CANADA WEST WINTER MEETING
RICHMOND, BC – The Canada WestUniversities Athletic Association held its annual winter meetingthis week, with all 17 member institutions in attendance to discussassociation business and strategic planning.
With the conference experiencing accelerated growth over thelast five years, adding four new members and a total of 40 newteams (about a 30% growth in membership), Canada West has been metwith the structural challenge of maintaining its historic rivalrieswhile welcoming its new members, and at the same time managing thelogistical challenges created by the wide geographical landscape ofthe association.
COMPETITIVE FORMAT REVIEW. In the fall of 2013,the Canada West Board of Directors initiated a strategic planningdialogue that led to significant ad hoc committee work over thelast 12 months to review its competitive formats in volleyball,soccer and basketball.
At this week’s winter meeting, the conference leadershipmade the decision to keep the present single-division format forvolleyball, and approved changes for soccer effective immediatelyfor the 2015 season.
Women’s soccer will see a new competitive format of tworegions, four divisions and a 14-game regular season, with the topsix teams from each region advancing to the playoffs thatculminates in a Final Six.
Men’s soccer will keep the status quo of two divisions anda 12-game season, and implement a new postseason format with thetop four teams from each division advancing to a first roundcrossover playoff. Winners will then advance to a FinalFour. Dialogue continues on other possible changes to thecompetitive structure for men’s soccer.
The association continues to discuss and study competitiveformat models in basketball. Further reporting will takeplace at the 2015 Annual General Meeting scheduled for the firstweek of May 2015.
“As part of our commitment to our member institutions andour student-athletes, we’re continuing to research on thedifferent formats and models to ensure we offer the highest levelof competition and student-athlete experience, while making themost efficient use of our resources,” explained Canada WestExecutive Director Diane St-Denis.
In addition, the conference voted to allow football programs tostart their 2015 training camps 14 days prior to their first CISgame, which will see teams starting a week earlier from previousyears. The leadership also voted to allow travelling footballteams to increase their roster size to 45 players, a change that ishoped to improve safety in the field of play.
The 2015-16 schedules were also received and will be announcedat a later date.
NORTHERN 8 FOOTBALL SERIES PROPOSAL. Theleadership welcomed Krown Countdown U Executive Producer Jim Mullinfor a presentation of the Northern 8 Football Series proposal, aCIS football interlock project that Mullin and Saskatchewanbusinessman and former Saskatchewan Huskies football player DavidDube have been working on. Mullin engaged in discussion withthe Canada West Athletic Directors on a schedule that would featureCanada West teams against the best teams from the otherconferences.
The association supports in principle the interlock scheduleproposal that would create a national television schedule with thegoal of growing Canadian university football.
“Our conference believes interlock play can add value tothe student-athlete experience and provides an opportunity tocreate a meaningful product that can engage fans, alumni and mediaat the national level. We will continue to work with Northern8 Football Series project partners David Dube and Jim Mullin tomove the project forward at the national level,” saidSt-Denis.
Canada West will also work with Dube and Mullin on an initiativeto promote the conference across various media platforms beginningin the spring of 2015.