There is a great divide between Queen’s athletics and Queen’s academics. The emphasis at Queen’s has always been on academics, and for good reason. With arguably the best undergraduate program in the country, Queen’s is a phenomenal school—for academics.
With little emphasis placed on it, the athletics program has slowly fallen behind the curve. But the problem isn’t the athletes. Queen’s athletes are gifted; they are always sprinkled in OUA and CIS All-Star positions. Athletes at Queen’s come to play hard, day in and day out, and our school has decent results to show for it. But decent shouldn’t cut it for a school that regards itself as part of the upper echelons in Canada and worldwide.
The lack of attention athletics get is starting to show. Let’s look at the rugby facilities. I see players walking down University Avenue in their jerseys on game day because they don’t have a place to put their equipment. Their field location is optimal, yet they don’t even have a dressing room. They are forced to dress in the PEC and walk down with their gear to Kingston Field. This is simply inadequate.
And apparently, the hockey team might have to wait for Lake Ontario to freeze over to start practicing. I’m kidding, but in all seriousness, they no longer have a home rink and their attendance at games suffers due to poor proximity. The hockey team has been a mainstay at Queen’s and the demolishing of Jock Harty Arena ended a tradition and legacy.
When it comes to other field sports such as football and soccer, it is just as ugly a situation. As great as those workers are at Richardson Field, three teams beating up on it throughout the fall makes it look like a swamp when soccer and football playoffs come around. At this same facility, the teams share athletic therapy rooms. There are four beds and three hot/cold tubs. Compared to other teams this sounds like a luxury. It is, in theory. Yet in practice, the room is cramped and can’t comfortably serve all of its properly. The trainers do great work but there just isn’t enough space to go around. At one time, there could be up to 100 people needing use of the therapy room. Granted, not every player needs to use this room. However, need and want are two different things. It would be nice to be able to use the room when you want—for example, to improve injury prevention.
Queen’s is trying and every athlete appreciates that. For all teams, the addition of full-time athletic and recreation co-ordinator Rodney Wilson has been a phenomenal success. I, for one, have become better because of Rodney and his wealth of knowledge in training techniques as well as dieting habits. Rodney helps our teams become faster and stronger and this will begin to show even more in the years to come as the young athletes begin to get full benefits from his regimens.
However, people can only work with the facilities they are provided with. More effort is necessary in order for Queen’s to become as good at sports as it is at academics. It all begins with the facilities. If Queen’s wants its teams to win championships, the teams need championship-calibre facilities.
The new Queen’s Centre is a start. This state-of-the-art facility will help our athletes train harder and more efficiently. In addition, it will attract the great young athletes of our generation to Queen’s to create better teams. The court sports will definitely benefit greatly. Now, an emphasis on the field sports would also greatly benefit our program and draw a plethora of talent to Queen’s teams. In turn, we will experience greater success at the OUA and CIS levels.
With a new emphasis placed on athletics, Queen’s interuniversity sports program can be among the best in the country. Yes, this process has started, but it has been too long coming. Hopefully, someday soon, Queen’s athletic reputation will match its academic one.
Nick Sirski is a third-year linebacker for the football team.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].