BUCS announce league cancellations

The British Universities and Colleges Sport announced on January 13 that the BUCS 2020-21 league and knockout season has been cancelled.

That means Kingston University sports teams will not participate in any competitive sport for the remainder of the academic year.

In a statement on their social media pages BUCS said: “Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, and the unpredictable nature of nationwide lockdowns and restrictions, it is not achievable for this to go ahead safely.

“We have postponed most of the events which were scheduled to take place before the end of February. We are continuing to assess the possibility of these events when it is safe to do so, and we will update in due course.”

The Union of Kingston Sport said they were saddened by the news. They said: “We did all we could to make sport happen over the last few months and we recognise how disappointing the news is.

“Union of Kingston Students will reintroduce physical sports activity in the future, pending government and sports body confirmation.”

The announcement didn’t come as any surprise to Kingston University men’s football president, Lewis Anderson. He said: “With the rising number of cases and deaths… I totally understand and empathise with the decision that was made by the Government and BUCS.

“It’s such a shame for the freshers who are yet to get a taster of university sport, and I’m gutted for the third years who won’t be able to play anymore competitive university football.”

Kingston University netball president, Trishna Patel, was also disappointed with the cancellation of the BUCS season. She said: “The entire club is hugely disappointed by the BUCS announcement and considering we haven’t been able to play any fixtures this year it was sad to hear.

“Especially for the girls who are in their final year and the freshers who haven’t been able to fully experience all aspects of the sport.”

Anderson and Patel said the KU sports teams were still hopeful to play friendly fixtures and continue training in accordance with Government and university guidelines.

Final-year members of KU sports teams will be hoping to get the opportunity to represent the Cougars one last time before the end of the year. But for now, it’s another setback for Kingston sport.