King's Announces the Postponement of All Fall Sports Until the Spring Semester
Courts remain barren as fall sports are cancelled due to COVID-19 | Photo Courtesy of Bryan Finley
Even though in person classes are still in session this semester at The King’s College, fall sports have been postponed until this spring.
According to The King’s College Athletic Director, Bryan Finley, the United States College Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) were very influential when making the decision to scrub athletic competition for the remainder of the year.
The USCAA, which acts as King’s national governing body, rescheduled the national championships to the spring semester while its local conference, HVIAC, followed suit and pushed the fall conference championships to next season.
“It would not make any sense to play a regular season schedule in September and October to then possibly compete in playoff and championship games in April,” Finley commented. He also added that the facilities in New York City that TKC uses to play volleyball and soccer remain closed due to the health risks that the global pandemic, known as COVID-19, still poses to the city.
Since courts and fields are off limits, The King’s College COVID-19 Task Force and Finley both arrived at the conclusion that they should hold off on conducting any games for the semester. “Everyone was disappointed, but given the way things have gone since March with COVID-19 with closings, cancellations, strict guidelines, etc., I can't really say anyone was surprised,” Finley stated.
Other competing schools around the nation found themselves in the same boat as they too had to cancel or postpone fall sports.
Student-athlete, Samantha Klozik, has been on the women's volleyball team since her freshman year at King’s. Now a junior, she plays on the team as an outside hitter. She said she received an email from the King’s athletic department in July stating that the upcoming season had been cancelled.
“Following that was a strange disorientation. Fall time has always been dedicated to volleyball. There's a constant fear that any given game might be your last (due to injury or illness or spontaneous combustion). Although it's not a surprising decision, it's unsettling to simply wait,” Klozik stated.
Even though the news about her volleyball season was off-putting, Klozik claimed to have some relief that the right precautions were taken in order to keep students safe and out of harm's way with a virus on the loose. “I would have been skeptical about going back on the court. It just takes one sick person to bench the whole team,” she added.
Although competitions have come to a halt for the time being, student athletes are encouraged by their coaches to stay in shape during the off season. The King’s volleyball coach, Richard Christensen Jr., will be providing the team with workouts to complete on their own, along with other resources that will keep them sharp and ready to play in the spring, according to Klozik.
Klozik recommends finding a teammate to work with in order to maintain success through such unprecedented times. Over the summer she and a fellow student-athlete created exercises using household objects, even claiming to have used a skateboard for core workouts. She believes working together not only keeps everyone connected and creative but also offers a sense of accountability to one another as a team.
As for how well she anticipates the spring season to pan out, she is still unsure, especially considering it may involve traveling to other schools in different states for games.
“I can imagine what that season might look like now,” Klozik commented, “masks, long sleeves, a net lined in a plastic barrier, and a lysol bottle to hose down the ball between each play.”
The sports director at The King’s College remains hopeful yet realistic. “While we would like nothing better than to get back to playing in the spring semester, and we are optimistic, the health and safety of our student-athletes and our entire TKC community is of the utmost importance, and we will follow all local, state and federal guidelines,” Finley said.