2020 Vanier Cup cancelled because of coronavirus

Vanier Cup (Jim Mullin, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Devin Heroux of CBC Sports on Monday, the 2020 Vanier Cup has been cancelled because of coronavirus. The Canadian university football championship was to take place on November 28 at a location that was to be determined.

This will be the first time since 1965, when the tournament first started, that there will be no Vanier Cup. Currently, there are 96, 614 cases of coronavirus in Canada and 7895 deaths.

It should be noted that the Canadian national university football championship is not the only university sports championship that has been cancelled in Canada for the fall. Other national championships that will not take place are in the sports of women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s cross country running, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s rugby.

What is a little strange from the USports Canada press release is that men’s rugby was not mentioned as being cancelled. On November 5, 2019, it was announced that Kingston, Ontario would host the 2020 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship from November 25-29.

The announcement of the cancellations of various national university sports championships in Canada this fall came on the same day that the Canada West Conference announced the cancellation of all sport until at least January 1, 2021. That means the schedules of various multi-term sports such as hockey, volleyball, and basketball will be shortened.

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