Track and field is back… sort of

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This article was published 23/06/2020 (2094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The local athletics community has cleared the first hurdle but still has many more ahead.

University Stadium, home of the Manitoba Bisons track and field team, was open for training Tuesday evening for the first time since the pandemic hit.

However, things were far from usual. The track looked more like a crime scene as there was caution tape everywhere to split the outdoor facility into zones for different events. Hurdles and other barriers are also being used to section off certain areas, with signs reminding athletes to stay at a distance from one another. There’s only one point of entry and a hand sanitizer station has been set up. Athletes are asked to sign waivers ahead of time and are also screened by coaches before practice.

The first group to enter the facility was the Bisons middle-distance running squad. There were nearly a dozen runners out on Tuesday for a chance to hit the track and work with Bisons coach Claude Berubé in person for the first time in months.

“It’s a weird look, it’s different but it’s kind of expected and it makes sense,” said fifth-year Bisons runner Mike Wood. “We still have to try to be as cautious as we can be — even though it feels like the whole COVID thing has been going on for a while now. It’s kind of starting to become an afterthought but you still have to be safe and protect ourselves and each other.”

While Wood and his teammates can now train together, there’s still no schedule for when and where their next official race will be. Wood was a member of the men’s 4×800 relay team that won bronze at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon in February.

“It’s harder in some ways but easier in other ways as well,” said Wood on training without knowing when they can compete again.

“It’s not always about hitting those times all the time. It’s OK to take a day off here and there and maybe not finish a workout if you’re just really not feeling it because it can be hard to stay motivated. So, that’s kind of a good thing, just not taking it as seriously and coming to have fun, but at the same time, it would be nice to build off the success from the indoor season and start running those faster times again.”

Athletics Manitoba executive director Alanna Boudreau said while Tuesday is a step in the right direction, there remain more questions than answers when it comes to the state of this summer’s local track and field season.

“We don’t know yet. It’s too hard right now to say,” Boudreau said.

“We want to. Our community is thinking we would like to do something like that but we have to come up with plans and procedures when it comes to sanitizing and cleaning all the equipment and making sure that with any spectators, parents and athletes that we still have some capacity restrictions. It’s not just a free-for-all. We really don’t know. We’re working on some options but we don’t know how that’s going to pan out yet.”

Berubé encourages his athletes to compete as much as possible throughout the summer but that might not be feasible this year. If there are no avenues to compete in the coming months, Berubé said they’ll need to figure out some sort of alternative before the indoor season is scheduled to begin in January.

“We’re hoping there are some little meets to help keep that competitive edge because for some of our non-distance running athletes, they competed mid-March at the nationals and then if we don’t have another meet until January even, that’s more than half a year without a competition. Athletes are in it to compete, so it makes for a long time in between, so we’re hoping for at least something to keep that competitive edge,” said Berubé.

There are no guarantees the indoor season will happen, though. If it does, it will certainly look a lot different and Berubé has warned his athletes of that. In a typical season, the Bisons travel to four or five meets, predominantly south in places such as Grand Forks and Fargo, N.D., Minneapolis and South Dakota.

With those meets likely off the table, Berubé said if there is an indoor season, they’ll have to look to put a bigger emphasis on going to other Canadian cities for meets. But that’s not as easy as it sounds as Saskatoon is the closest option and that’s nearly a nine-hour drive.

You also can’t ignore whether schools will be able to afford to travel.

Canada West will make an official decision on the sport in October. The conference has already cancelled fall sports: football, soccer, rugby and field hockey.

“Track and field I think in a lot of respects is one sport that can return close to normal,” said Berubé.

“It won’t be normal normal but at least closer to. So, we’re going to find out in October.”

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31