Mount Royal University is ploughing ahead with its plan to ban ice hockey intramural in the name of inclusivity. 

Mount Royal University Cougars Athletics & Recreation released a statement saying it cancelled its campus hockey programming to be more “accessible and inclusive.”

In a statement to The Counter Signal, the university said it hasn’t reconsidered its position.

“Cougars Athletics and Recreation is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. As such, we are dedicated to creating a culture of accessibility and inclusion with safe services, programs, events and facilities that welcome all individuals,” Mount Royal University Cougars Athletics and Recreation said in an email to The Counter Signal. 

“Each year our department undergoes an important assessment process for all of our programming. Following recent assessments of Ice Hockey intramurals it was decided to place the program on hold due to increasing costs for ice times, as well as ice time availability, which we felt made the program less accessible.”

The school also said it supports the wellness of the Mount Royal and Calgary community through intramural sports programs that provide an inclusive and accessible environment for participants.

Last week, The Counter Signal spoke to former player and student Conor Monaghan who blasted the Mount Royal for caving to cancel culture with the ban on hockey intramural. Monaghan played with his friends on the Bangkok Baddies team in 2021.

“I would say that cancel culture is playing a big factor in this. Rather than having a conversation with the participants involved, the university has decided to completely extinguish ice hockey,” Monoghan said. “I guess they have decided that hockey culture doesn’t align with their morals as an institution.”

Monoghan also said he doesn’t understand the cancellation, considering participants have the option to play. He said the university could have made alternate choices rather than outright cancellation. 

“I know my friends are extremely disappointed, as we were looking forward to playing for another season before we graduated,” Monaghan told The Counter Signal. 

Indeed, unlike varsity leagues, intramurals are open for anyone in the university to take. Technically, this is more “accessible” and “inclusive” than varsity hockey.

That said, hockey is more expensive than the average sport, so not every student can afford to play.