The Brock Badgers are ready to host their first home opener at Bob Davis Gymnasium in two years.

The Brock women’s and men’s basketball teams are looking forward to their first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) competition since the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020-21 season.

Brock opens the season at home against the Laurier Golden Hawks at Bob Davis Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 3. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men starting at 8 p.m.

Brock is cautiously lifting capacity limits inside Bob Davis Gymnasium to 400 people this week. Admission to Badgers home games for basketball, volleyball and hockey require a ticket and proof of vaccination as per the Ontario Vaccine Passport policy.

Tickets are free for Brock students. General admission for adults is $12. Non-Brock students and seniors are $7. Youth ages 7 to 16 are $5, while children six years old and under are free.

All tickets must be purchased in advance through Brock’s online ticket portal as there are no tickets available on-site.

The women’s basketball team begins the season following an historic 2019-20 campaign, where they captured OUA Championship and won a silver medal at the national U SPORTS Championships.

“I’ve been waiting for this game day for so long. It’s surreal after such a long break, and I can’t wait for this group to step back on the court and compete,” said forward Samantha Keltos, a fourth-year Biological Sciences student from St. Catharines. “In this past year, some said we were just practising to practise, but every day I trained to get myself better and to be someone who would make an impact on this program.”

The men’s basketball team returns a senior core with three pillars of leadership in Daniel Cayer, Kascius Small-Martin and Godsman Kwakwah.

In the off-season, the Badgers also welcomed new key players such as point guard William Boyer-Richard.

“We are excited to get back on the floor this year and compete in every opportunity we get on the heels of a cancelled season due to the pandemic,” said men’s basketball head coach Willy Manigat. “We have faith that we can be a very competitive team and look forward to the challenges along this journey.”

The Brock women’s and men’s volleyball teams host the Guelph Gryphons for their home openers at Bob Davis Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 6. The first serve for the women is at 6 p.m. and the men are set for 8 p.m.

The Brock men’s hockey team opens the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 6, versus the Rams at Seymour-Hannah Arena. Puck drop is 5:15 p.m.

The women’s hockey team begins its regular season on the road in Windsor on Friday, Nov. 5, before hosting its home opener against Laurier on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7:15 p.m.