HVCC Cancels Sports for the Foreseeable Future

By Samantha Simmons, Broadcast Editor

Many colleges across the country, including most SUNY community colleges, decided to cancel “high-risk” sports for the Spring season.

HVCC’s assistant athletic director, Adam Sopris, released a statement on January 13 saying that the college would not be “conducting intercollegiate athletic competition or practices” for the remaining academic year.

Justin Hoyt, Director of HVCC’s Athletics Department, said that the decision to cancel Spring sports was to stay cautious, and keep student-athletes and others on campus safe. 

The Capital Region has recently seen a rise in COVID-19 cases. This rise has influenced the athletics department and college administration at HVCC to find it necessary to keep exposures low.

In the statement released by Sopris, Hoyt said that this announcement came before the start of the Spring semester. This was to allow student-athletes the ability to transfer where they could continue to participate in athletics this season. The Athletic Department saw it important to make this decision public immediately as to not hinder a student’s athletic or educational goals.

Hoyt said that student-athletes will still have access to oversight and enrichment programs that are usually offered to them throughout the semester. Coaches will also continue to recruit potential students for the next Fall sports season and recruit out students continuing their careers.

The Athletic Department will remain busy even with the lack of training and competitions going on. The department will be “heavily involved” with on-campus COVID-19 testing throughout the spring semester.

Hudson Valley offers an ESports team that competes from home. This Spring sports cancellation does not affect the way these student-athletes play and compete. Mitchel Clow, who played for the Smash Bros. team last semester, is thankful that the team still gets to play and compete weekly. Clow said Coach Stranahan encourages the team to practice their game with teammates throughout the week to prepare for the weekly NJCAAE tournaments that are held. 

Regarding ESports, Hoyt said he is excited about the program’s growth in interest, members and what the future of ESports will look like at HVCC.

Jim Bowles, assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams, is reaching out to student-athletes through emails and texts to get the athletes on a training plan. 

Since there is no in-person training or competition, an athlete can benefit from having a Coach to check in throughout the week and get advice.

The Athletics Department said they are looking forward to the Fall of 2021 and hope to offer all 20 varsity sports.