Pitch for ‘accountability’: U of W soccer team asks to be reinstated

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This article was published 16/01/2025 (276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Wesmen soccer team is appealing to university leaders to save its 2025 season and increase budget transparency related to campus sports programs.

Jazmyn Castro, a centre-midfielder on the women’s soccer team that was put on hiatus earlier this week, said athletics-related inequality is a daily occurrence at the University of Winnipeg.

“Even in the simplest stuff — we have the biggest team, but we have the smallest team room and we are always double-booked for field time,” said Castro.

The U of W announced Tuesday it was ending its English Language Program and benching the soccer team in response to “significant financial challenges.”

University president Todd Mondor called the cost-cutting measures “regrettable,” but told community members they were necessary to maintain core programming.

Fall meeting minutes show U of W was projecting as much as $5 million in tuition losses, owing to the federal government’s new cap on international student enrolment.

Soccer team captain Sydney Arnold penned a letter to Mondor and the Board of Regents Thursday afternoon to request a U-turn.

“This decision not only impacts our team but also undermines the broader progress toward equity in sports and gender equality,” the defender wrote on behalf of the team made up of roughly 22 athletes.

The team met for a brainstorming session Wednesday at the Duckworth Centre, one day after they were told about the year-long suspension.

In her email to board members, Arnold called attention to the fact she and her teammates were sought out by the university and the women committed to stay in Manitoba to play for the length of their U Sports eligibility.

The 21-year-old was slated to compete in her fifth and final season this summer.

The team accuses decision makers of sending “a troubling message” about the value of women’s athletics.

Its captain noted Wesmen basketball players recently travelled to both Nova Scotia and South Dakota while her team did not do any pre-season travel last year “due to ineffective management and compounding human resource issues.”

At the same time, she indicated the team’s conference size was reduced so its travel costs were cut in half.

“We have poured countless hours of training, energy and passion into this program. Now, with the uncertainty surrounding our scholarships and futures, we feel compelled to call for transparency and accountability from the university administration on athletic team budgets,” Arnold wrote.

She added private donors built a state-of-the-art training facility, which includes a handful of soccer pitches, on campus to support a U Sports team.

The $40-million Axworthy Health and RecPlex opened in 2014.

Despite feeling unsupported, the women have motivated one another to compete, Castro said.

Given the student-athletes had an interim coach in 2024, players anticipated there would be a trainer-related update on Tuesday rather than one about their future, she said.

A team-led petition to reverse the decision, which was launched on Thursday, gathered 1,000 signatures within hours.

Multiple players told the Free Press there had been a number of player complaints filed against a former trainer, and they are skeptical the hiatus decision was made solely related to budget constraints.

The U of W did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca