In the time of a pandemic, the one thing that is constant is the inconsistencies. It is a balancing act between creating a “normal” space and keeping everyone involved safe. However, in this balancing act, there is not room for error. There is only one shot to get everything right. 

Whether it is postponements, weekly testing or distancing guidelines, each layer in athletics has to continually adapt. The fall semester was a trial run—move everyone back on campus, start classes and finally allow teams to practice through heavily regulated guidelines. Now it is time for the real thing. 

There are many sports whose seasons are already underway, and so far it has been an overall success. There have been a few setbacks but a postponement at this point is a win. Since school has started back up for the semester, both men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s swimming have had game postponements.

Game days are unrecognizable to what they once were. 

“It’s sport specific. It depends on the Minnesota Department of Health, what other institutions are doing and the NCAA,” Hamline University Associate Vice President and Athletic Director Jason Verdugo said. “We’re constantly on calls regarding regulations and changing things as they need to be”.

“We get tested three times a week and in order to play, everyone has to have two negative results in a row, during our games we’re distanced and wear masks until we are on the court playing,” junior Lindsey Bernardy of the women’s basketball team said.

“For our Gustavus meet, we watched the meet on a live stream from a classroom and were only allowed on the pool deck the heat before us,” sophomore Julie Mesita of the women’s swim team said.

While in-season games are happening, championships are out of the question for the current seasons, as there are too many factors working against it. For instance, men’s hockey doesn’t have enough participating teams this year to even create a bracket. 

“Who would allow large groups of athletes to travel in from potentially fifty different states?” Verdugo said. No school has the resources to host such a large event this season. 

For teams that have not had their opportunity to compete yet this year, they are still trying their best to make the most out of the situation. 

“This time has been good for the first-years to help them adapt to the system and create more team chemistry than ever before,” junior Triston Thomas of the football team said. “We also have the chance to focus on our bodies and make sure we are the best we can be.” 

“The experience itself is completely different from my first two years, but this year there is an extra level of excitement on game day because we have been practicing for so long,” Bernardy said. While this year may not be the same, all this hard work is not for nothing. And Hamline teams have been adapting as best they can.