• About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
      First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
    • “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International Student Union says
      “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International Student Union says
    • No image
      Students Reflect on Spring 2021 Move-in
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
      Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
    • The block system is a joke
      The block system is a joke
    • Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
      Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Issue, but is this enough? (spoiler: it’s not)
      Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Issue, but is this enough? (spoiler: it’s not)
    • Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
      Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
    • Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
      Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
  • Health and Wellness
    • No image
      Athletic impacts of Covid-19
    • No image
      A new kind of PE
    • No image
      Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • Miscellanea
    • No image
      Remote students experience existential crises; change class years in email signatures
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
      Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
    • The Artichoke
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Victoria Park Sports and WellnessOctober 12, 2020

Athletic impacts of Covid-19

Along with the many drastic changes made in light of COVID-19, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASAC) announced July 18 that it would suspend the Fall 2020 season. Wellesley College Athletics has since worked on adjusting practices, recruitment and student athlete support in order to maintain a safe yet productive environment for student athletes. According to Athletics Director Bethany Ellis, all practices will be held on campus as normally as possible. Each team has specific protocols in order to meet safety and social distancing guidelines. 

For First-year recruits, the cancellation of competition hit especially hard; their introduction to Wellesley athletics is far from the normal initiation their older teammates had experienced both on and off the field. Athletes acknowledge that being able to practice on campus is a blessing that many other colleges may not have, but the lack of a “real” season is disappointing. Most are optimistic, however, and are grateful for the extra support their team provides them and for the chance to reconnect to their sport. 

“Obviously it’s not ideal, but after a spring of training alone I am just glad to be part of a team again and be able to train with them, even if it’s only a few at a time,” said Kaylee Liu ’24, a member of the Crew team. “At the end of the day regardless of being able to practice at full capacity, I feel lucky as a First-year to already have a community on campus that I know I can rely on.”

Upperclassmen have been pitching in extra support to First-years through team bonding via Zoom calls and upperclassmen pairings. The Crew team has even assigned rising sophomores with similar career plans to incoming First-years. 

“I was definitely sad that we won’t have an official season because last year as a First-year I really loved all of our meets and I think my team had a really good season, but given what’s happening in the world right now, I think it’s important to realize at least we get to go on campus and at least we get to train,” said Elizabeth Park ’23, a member of the Swim team. “So we are missing out on the competition aspect, but just being there as a team and going through this strange time together will make us closer and I think it’ll be fun.”

Seniors are also impacted heavily since their last year at Wellesley will not include the normal practices, events and competitions that their previous years had held. Although it is not a normal year nor a normal ending to their college sport careers, most of them are making the best out of the circumstances and hoping winter or spring seasons will be different. 

“No one could’ve expected this to happen, so I was definitely very sad but I know that this is what we have to do in order to ensure everyone’s safety and if this is what has to happen for everything to return to normal, then I understand these are the circumstances we have to go through,” said Lauren Park ’20, a (former?) member of the Fencing team. 

Coaches and current athletes, however, are more concerned about recruitment for the Class of 2025 than the incoming First-years or graduating seniors, as potential recruits will not be able to come to campus and get the experience of being with their potential teammates. A priority for many coaches is making sure that the Class of 2025 gets an admissions process as close to normal as possible by holding virtual tours and Zoom calls. Most student athletes agree that without that in-person experience, many of them would not have been as excited about applying to Wellesley and playing their sport at the College. 

“I was kind of hesitant [about Wellesley], but then I got on campus and I saw how hard the [students] work in practice, what the dorms are like, what the environment is like and I sat in on a couple of classes,” Evangeline Bournias ’24 said. “It’s going to be a little challenging for the Class of 2025 and I feel sympathy for them.”

“I think Wellesley is doing a great job in trying to support recruits, but it’s really hard for them. They’re going to have to apply to colleges and maybe even make a decision on where they’re going without having visited,” Fencing Coach Rob Charlton said. “You can do things over Zoom, you can do a virtual tour … [and] all that. I think the College is doing a terrific job of that sort of thing and trying to make it a dynamic experience for the high school recruits. But it is still hard.” 

Although this is certainly an unusual and difficult year for everyone, Wellesley students and administrators are making the best out of the situation. 

“I have a lot of faith in the students at Wellesley [and] … the administration that we’re doing things the right way, which makes me feel a lot better,” Charlton said. “I think the people at Wellesley are made of slightly different stuff and are going to be responsible.”

These alterations to normal practices will continue to be tinkered with as the semester progresses, but coaches, students and the administration are confident they can foster an environment that gives athletes the best experience they could have in terms of both safety and athleticism. 

“This pandemic has changed so many of our perspectives and norms. It’s devastating to our student-athletes and coaches to not have the opportunity to compete in the sport that they have given so much of their lives towards. But it would be a shame if we didn’t grow through this adversity, something that I am confident our student-athletes will do,” Director Ellis said.  “Competitive sports will return. My hope is that when they do, we approach those opportunities with the strength that adversity affords, with a more astute lens towards equity and the value of holistic wellness and a rich sense of gratitude.”

Tags

COVID-19

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleA new kind of PE

You may also like

A new kind of PE

Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in

Staying safe and warm this winter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

  • First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for Colleg...
  • Students Reflect on Spring 2021 Move-in
  • “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International...
  • Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Iss...

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top