by The Cowl Editor on October 25, 2018
PCI
By Meaghan Cahill ’20
Sports Co-Editor
Ice hockey and basketball are without a doubt two of the biggest sports on the Providence College campus. Both seasons take up a majority of the school year, running from mid-October, through March and into April, depending on playoffs. However, due to the longevity of the two seasons, they interrupt and overlap with many of the fall sports on campus. It is because of that interruption that I believe that winter sports should wait to start until after fall sports are finished.
Fall sports typically last from the end of August all the way through mid-November. However, with winter sports starting in October, there is a big overlap between the seasons. Because ice hockey and basketball are two popular sports, students are always more apt to want to attend these games over, say, those soccer or volleyball. With winter sports starting before the fall sports finish, the fall sports become overshadowed and, in a sense, forgotten on campus.
This is especially unfair to the fall sports because around the time that the winter sports start, they enter playoffs. Due to the popularity of the winter sports, the overlap between games causes a smaller audience to attend any fall sport playoff events.
Another reason that winter sports should wait for fall sports to finish is because, in the cases of two-sport athletes, there can be no rest in between seasons. When one sporting season switches to another, two-sport athletes have to then either divide their time between both sports or pick up with the second sport immediately following the end of the fall season. There is no rest for them and this is often the case for runners if they run in more than one season. They have to go from their fall season of cross country, to indoor track, to outdoor track once the spring season hits. There is no time for recuperation and the lack of a break between seasons can increase the risk for injury.
In conclusion, fall sports should have the chance to finish out their seasons before winter sports start. It would not only allow for students to show more support towards fall sports teams during the most important part of their season, but it would also give two-sport athletes a chance to rest in between their different seasons. Plus, with the overlap into the spring season as well, it would be nice to experience one sport season on campus that is not interrupted.