Following the McGill Redmen’s rugby win over the Concordia Stingers last Wednesday night, it appeared the team had improved to an astounding 5-0 start.
Unfortunately, this record was vacated following routine mid-season checks of player eligibility. McGill Athletics, led by Executive Director of Athletics Drew Love, found an inconsistency in the transcript of a senior member of the squad.
“The normal process of things is that towards the end of August all the teams come together and fill out the various registration and [eligibility] forms,” Love said. “We do a review of all those forms, and the individual who became ineligible … hadn’t completed the forms we got in the first package. So we always do a second review … and in this case we discovered that [he] was ineligible because [he] hadn’t completed the required number of McGill courses in the previous years.”
All student athletes in Canada are required to enroll in and accumulate a certain number of credits while maintaining a standard GPA in order to be eligible for the upcoming year. Falling short of these standards requires athletes to take time off until the appropriate requirements have been met. This is done to ensure a common playing field across the country, in addition to contributing to the academic futures of student athletes.
When the error had been confirmed, McGill immediately passed on the information to RSEQ officials for an official ruling. The decision, made on Oct. 5, declared that the Redmen were to forfeit their first four games—all of which were victories.
“They made the sanction that we expected,” Love continued. “That is, any game that the individual played [in] or was on the roster [for] would be forfeited. It turns out … he had been on the roster for all four games.”
Love also added that the RSEQ ruling will act as an impetus for McGill to improve the process of registration and eligibility checks.
“It is our intention to sit down in [December] to review all of our processes to see whether or not there are ways that we can both make it more streamlined and easier for people to complete all of the forms that are necessary … but also to guarantee that every student athlete is obligated to have their review completed prior to them stepping onto the field,” Love said.
While only three games remain in the season, McGill still has the opportunity to vie for an RSEQ championship. However, the forfeited games may compromise a chance to host a playoff game.
Trevor Clarke, a fourth-year centre, explained that the recent turn of events has only served to strengthen the desire and drive amongst the team.
“Of course there was disappointment … but we thought about it for a few seconds and we realized that it really doesn’t [have to] affect our season. We can still make playoffs and win the championship; we can still do all that,” Clarke said. “So we put it into the back of our heads pretty quickly in order to move forward quickly … If there is a silver lining I’m sure we’ll be able to find it.”
Love echoed this sentiment, applauding the club’s positivity and dedication.
“We’re disappointed in ourselves. I can say [that] the staff was devastated that something had gotten through, but glad the process did eventually reveal itself, at a point where we can still salvage the season,” Love said. “I am quite impressed with the resolve of the team and … am proud of the way the athletes have decided to take [on] the challenge and accept the penalty, and go forward to do the best they can.”
