SARNIA, ON – While the news on Thursday afternoon didn’t come as much of a surprise, it was still a tough pill to swallow for student-athletes, coaches, and athletic departments across the province.

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) announced the decision to cancel all sanctioned varsity athletics for the 2021 Winter Semester due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

But, for the Lions, not all hope is lost for some sort of competition. While the OCAA cancelled all sanctioned play for the year, Lambton College has the potential to participate in unsanctioned play going forward, if deemed safe to do so in the future.

The Lions basketball teams have been training since September as part of Lambton College’s phased reopening of the Athletics & Fitness Complex, and will continue to train with the hopes of some form of play in 2021.

“We have been fortunate enough to have been able to have our players in the gym training and staying in shape while following strict COVID-19 protocols,” said James Grant, Manager of Athletics & Student Life. “The practices and workouts have been anything but normal, but they’ve brought back a sense of normalcy at the same time.”

“The safety of our student-athletes, coaches, and the college community as a whole has been our primary focus, and will continue to be our main focus as we continue to train in these uncertain times.”

If given the safe go-ahead, the Lions intend to pursue the avenue of unsanctioned play with other colleges who wish to compete. While this will not be a full slate of 22 basketball playing institutions, there does seem to be an appetite amongst a strong group of schools.

“Varsity athletics are a key part of Student Life at Lambton College, and they play a big role in the mental health and positive engagement on campus of our student-athletes,” continued Grant. “We know there are other programs that want to participate in sport, it’s just a matter of when we will be able to safely do so.”