Bids submitted for CIS championships

That’s a solid movember candidate in the top left/ Brett Nielsen

Women’s basketball could be coming to the CKHS

Proposals for upcoming CIS Championships are in for universities across Canada, and the University of Regina Athletics Department is planning on sticking to what it knows best: women’s basketball.

Recently, the University of Regina submitted its bid(s) to host either the 2017 or the 2018 CIS Women’s Basketball National Championships, in an attempt to once again bring the event back to Regina, where it has been held before in 2009 and 2013. The Cougars women’s basketball team is a perennial contender, and are among the strongest teams at the U of R. The Carillon spoke with Interim Director of Athletics Curtis Atkinson about the bid, and the process behind it.

Atkinson noted that among a number of reasons for bringing the event back to Regina, one of the major reasons was the exposure that the U of R gains in terms of national broadcasting, and bringing in visitors.

“Having the U of R in the national spotlight is good for our institution. Some of these games are broadcast on national TV and it brings great exposure to our campus,” Atkinson told the Carillon. “These events also attract visitors to our campus from across the country. On-campus engagement is also high when we host events of this magnitude.”

As for the actual process of making the bid, Atkinson noted that it comes down to a few people, including women’s basketball coach Dave Taylor, as well as the Dean of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Harold Riemer.

“When the CIS put out the call for bids, it started as a conversation between our women’s basketball coach, Dave Taylor, and me. I then spoke with our Dean, Dr. Harold Riemer, and he endorsed the bid. Dr. Riemer recognizes the value in the U of R hosting these types of events and supported this bid.”

Once this is finished, the proposal is sent off to a CIS committee that makes the decision as to where the events should go. The decision is not just restricted to the women’s basketball championship, but bids come in on a number of different sports, on both the male and female sides. All that is left to do is wait and hope that things work out for the school, but Atkinson is confident in the reputation that the U of R has for hosting big events.

“Once we submitted our proposal, we basically just wait and see if we are successful. A committee met last week to evaluate the bids and they should be making a final decision shortly,” Atkinson said. “We have to be available to provide additional information, if necessary, but the committee focuses on the contents in each bid. We have a strong reputation of hosting successful CIS championships, but our competition to host this event is really strong.”

Finally, while Atkinson and the U of R are focused on locking down this event, he wouldn’t rule out submitting bids on other sports in the future, although he couldn’t name any specifically that the University may be interested in.

“It would be premature to name specific sports right now as there are some important considerations,” Atkinson stated. “We have to assess the competitiveness of our team, determine what community support will be from a volunteer and spectator perspective, assess the potential for corporate support, and then decide whether or not it will be a good fit for the U of R.”

The Carillon will keep you updated on any further developments that occur.