The Pacwest has announced the official cancellation of the winter session of sports competition.

The league had earlier cancelled fall sports play back in June, but were hopeful that play could begin in the winter with a reduced schedule.

鈥淭his was a difficult decision,鈥� stated Jake McCallum, the Pacwest president in a press release. 鈥淗owever, our priority is to ensure the health, safety and well-being of member institution鈥檚 student-athletes, coaches, athletics programs, and their surrounding communities.鈥�

According to the release, the decision was based on the ongoing developments of the pandemic and the unique geography of the conference, coupled with the regional specific Provincial Health Officer (PHO) guidelines.

The Pacwest features athletes competing in basketball, golf, soccer and volleyball.

School sports programs featured in the league include: Abbotsford鈥檚 Columbia Bible College Bearcats, Victoria鈥檚 Camosun Chargers, the North Vancouver-based Capilano Blues, the Cranbrook-based College of the Rockies Avalanche, New Westminster鈥檚 Douglas College Royals, Vancouver鈥檚 Langara Falcons, 琉璃神社鈥檚 Okanagan College Coyotes and Nanaimo鈥檚 Vancouver Island University Mariners.