How the OUA's decision to cancel the 2020 season will impact athletic scholarships

Student athletes disappointed with OUA decision From CTV Kitchener's Leighanne Evans: National university championships have been suspended for the rest of the year because of COVID-19.

WATERLOO — The Ontario University Athletics decision to cancel all OUA-sanctioned sports for the remainder of the season is having an impact on student athletes, coaches and staff.

Selena Tansella, who plays for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s soccer team, was preparing for her second season when the news broke.

“I was really upset,” she told CTV News in an interview. “I know myself and other athletes have been training a lot.”

The OUA President and CEO, Gord Grace, says he understands how disappointing the news is for athletes, coaches, parents and the fans.

But one thing that hasn't been affected is sport scholarships.

“Students will be able to maintain their scholarship, even when we don’t play, and they’ve also been given another year of eligibility,” Grace says.

That means all players can come back for another year, giving some athletes close to graduating a decision to make.

“We do have about five girls in their fourth or fifth year,” Tansella says, referring to her WLU teammates. “We’ve been talking about if they would be interested in doing a fifth year and I think they are.”

As for the fate of the coaches and staff members; the OUA says that decision is left up to the individual universities because the finances and contracts are unique for each school and person.

Grace says they're hopeful the season can restart in January 2021, with sports like hockey and basketball getting a shortened scheduled.