The unmistakable sound of sneakers squeaking on The Q Centre floor and balls bouncing off the boards will be absent for a second consecutive season as the Western Lacrosse Association cancelled its 2021 season.
What really hurts, said Victoria Shamrocks GM Chris Welch, was that it was probably only a matter of weeks.
“It was just a little too soon in the reopening,” he said.
The WLA, which also includes the Nanaimo Timbermen, had targeted a June start.
“The timing [of the vaccine rollout] was that we just missed out. It’s frustrating because everybody wants to see lacrosse back,” said Welch.
Also frustrating at the amateur level of sports is that anyone can turn on the TV and get their fill of pro sports being played during the pandemic.
“Sports entities operate under entirely different models and we’re not a big enough enterprise,” said Welch.
The pro Canadian Premier League of soccer, which includes Island-based Pacific FC, is planning on starting the 2021 season in a bubble, televised and online, with no live spectators. But Welch said playing without fans was not an option for the almost totally gate-driven WLA.
“It’s the price we pay for being a small sport in a short season,” he said.
“It was a whole bunch of things that came together. The cost of player testing — with no fans in the buildings which means no revenue — was a mountain we couldn’t figure out how to climb. We’re taking our lumps like so many have through this pandemic.”
Also cancelled was Major Series Lacrosse in Ontario and the Mann Cup, the Canadian Senior A championship, for the second year. Game 5 of the Mann Cup in September of 2019 at The Q Centre in Colwood was the last Senior A lacrosse game played in Canada. The MSL-champion Peterborough Lakers of Ontario defeated the WLA-champion Shamrocks 4-1 in the best-of-seven series to win the 2019 Mann Cup.
It is only the second time since the modern era began in 1926, the first being last year, that the Mann Cup will not be awarded.
“While we know this is a huge disappointment for everyone involved in lacrosse, in particular, our players, coaches and dedicated fans, we are committed to doing our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” WLA commissioner Paul Dal Monte said in a statement.
“This decision to cancel was not taken lightly.”
Welch, meanwhile, has concerns for the sport beyond the Senior A level.
“This could be devastating for lacrosse long-term if young players, after two years off, don’t stick around and don’t return to the sport,” he said.
“I can see gaps occurring.”
Welch said there is nothing left to do but look at the bright side through another dark summer for his sport: “We will celebrate the return of lacrosse and be rarin’ to go in 2022.”
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com