Several Guelph Nighthawks players are on their way home from Europe as COVID-19 worsens around the globe.
President Cameron Kusch said as of now, the training camp for the Nighthawks is scheduled to begin on May 1 and the home opener for the team’s second season ever is scheduled for May. 9.
“We’re kind of in a wait and see mode just like everyone else in terms of what’s going on right now,” said Kusch adding that player transactions are still taking place.
With two players who spent the last eight months in Spain and several others who are all currently working towards coming home, he said it’s a challenging situation for the athletes.
“It’s a tough time for them too, trying to figure out ‘do they stay in the country that they’re in?’ or ‘do they end up coming back home to Canada or North America and be with family and stay safe?’” said Kusch.
He said the league is looking at several alternative schedules in the event that the team is not able to play for the current season while still hoping that they are able to start the season on the scheduled date.
Kusch said if the government and public health authorities advise that the Guelph Nighthawks is not able to continue the scheduled games and suggest to push the season back, then they will adjust accordingly.
While they are seven weeks away from the start of their new season, he says the team is hopeful that it will be able to make the right decision at the right time.
“As with everything right now, we’re waiting and seeing what government and public health authorities dictate,” said Kusch.
He said like many others in the sports industry, he wasn’t expecting the gravity of what COVID-19 has become.
“If you look at major sports in North America, we’ve all had to make adjustments on the fly as we go as directed by the government and our public health officials,” said Kusch.
He said while the ultimate purpose of the team is to provide entertainment for people, there are far more important things than basketball going on in the world right now.
“We’ll go ahead and take a back seat for the health and wellness of everyone. Hopefully, once we come out the other side of COVID-19, here and do what we did last year and provide incredible entertainment products for the people of Guelph,” said Kusch.
“Hopefully, when this all passes, we all come out the other side of it, we’re here and were able to be a bit of a galvanizing point for the community and a rallying point for the community to come back together and enjoy basketball and enjoy entertainment especially after we’ve been locked up for so long,” said Kusch.
