home to the
Saskatchewan Roughriders and their passionate Rider Nation fanbase.
During these uncertain times, it is still possible things could change to allow CFL training camps to start on time. Due to the fact the number of cases of COVID-19 are still rising, the CFL made the responsible decision to postpone training camps until further notice.
 |
| The Blue Bombers celebrate a TD last season. |
The last
time the Grey Cup was not awarded was 1919 due to a lack of interest along with
a rules dispute between the leagues that competed for the trophy at the time.
The game was cancelled from 1916 to 1918 due to Canada’s participation in the
First World War.
The
Winnipeg Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 in last year’s Grey
Cup held at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta.
This year’s
Grey Cup is slated for Nov. 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
If you have any comments
you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
-------
