Canadian athletes will be coming to Kingston three times next year.
The Vanier Cup announcement last week marked the third U SPORTS national championship Queen’s is set to host during the 2023-24 school year, with the other two being Women’s Soccer and Men’s Volleyball.
Despite hurdles like pandemic cancellations and elaborate bid packages, Queen’s Athletics and Recreation (A&R) continue to find opportunities like these that are invaluable to the student-athlete experience.
“We want to give our student athletes a chance to compete at the highest level and ideally do so on home earth,” Christopher Lund, A&R Manager of Partnerships and Communications, said in an interview with The Journal.
“First and foremost, we want to give student athletes and coaches a chance to compete in Queen’s and host their opposition here, and another part of it is as well is being a good community partner.”
Hosting three national championships is a huge task, but A&R has faith in their team and believes the key to making these events successful is collaboration. Plus, they’ve done it before—Queen’s hosted three national championships in 2021-22.
“We we’ve got the ball rolling, and we’re pretty battle-tested around here with national championships. So, it should be good. It’s a great opportunity, albeit an enormous amount of work,” Lund said.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to welcome the best in Canada to Queen’s in Kingston and show them what we have to offer.”
Have no fear, Queen’s is sure to have a lot to offer next year.
The football team played in the Yates Cup for the last two consecutive seasons, and have the skill and leadership needed to go even further in the upcoming season. Women’s Soccer is also well-positioned for a successful championship campaign after going undefeated in this year’s regular season. Men’s Volleyball also shares this same potential for greatness. Although their season felt like a rollercoaster and they lost in the first round of OUA playoffs, two Gaels—Erik Siksna and Chris Zimmerman—were recognized nationally for their excellence.
For A&R, then, the last piece of the puzzle is fans. Lund has already started thinking about what will get people excited about these championships.
“As we look more broadly and try to bring people into the fold, it’s like [with nationals] you have an opportunity to come to a gym or a stadium in your hometown and see people that you’re going to be watching on TV in a few years at the Olympics, at a women’s world cup, or on a CFL Saturday night.”
With three national championships comes three opportunities for Queen’s fans to pack the stadium, don tricolour, and make some noise for the Gaels.
“When Queen’s comes out to support Queen’s, it’s going to be a great day at the stadium,” Lund said.
Tags
A&R, Chris Lund, Football, nationals, soccer, U Sports, Volleyball
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