In a further step towards normalcy as the province continues its COVID-19 restart, the District of Squamish fields have reopened for local sports organizations to book.
The Squamish Youth Soccer Association (SYSA), for one, got back on the field last week.
Association president Tim Sjogren said the club put together a plan for approval by 小蓝视频 Soccer offering play for 10-year-olds and above.
鈥淭he precautions for the under-10-year-olds [are] quite a lot. It鈥檚 quite heavy to do and I just don鈥檛 think we could manage it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏asically, they need a parent for every child on the field and present, making sure the physical distancing is still happening.鈥�
Sjogren acknowledged some confusion over the stringent nature of the precautions, considering kids were allowed back in school without such rigorous rules.
There was also some frustration over how long everything took to get organized, once the provincial health officer moved into Phase 3 of reopening.
Sjogren鈥檚 wife Nicole, the SYSA administrator, explained that while these are unprecedented times and that any return to play needs to be done safely, it was taking longer than expected.
ViaSport is in charge of co-ordinating return to play for minor sports.
Provincewide Return to Sport Guidelines, by viaSport and WorkSafe小蓝视频 were released June 1.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been weeks now that viaSport has said that we have the go-ahead to start doing sports. I鈥檓 not sure why it鈥檚 taking so long for the District of Squamish to get the paperwork ready,鈥� she said on July 2.
鈥淚鈥檓 bugging [the DOS] with an email every other day saying, 鈥楯ust checking in,鈥� and they鈥檙e saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing our best.鈥欌��
DOS acting director of recreation Devon Guest said field bookings started back up on June 30, though there are different approval processes based on the type of user group.
鈥淪taff are working closely with the associations local to Squamish that are eager to return to play,鈥� she said on July 6.
If a local user group is part of a provincial sport organization (PSO), Guest explained, the group submits its plan to the PSO 鈥� using the PSO鈥檚 own return-to-play plan as a guideline. The PSO then submits that plan to the provincial health office for approval, and once it has that sign-off, the local group can take its plan to the District and start making its field reservations.聽
鈥淔or the most part, our user groups belong to a provincial association,鈥� Guest said, citing the SYSA under 小蓝视频 Soccer as an example. 鈥淭he role that the district plays is not vetting or authorizing these safety plans.鈥�
However, the process is a bit different for user groups that don鈥檛 officially fall under a PSO, such as local softball leagues, which fall under a national organization.
鈥淚n most cases, local-sport associations have an affiliation with a provincial sport organization. Many of those PSOs are in turn members of provincial agencies like viaSport and the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association. These two agencies worked to develop the 鈥楻eturn to Sport Plan鈥� for 小蓝视频 that was approved by Provincial Health Officer [Dr. Bonnie Henry] in late June. The one outlier we are aware of is Slo Pitch which is governed by a National Organization, Slo Pitch National, so their situation is a little different,鈥� Guest wrote in a follow-up email on July 14.
Complete guidelines for field bookings are online at squamish.ca.
