REGINA, Saskatchewan (BVM) — Like so many student-athletes, Kaila Neigum, from the University of Regina, eagerly awaits the fate of the 2020-21 sports season. Neigum is currently preparing for her fourth year of track and field for the Cougars. Sadly, COVID-19 is already making its mark on university sports across Canada for fall sports.

In early June, all four member associations in U Sports made announcements that will deeply impact all sports (if they’re even played at all).

Ontario University Athletics announced the cancellation of all sport programming and championships up to Dec. 31, 2020. Similarly, Atlantic University Sport suspended all conference regular season and post-season competition until Jan. 2021.

Canada West, the member association in Western Canada, announced that the cancellation of first-term conference competition would affect several sports including football, soccer and basketball.

Conversely, the Quebec Student Sport Federation – as of July 2 – hoped to maintain a fall calendar for most of their university sports (with possible changes to the schedule). This would be done in accordance with Quebec public health directives and with guidance from the Quebec government.

Spring sports, like track and field, won’t be addressed until around October. In the meantime, all Kaila Neigum can do is stay fit through basic training. Fortunately, she was able to close out her third season this past spring by competing in nationals, which were held in Edmonton just a week before classes were canceled due to the quarantine.

“We were lucky,” Neigum said. “Some schools in Canada and the U.S. didn’t get to finish their season.”

While Neigum didn’t finish nationals with the results she had hoped for, she described it as a good first experience at that level. She qualified for nationals by winning gold in the women’s 3000m and silver in the women’s 1500m at the CanWest Track Championships.

This wasn’t the first set of hardware for Neigum. She was an individual champion at the 2016 Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association (SHSAA) cross country championships, a triple medalist at the 2017 SHSAA track and field championships. She was also named an Academic All-Canadian for 2017-18. Neigum is already in the top 10 on the Univerity of Regina’s all-time performance list in women’s 1000m, 1500m and 3000m runs.

While Neigum’s interest in track began in elementary school, her love for the sport really blossomed in high school. During her Grade 11 year at Miller Comprehensive High School, she was inspired by intern coach and distance runner Avery Westberg.

“She really got me into it,” Neigum said. “She really pushed me and introduced me to proper training.”

After learning to train properly, Neigum began to see results.

“I really started to enjoy the hurt,” Neigum said. “It became satisfying because I could see my progress in numbers and knocking down times.”

That same year, Kaila started training with the Cougars, who were looking to recruit her. Wade Huber, Regina’s head coach for track and field and cross country, described Neigum as an exceptionally dedicated and hard-working athlete.

“During the recruiting process, Kaila was very new to the sport, and we saw an athlete who never gave up.” Huber recalled. “Since then, she has grown substantially. She has learned from experiences, both positive and negative, to develop into an experienced athlete who will no doubt become a leader on the team.”

The team typically has three practices a week on the track, sometimes followed by core and body circuit training. In addition to weight training twice a week, the team also does one tempo run, one progressive run and an easy longer run to finish the week. When a competition approaches, especially a larger meet, the training intensifies and becomes more race-specific for each athlete.

Although an official eligibility season seems unlikely, Neigum does have her sights set on breaking two school records – both recorded by Karissa LePage. In 2013, LePage ran the 1500m in 4:37.66 and the 3000m in 9:54.26.

“I’m hoping we do get a season,” Neigum said. “Last season, I was one second off both the 1500m and the 3000m school records.”

As a student, Neigum is enrolled in the faculty of engineering and applied science at the University of Regina. After graduation, she plans to focus on the clean energy sector, a field where Canada has made tremendous progress.

Furthermore, since her recruitment to the track and field team, Neigum has not only progressed on the track, but also forged lasting friendships within the team.

“The Cougars track team is an amazing group of people and so fun to be around,” she concluded.

A fan?

Follow your favorite teams