Return to Sport 2020

Return to Sport Update - On December 24, 2020, several key updates were made to the official Order of the Provincial Health Officer on Gatherings and Events, including:
A refined definition for "adult team sport” with respect to “group sport”
Clarity around travel to home club
Further guidance on exemptions, including intercollegiate varsity sport
Youth sport may now include participants under 22 years old
To read the full details around what these updates to the Order mean for sport go to https://www.viasport.ca/news/december-28-2020-updates-province-wide-res…
viaSport has also updated their FAQ page specific to this recent Order - https://www.viasport.ca/sites/default/files/FAQ_Provincial_Order_12-24_…
Stay up to date on province-wide restrictions for sport here - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-respon…

viaSport BC hosted a RTS webinar yesterday that attempted to answer a lot of complex questions. The promise of additional clarity in the health orders language is coming soon as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRk4iY9N5Uc

viaSport is hosting a Return to Sport webinar on Dec 17 at noon PT, 1pm MT discussing the current province-wide restrictions. For more info and to register go to https://basinplays.org/return-sport-2020/event/return-sport-webinar-cur…

Question: Are there any hosting guidelines yet for National level events with Athletes coming from out of province including Ontario and Quebec. Would be more than 50 athletes but let’s assume we can manage social distancing on the field of play. Are there guidelines with the travel, coming to communities etc from viaSport as of yet?

Answer: Given the stage we are at, there are no guidelines on inter-provincial travel for national team athletes yet. I recognize that many high performance programs anxiously await this guidance given the summer Olympics next year and winter games in 2022. I recommend you closely follow your National Sport Organization, as they are undoubtedly working hard to figure this out and will communicate it to you as soon as they can.

Question: Some of our members have kids signed up for sport camps in Alberta this summer. In our plan, we intend to require 14 days away from our facilities upon return. Our Provincial Sport Organization walked back their stance on this due to undue hardship for boarder communities, however the change is not meant to accommodate leisure travel out of BC. Input would be appreciated.

Response: I think you are correct in your approach and it's the right place to start. It gives you lots of room to progressively loosen as the data and the comfort level of your board allow. It is much easier to ease up on this in the future when deemed appropriate than it is to walk backwards.

This is very good news for sport organizations - Province takes action to support return to sport https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020TAC0026-001038

I have posted all of the available return to sport guidelines in the resources section. I'll continue to update these as needed. Please don't hesitate to reach out as needed.

While waiting for the guidelines, sport organizations can/should:

Start to develop implementation plans
Work with your insurance provider and/or legal council on risk mitigation.
Maintain communications with your stakeholders around the status of return to sport plans
Consult your local health authority on their plans or guidelines for sport
Connect with your facility operators and municipalities to understand the protocols they have in place
Begin preparing materials that remind your members of public health guidelines, like posters on social distancing and hygiene
Remind your local sport organizations and clubs of the importance of staying in touch with their members to keep them updated and engaged
Encourage your members to remain active while enjoying the outdoors and facilities that have opened in small groups at a safe distance

https://www.viasport.ca/return-sport will have all up to date information regarding return to sport.

As the viaSport Sport Development Specialist for the Columbia Basin, I am happy to assist your club's return to sport in any way that I can. Please reach out on here, or by email at jamesb@viasport.ca