In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, NESCAC, a conference in the Northeastern US that includes some of the best swimming programs in Division III, has canceled conference competition, including conference championships, for the winter season. Several of the conference’s institutions have canceled all competition in winter sports.
While the announcement does not preclude conference institutions from scheduling competition with other NESCAC or non-conference opponents, at least one school says that it’s “highly unlikely” that winter season teams will compete this year.
“Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely our winter season teams will compete this year,” an FAQ posted by Bowdoin College says. “Factors influencing this determination include ongoing concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19, increasingly stringent NCAA safety and testing guidelines governing indoor competition, current restrictions governing indoor athletic activity in the State of Maine, potential limitations on access to athletic facilities in order to support the academic program and considerable restrictions on group travel. We will continue to review these issues and NCAA, CDC and State of Maine safety guidelines on a sport-by-sport basis in the weeks ahead, but for planning purposes, winter season athletes should not anticipate competing during the spring semester.”
The school also says that it’s “unlikely” that it’s spring teams will compete this year too, though not out of the question. Bodwoin says that if competition is able to resume, priority will be given to spring season sports, saying that it’s also “unlikely” that fall sports teams will compete during the spring semester.
Bowdoin does anticipate that student-athletes will be able to train on campus in the spring.
Other schools have made similar decisions about winter sports. Amherst, Hamilton, Middlebury, and Williams, for example, have announced the cancellation of all winter sports.
Schools’ Individual Statements on 2020-2021 Winter Sports, including swimming & diving:
- Amherst College – canceled
- Bates College – no elaboration
- Bowdoin College – “highly unlikely”
- Colby College – no elaboration
- Connecticut College – canceled
- Hamilton College – canceled
- Middlebury College – canceled
- Trinity College – no elaboration
- Tufts University – no elaboration
- Wesleyan University – no elaboration
- Williams College – canceled
The most recent NCAA Division III Championship meet, which was held in 2019, saw 2 NESCAC schools finish in the top 8 finishers of the women’s meet. Williams placed 4th, and Amherst placed 8th.
The men’s meet also saw both of those programs in the top 10, with Williams 7th and Amherst 9th.
Full Conference Release:
With the fall semester for NESCAC institutions well underway, the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and the broader community remain our foremost concerns. Our institutions have limited travel off campus, restricted visitors to campus, and implemented strict protocols on physical distancing. To further mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and protect the well-being of those on campus and in the surrounding communities, each of our institutions is conducting a robust COVID-19 testing program.
In addition to these measures, many of our institutions have made or are considering significant modifications to the 2020-21 academic calendar. As a result, many of our students will not return to campus for the spring semester until late January or early February.
Given these institutional policies and calendar changes, the NESCAC Presidents have unanimously decided to cancel NESCAC conference competition, including conference championships, for the winter season. Among other things, the timing of students’ return to campus means there will not be enough time to conduct meaningful conference play.
We understand this decision will disappoint many of our students, given the important role athletics plays in the student experience. We remain committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our students to engage in athletic activities. Students may continue to participate in practice activities, strength and conditioning, skill development and leadership programming in accordance with NCAA, Conference and institutional policies, as well as state and local health guidelines. Institutions may schedule outside competition at their discretion.
Planning continues for the possibility of spring competition and updated information will be provided as it becomes available.
Biddy Martin, Amherst College
Clayton Spencer, Bates College
Clayton Rose, Bowdoin College
David Greene, Colby College
Katherine Bergeron, Connecticut College
David Wippman, Hamilton College
Laurie Patton, Middlebury College
Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Trinity College
Tony Monaco, Tufts University
Michael Roth, Wesleyan University
Maud Mandel, Williams College
Since it’s always about the almighty dollar — how much do these schools stand to save by cancelling winter sports? The Presidents Statement was gutless and they should all be ashamed!
Click the link, sign the petition (almost at 150k now)
“Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching. Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd… Read more »
VERY SENSIBLE but not realistic in this culture of psycho-mania, sad to say.
Where exactly is there herd immunity? It takes about 70% of the population in a location to have recovered for there to be herd immunity to this. Not happening anywhere that I know of.
T cell immunity. Quit spouting the same BS from March. We have more knowledge now. At this point, you are openly advocating for the destruction of the sport we all love quite simply because you refuse to do any research outside the lame stream media. Good luck with that!
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/emerging-data-support-lasting-covid19-immunity-t-cells
Sounds like a nice article until you realize it is complete conjecture….the 2nd to last sentence even says as much.
You mean like the conjecture that 2.2 million Americans would die from Covid? We all bought that. This one is far more plausible. Even Fauci said T cells exist in August (predictably he flip flopped in September).
Your defense of your conjecture is “there was this other conjecture that didn’t come true”?
That’s not exactly a reassuring counterpunch, is it?
This conjecture is much closer to reality (check sweden for example who did very little and seems like they’ve reached herd immunity) than much of the other conjecture we’ve been force fed for months on end that we need to “stay at home, save lives”. At least the conjecture I posted has a real world example.
I’m sorry but what evidence is there that Sweden has reached ‘herd immunity’? Cases fell because people started distancing and wearing masks. Not fully, but they started doing better.
And now their cases are rising again.
There is no science behind “Sweden has reached herd immunity.” I can’t believe we’re still pretending that Sweden ‘won’ this.
Well, they’ve been averaging a death or two a day for about two and a half months now. Herd immunity doesn’t mean nobody gets it ever again.
And I’m not sure which leftist rag told you they wear masks and distance but they just don’t. They have had the exact same guidance they’ve followed since day 1. Virus gonna virus. Wake up already. Sad that you believe everything you read or see in the MSM.
See, you’re confusing “what the government tells you to do” with “what people do.” In Sweden, people are distancing without being forced to by the government. Here, the government makes rules about it, and people pick up guns for their right to not do it.
From this “leftist rag” – https://www.breitbart.com/news/sweden-spared-surge-of-virus-cases-but-many-questions-remain/
“While the rest of the world watched with envy at the freedoms that Swedes enjoyed amid lockdowns elsewhere, there were not as many as people have assumed. Gatherings were capped at 50, and congregating at bars was banned.
Most of the changes involved voluntary actions by citizens, rather than rules imposed by the government.
This trust given to the population to shoulder… Read more »
The situation in Europe is mixed . Currently Slovakia does not let in ppl from Czech. It’s pretty funny tho , who remembers a thing called Czechoslovakia.?
Nothing stays the same, be prepared for new situations . Be flexible.
It’s useless to engage with this guy. He’s in an echo chamber of ignorance and just grasps for any weak theory or report to bolster his misguided beliefs. He’s a big Scott Atlas fan, and that sure has worked out well at the White House.
Side note, when you’re being fully backed by the mainstream media, you aren’t the resistance.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I was scrolling down looking for Swedish herd immunity miracle. And sure enough…
These macho guys here do not understand what herd immunity means. It means that NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, cases are going down. Basic reproductive rate is < 1, which means infections will decline and eventually disappear. There is no such place in the world now, including Sweden and New York (now increasing in both places) where this is true. Can it happen? Sure, but for a yuuuuuge price of many more dead.
Here is a good article from Science Magazine about “Swedish Miracle.”
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/it-s-been-so-so-surreal-critics-sweden-s-lax-pandemic-policies-face-fierce-backlash
You will find this in that article:
“A 17 March directive to Stockholm area hospitals… Read more »
Q was banned from FaceBook, so I guess you need to spend more time here now. Sucks.
What does this have to do with Williams? Stay on Facebook boomers and help keep bs politics out of swimming.
Dude, you lost on these arguments months ago and things have only gotten worse since then.
Take a tour of the White House.
The White House is in great shape despite the distorted view of weak-minded people.
My daughter is a junior at Williams and while she knew the season would be truncated, didn’t expect it to be cancelled completely. A tough blow for kids who have already had so many disappointments this year (and last year with the cancellation of NCAAs).
Well, now I can’t spell her name wrong if I write an article on the league championships
Very sad news for the seniors on campus 🙁
Thanks for thinking of the seniors. As a parent of a Williams senior, it leaves us and the athletes without a sense of closure: no senior night, no senior recognition banquet, no recognition at the Conference Championship, and worst of all, no grand finale swims.
Very smart decision! Hopefully these SA, Coaches, Administrators and others will thrive in total solitary isolation. We must be concerned with the health and well being of each person. Of course no one can shop for food, socialize, exercise, sleep or sit still either…total BS!!!!!!!!!
Go tour the White House.
Let’s be clear that this is a NESCAC decision with impacts on these two schools, and the other 9 in their conference.
Agree with you, article title isn’t clear on this. We shouldn’t just focus on the higher ranked teams when this affects all the student-athletes
“NESCAC Cancels Championships for Winter Sports” might be more helpful!
Which title generates more clicks? Conference most people haven’t heard of cancels season or two top 10 programs cancel season?
Conference “most” have never heard of? I’m gonna bet you with absolutely no research accomplished that conference has more team and possibly individual champions than any other in D3. Look it up! I’m guessing you are from west of the Mississippi! Lol
Also with no research accomplished (because the NCAA historical data for D3 is currently down), I’m going to go out on a limb and say that NCAC has the most team and individual champions in D3.
Kenyon and Denison have combined to win 39 out of the 45 men’s D3 championships on offer and 24 out of the 38 women’s championships on offer.
Emory has won 12 women’s titles and 1 men’s title.
Williams is the only current NESCAC school to win a D3 team title, with 2 women’s wins.
DIII your interpretation is wrong.
Every school had the choice to cancel their winter sports or not. Some have chosen to. Others have not chosen to.
All the NESCAC said is that they’re not hosting conference championship events and not making conference schedules for teams.
The NESCAC never makes conference schedules. That is up to school. The point is that the conference has said there will be no conference championship. Some schools have also indicated there will be no other competition, either. It is likely others will follow given that many of these campuses have extremely limited their students’ ability to even move on or off campus.
Your comment is a little misleading- NESCAC doesn’t do meet schedules for swimming (or indoor track); but does for M/W basketball and M/W ice hockey. The President’s decision was about all sports, hence the release mentioning no conference schedules or conference competition.
Same decision slotted to be made for our conference mid-October. Thinking it will be a similar result, understandable but still tough news to swallow 🙁