So itSA国际影视传媒檚 official: school sports is gone for another year.

Another year of students not getting the chance to play, another year of athletes not getting that extra chance to show what they can do, another year of coaches not getting a chance to see whatSA国际影视传媒檚 potentially out there in terms of who can play on territorial teams.

Another year lost.

ISA国际影视传媒檇 like to say ISA国际影视传媒檓 shocked but ISA国际影视传媒檓 not. Disappointed? Yes. Upset? Sure. Surprised? Not even in the slightest. When nothing was on the schedule for the start of the 2022 calendar year, I knew nothing was going to happen. I wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 even optimistic and when that happens, itSA国际影视传媒檚 a lost cause.

I still fail to see how something didnSA国际影视传媒檛 happen. All of the proper regulations were put in place, the rules were very clear and no one ever came up with one good reason why we werenSA国际影视传媒檛 able to play. What weSA国际影视传媒檙e left with is a second consecutive year of wondering why there wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 any volleyball or soccer or table tennis or badminton or anything else.

(I wonSA国际影视传媒檛 use track and field as an example for this year because thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a rather large reason why this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 championships in Hay River wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 have happened. People are still trying to clean up.)

Now, before you start jumping down my throat, I am not blaming the NWT School Athletics Federation, just like I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 last time I criticized the non-hosting of school sports. The federation is not at fault for nothing happening because it can only operate based on what SA国际影视传媒� and how SA国际影视传媒� the school boards tell them. If the school boards wonSA国际影视传媒檛 allow the gymnasiums or their buildings to be used, there isnSA国际影视传媒檛 much it can do.

So donSA国际影视传媒檛 go yelling at them. The federation wants the kids to play just as much as you and I do.

But what I find extremely frustrating, and maybe you will as well when you read about it, is that school sports happened in other parts of the country this past scholastic year. Pick a province and youSA国际影视传媒檒l find something resembling school leagues taking place. How is it that school sports can happen in jurisdictions with larger population bases, and a much larger threat of Covid-19, but weSA国际影视传媒檙e still waiting and wondering when our kids will get the chance to get back out on the court/field/ice?

By extension, no school sports has absolutely ruined the development of athletes who are training in the North. Bad enough they didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have much of a chance to do anything for the better part of the past two years at the club level but a lot of them use school sports as extra practice. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 especially true for the athletes from the communities, let alone Yellowknife. If they canSA国际影视传媒檛 play, they canSA国际影视传媒檛 get better. If they canSA国际影视传媒檛 get better, they wonSA国际影视传媒檛 achieve. And if they canSA国际影视传媒檛 achieve, whatSA国际影视传媒檚 the point?

I say that latter part because we are on the cusp of one of the busiest stretches of major games ever seen in the North. It all begins in August with the Canada Summer Games in Ontario. Sure, athletes and coaches have been able to get back in gyms or head out to fields and have some sort of training camp but one or two big weekends wonSA国际影视传媒檛 even come close to replicating what used to be. Yes, I know weSA国际影视传媒檙e in the SA国际影视传媒渘ew normalSA国际影视传媒� and weSA国际影视传媒檝e had that phrase force-fed to us for months on end but can you say ISA国际影视传媒檓 wrong?

Coaches for major games have used school sports tournaments as a way to see whatSA国际影视传媒檚 out there and gauge whatSA国际影视传媒檚 coming down the pipeline. Track and field is one of the biggest benefactors of the NWT Track and Field Championships because coaches were able to not only take notes but have athletes nail down qualifying standards. You see, track and field isnSA国际影视传媒檛 a sport where you simply show up and play SA国际影视传媒� you have to meet a certain standard and if you donSA国际影视传媒檛, you donSA国际影视传媒檛 play. Swimming is another sport where you need to hit the seed time in order to qualify for an event. No seed time? No plane ride.

The coaching staffs are doing the best they possibly can to make up for lost time but so much has been lost already and ISA国际影视传媒檓 worried about how itSA国际影视传媒檚 going to look, especially at the Canada Summer Games. This is the best of the best when it comes to amateur sport in Canada and weSA国际影视传媒檙e expecting our young athletes to try and hang with athletes who have probably not lost as much time as we have. ISA国际影视传媒檓 not talking about the big provinces, ISA国际影视传媒檓 looking at New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island. Those are the provinces weSA国际影视传媒檝e always had a chance against but even now, you have to wonder. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 been tough before but it could be ugly. ISA国际影视传媒檓 not taking pleasure saying that SA国际影视传媒� ISA国际影视传媒檓 just warning you so there isnSA国际影视传媒檛 any sticker shock.

So as we prepare to enjoy the closest thing to a proper summer holiday since 2019, keep in mind that the new school year is less than three months away. LetSA国际影视传媒檚 hope the ducks are in a row so we can get the kids playing again because a third year of no school sports would be the nail in the coffin.