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Geoff Grimwood is a rarity as one of the few people to be hired for a new job amid the pandemic.

Build an oval and they will come. And they did, every two years, from places such as Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, and they spent money on the Island while playing the pastoral sport they love. But not this pandemic summer.

Two leagues with Island teams are among the first three sports entities in the country to actively seek federal and provincial aid to see them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cameron Hope never had a losing season and never missed the playoffs in his eight seasons as general manager of the Victoria Royals. As president of the club since 2014, he kept the Royals in the top-10 in Western Hockey League attendance.

The news Thursday landed with a heartbreaking thud from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Layritz Park in Saanich.

Cameron Hope’s tenure as general manager and president of the Victoria Royals has ended after eight seasons. The Western Hockey League club announced Wednesday that Hope will not be returning to the organization.

Cameron Hope’s tenure as general manager and president of the Victoria Royals has ended after eight seasons. The Western Hockey League club announced Wednesday that Hope will not be returning to the organization.

Jim Lynch was one of the most prolific scorers for the Victoria Shamrocks and Nanaimo Timbermen of the Western Lacrosse Association. Lynch, inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2018, died of cancer at 67.

If the NHL restarts, don’t expect any games at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. On Thursday, commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league will not play in non-NHL venues such as Victoria, Saskatoon or North Dakota if it reopens this summer.

Ethan Mittelsteadt is an anomaly among the 11 Island players selected this week in the 2020 Western Hockey League bantam draft.