(FREDERICTON, NB) The December break is upon the UNB REDS and their Atlantic University Sport and RSEQ counterparts.
The REDS, in conjunction with their conference rivals and officials, have executed the first half of the 2021-2022 season safely and without incident.
“On behalf of my whole team, thank you for everything you’ve done to make this season possible,” said Bailey Lemieux, a member of the REDS’ women’s volleyball team. “After not being able to compete last season, there was so much anticipation for this season. Being able to compete again, and show off what we’ve been working so hard on for the past two years has been extremely exciting.”
The 11 member schools of Atlantic University Sport and the five schools of the RSEQ’s men’s volleyball conference have worked together to safely execute and participate in all scheduled competitions successfully.
For the REDS, that means more than 275 student-athletes taking part in more than 130 individual games or competitions.
Student-athletes, coaches, team staff, event staff, officials, university administrators, conference office staff, communications staff and athletic directors have been among those working to ensure events not only happened, but happened with safety as a paramount concern.
“The number of people that have been involved in making this happen is unbelievable,” said John Richard, UNB’s Director of Athletics. “It’s the student-athletes we’ve seen on the field of play, but a lot of the action has happened out of the view of spectators and fans.”
Richard said he’s thankful to work in an environment where so many people have shown so much dedication.
“Without the efforts of our university administrations, our officials, our technical staffs, our game day staffs and so many more, this would not have been possible,” he said. “A lot goes into running these schedules at the best of times, but in the Covid-era, there’s so much more work behind the scenes.”
“I was grateful to be able to have the opportunity to play again,” said Roan Saengmeng, a member of the REDS men’s soccer team. “We have such a young team, having AUS competition has given everyone the opportunity to play in a high and intense environment which will allow us to really grow moving forward.”
Like Lemieux, Saengmeng is grateful for the efforts made on his behalf.
“UNB event staff, health officials and university administrators made it easy and simple for us to ease back into play, making it feel as if we never left. The transition was seamless and allowed my teammates and I to feel comfortable going back into competition.”
“We only get five short years of playing the sport we love at the university level,” said Lemieux. “Having some of those years interrupted or taken away, because of Covid, was tough. Thank you for going to bat for us.”
“We can’t forget our fans, our alumni and our corporate partners,” said Richard. “They’ve helped us get through the first part of our schedule too. Whether it be stepping up with much needed support, or wearing a mask and showing proof of vaccination. This season hasn’t been normal, by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s better than what we had at this time last year.”
AUS and RSEQ regular season schedules resume in January, but some teams will play exhibition games in late December.
Student-athletes will now focus on exams while they continue training.
“I look forward to the REDS and our AUS and RSEQ colleagues continuing this momentum in the second term,” said Richard.