Our local newspaper, North Shore News, put up an article on their website of the return-to-play guidelines. Click the link below for the full article.
BC Soccer aims for mid-June return to modified training, while baseball leagues hope to salvage seasons. Minor sport organizations across British Columbia are accelerating their plans to return to the field of play following the release of provincewide Return to Sport Guidelines on Monday.
The guidelines were produced by viaSport, in conjunction with WorkSafe BC, to help sport organizations develop their own plans for returning to action following the cessation of all activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to viaSport, a provincial agency that oversees more than 70 B.C. sport organizations, individual sport provincial governing bodies are now tasked with creating their own detailed plans for bringing their sports back while considering the safety of participants, staff and the community.
Maintaining physical distancing, minimal sharing of equipment, focusing on skill development and small group training, and remaining focused on local communities are some of the key considerations outlined by viaSport.
“For the foreseeable future, sport should be more geared towards community participation and training rather than games and provincial competition,” viaSport’s release stated.
Today BC Soccer released an update on their return to play plan, indicating that member clubs could be able to officially resume modified training programs on June 12 provided they have followed the steps set out by the provincial soccer governing body. On Monday, Baseball BC stated they will soon release their return to play guidelines, but cautioned that on-field activities will not resume right away.
“We caution baseball stakeholders that several things still need to happen before any on-field activity can begin,” the release stated. “This will take some time.”
Youth baseball seasons across B.C. were paused before they began this year, as the COVID-19 crisis came as many leagues were in the process of picking their spring teams and finalizing their schedules. They may not yet know exactly when it will happen or what it will look like, but the North Shore Baseball Association is working on plans to get back on the field soon.
“We are reviewing this information and looking forward to additional information from both Baseball BC and B.C. Minor Baseball shortly,” NSBA vice-president Jon Alpen told the North Shore News. “As an association, we want to resume play as soon as possible in a safe and responsible manner. Many of our players and their families can’t wait to get back to baseball this year and we are doing everything we can to make that happen.”……….
Return-to-play guidelines released for B.C. sports organizations