You take your victories where you can in sports amid a pandemic. They go deeper than mere wins versus losses.
It will be more than just a golf tournament on Monday when the pros take to Bear Mountain for the $50,000 sa国际传媒 Life event.
Just as it was more than just a send-off in the wee hours of Saturday morning as dozens of Pacific FC soccer supporters showed up to Victoria airport at 4:30 a.m. to wish the team well in the Canadian Premier League tournament in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Just as it will be more than just an auto race if the annual sa国际传媒 200 can be run over the Labour Day weekend at Western Speedway. And it will be more than just a fashion show on Monday when the Canadian team uniforms for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games are unveiled in Victoria, symbolically a day after today鈥檚 originally scheduled date for the closing ceremony.
Langford Mayor Stew Young said these are signs of rebirth, hope 鈥� even defiance 鈥� amid a pandemic and people need them.
鈥淚t keeps people鈥檚 hopes alive and spirits up,鈥� said Young.
Just ask this province鈥檚 legion of Canucks hockey fans.
鈥淵ou see hockey on TV and you forget about COVID for a while. It鈥檚 a bit of normalcy,鈥� said Young.
鈥淎nd Langford is a sports hub and a sports community.鈥�
But it has been hit hard by the pandemic with Westhills Stadium having lost the revenue from the cancelled sold-out sa国际传媒 versus Trinidad and Tobago soccer games, considered key for Qatar World Cup 2020 qualifying, the sa国际传媒 Sevens women鈥檚 rugby tournament and the PFC soccer and Westshore Rebels junior football seasons.
Down the road in Colwood, the Q Centre lost the Victoria Shamrocks鈥� Western Lacrosse Association season.
But there is a glimmer. The sa国际传媒 Life pro golf tournament Monday through Wednesday on Bear Mountain is a consolation for the cancelled 2020 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 season. That included the scrubbed DC Bank Open presented by the sa国际传媒 in June at Uplands, which has been a Tour fixture since 1981 and has featured future PGA Tour players from Steve Stricker to Tony Finau.
This week鈥檚 tournament on the mountain course is the first of two 54-hole events at Bear Mountain with the second on the valley course Aug. 17 to 19, both featuring purses of $50,000. Both filled up fast with lengthy waiting lists.
The sa国际传媒 Life Series concludes Sept. 2-4 and Sept. 9-11 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. The series champion over the four tournaments will earn a berth into the 2021 RBC Canadian Open at St. George鈥檚 in Toronto 鈥� another sign of hope of a return to normalcy next year.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 do them all, but if we see an opportunity to return to sports safely, we can do some of these events,鈥� said Young.
鈥淕olf is one of the safest sports to play. So, too, is auto racing, with just one driver in a car and distancing in the pits. That鈥檚 why we are pushing for the sa国际传媒 200 at Western Speedway without fans. People involved in the sports community are desperate to have something.鈥�
The Bear Mountain golf tournaments will be the second and third organized sporting events to take place on the Island after sport shut down in March. The organized re-openings began last month with the Sidney Velo Cycling Club鈥檚 17.4-kilometre time trial series, which goes every Tuesday evening until Sept. 1.
The sa国际传媒 Life Series will adhere to the safety guidelines being practised elsewhere in golf鈥檚 reopening. Spectators will not be allowed to watch the two Bear Mountain tournaments. That includes mayors.
鈥淭he only way I can be at that pro tournament is if I play, and I鈥檓 not nearly good enough,鈥� said Young, who has been adamant about maintaining COVID-19 safety measures in his community. There will also be no caddies and a bare number of volunteers allowed on the Bear.
The sa国际传媒 Life tournaments have been put together by the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒, the launching pad to the Korn Ferry Tour, which in turn is the entry portal to the PGA Tour. The Mackenzie Tour鈥檚 alumni includes 41 PGA Tour players and 232 Korn Ferry Tour players produced since 2013.
鈥淚t was disappointing when circumstances surrounding COVID-19 required us to cancel the 2020 Mackenzie Tour season,鈥� said Tour executive-director Scott Pritchard. 鈥淏ut we never lost sight of the purpose for this Tour, which is to give players opportunities.鈥�
Players who have registered to play in the two tournaments on Bear Mountain include Cory Renfrew, Lawren Rowe, Zach Anderson, Adam Cornelson, James Allenby, Andrew Funk, Chris Wilson, Derek Gillespie, Chris Crisologo, Aaron Crawford, Scott Kerr, Brendan Dillon, Kent Fukushima and Jim Rutledge.
Bear Mountain is also home to Golf sa国际传媒鈥檚 national training centre. There will be six sponsor exemptions in each sa国际传媒 Life Series tournament for national team players.
