Toronto, ON- The last few weeks have been relatively quiet in the world of university sports, and this week is no different. While little has changed within university sports in the past week, storylines surrounding U SPORTS have made some headlines.
CEBL U SPORTS Draft: April 14
The Canadian Elite Basketball League will draft from U SPORTS for the third straight year. The CEBL announced Thursday that the league will reveal draft selections on April 14 through its social media channels.
A representative from each of the CEBL’s seven franchises will take part in a closed-doors three-round virtual draft before the league reveals the selections to the public. The selection order is the reverse order of the final standings from the 2020 CEBL Summer Series.
“There is a tremendous pool of basketball talent all across this country, and U SPORTS programs continue to develop so many of our best Canadian stars,” said CEBL commissioner Mike Morreale in a statement. “With what has been a difficult year for all, we hope the upcoming U SPORTS draftees will look forward with some excitement to see where they land for the upcoming 2021 CEBL season.”
CEBL teams can select U SPORTS players who have finished their U SPORTS eligibility or younger players who can join CEBL clubs while maintaining U SPORTS eligibility as part of the CEBL’s U SPORTS Developmental player program. Each player must be Canadian and have completed one year of eligibility in U SPORTS. With no eligibility charged this year, it sounds as though first-year players will not be eligible.
FISU Postpones Chengdu 2021 Summer Games
FISU has postponed the Chengdu 2021 World University Summer Games from the coming summer to 2022.
Previously known as the Summer Universiade, FISU postponed the Summer Games due to travel restrictions and other concerns surrounding COVID-19. This is the second World University Games postponed by the pandemic, as FISU pushed its Winter Games from January 2021 to December.
Similar to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic, the Chengdu 2021 branding and name will remain the same, despite the postponement to 2022. FISU will announce dates for the rescheduled games at a later date.
With the postponement, the Chengdu games will happen after China hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
U SPORTS Academic Study
Brock University student Josh Mallory is conducting a study on the U SPORTS brand/product and its significance to university students attending an OUA institution.
“The purpose of this research is to generate insight into better understanding how explicit and implicit associations of the USPORTS brand affects the brand’s meaning among Ontario university students who identify as sports fans.”
Supervised by Dr. Chris Chard, the study asks for students who are sports fans between 18-25 and are currently enrolled in an OUA school. There is no requirement to be up to date on U SPORTS or be a fan of a school team.
An interviewer will interview interested participants for approximately 30-60 minutes on their perceptions and experiences about U SPORTS as a student-aged sports fan.
If you fit the criteria and are interested in taking part, please contact JM14KM@BrockU.ca
MUST READ: Jasmine McKnight’s year away from sport
Jasmine McKnight of The Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s campus newspaper, wrote an exceptional piece on her experience as an athlete through a season that never happened.
Like most other university student-athletes, McKnight, a member of the Gee-Gees ultimate frisbee team, has not been able to compete with her teammates this season.
Although the missed season has allowed her to focus on other things, she, like many others, cannot wait to get back on the field.
The Wednesday wrap-up will be available weekly, highlighting the biggest stories in U SPORTS from the last seven days. To keep up with men’s hockey recruits, make sure to follow us on Twitter @49SPORTNET.