Sports
Sports Editor: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu
Empty Feeling
(IUP Athletics) Normally teeming with action this time of the year, IUP’s athletic facilities like Miller Stadium (above), the KCAC (below) and the South Campus fields have been largely lifeless following the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s decision on July 15 to cancel the fall sports season.
Athletes adjusting to new norms AUSTIN SMITH Sports Writer glxy@iup.edu @ThePenn_IUP
(The Penn archives)
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No matter where you are in the world, Covid-19 has challenged everyone. Loved ones lost, memorable events postponed or canceled, and future events left uncertain. Anything in life can be important to anybody, and like any other university, IUP’s community lived for its sports. This semester at IUP will be very different on campus with most of it being online. Not to mention another huge problem, no sports will be played in the PSAC this semester, as per the conference’s an-
August 24, 2020
nouncement on July 15. Sports added a lot of life on campus, and the cancelation has certainly had an effect on numerous IUP athletes. The PSAC’s decision in mid-July has given the IUP athletes time to reflect on it, accept it and turn their focus to a potential Spring 2021 season. To get an inside look, we interviewed multiple athletes and to learn how the pandemic had influenced their day-to-day training and routines. So how has Covid-19 affected what used to be normal training routines for these athletes? “At the beginning of all the madness, it was hard to find a place to work out that was not my house,”
said Georgiana Chiavacci (Senior, HR Management), a forward on the field hockey team. “Over the last few months, my usual routine was changed from going to the gym to working out outdoors and doing it alone rather than with some friends, which has benefited me and pushed me to hold myself accountable.” Athletes like Chiavacci have lost their entire season to the pandemic after the PSAC announced the cancelation of the fall sports season. Continued on Page 19
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Photo Gallery: The turf projects at South Campus are complete.
Sports
