This might sound hard to believe, but UFV hasn’t had live sporting events for around a year and a half. COVID-19 and the challenges of the pandemic completely halted sports for universities across the country, and many players and teams have gone through monumental changes behind closed doors. Steve Tuckwood, UFV’s Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, explained what sports are going to look like this year for Cascades fans.
“Working off the current health orders, if we were to have a game today, my knowledge is we can have either 50 people, or 10 percent of whatever is allowed in that space at the time.”
That number includes players and staff. So, provided that UFV crunches the numbers, a certain number of fans should be allowed to attend games in-person again. Despite the fact that fans don’t yet know how available tickets will be, Tuckwood confirmed that UFV will bring in just about as many people as they can while following guidelines.
“Our intention is to have fans, in the building, watching live sports. We will let in as many as we are allowed, that is safe, and that’s sort of where it’s at.”
The summer of 2021 was quite different from the turbulent and difficult summer the year before for UFV’s athletic department, according to Tuckwood. As COVID-19 numbers decreased and the department geared up for the fall, the atmosphere completely changed.
“It was a lot more positive. I think there were just people who were much more convinced that we were getting closer to a return to competitive opportunities. It was more upbeat. Through the spring, as things sort of eased, people’s attitudes just sort of changed. We saw more smiles; we saw more ‘it’s great to be back.’
“I would say it was 1000 times more positive than the previous summer when things were just so uncertain, and people were only a few months into trying to adjust to the challenges of isolation and restrictions,” says Tuckwood.
Not only are the Cascades back this year, but they are sporting new rosters, new coaches, and new systems for play. While some staff and players have remained, 10s of new players have joined the various varsity teams, from local talent all the way to Europe and abroad. The season has so many concurrent storylines, it’s almost hard to imagine a more exciting return than the one they are currently training for.
The first teams to kick off the return to play will be the men’s and women’s soccer teams, which play home games on September 17. Following that, the basketball teams will kick off their seasons at UFV on October 29. Lastly, the volleyball teams begin their campaign for Canada West success on November 5.
Image: Dan Kinvig/UFV
