After facing months of confinement and putting young Canadian athletes on hold, sports are being revived again.
There is no doubt that the global COVID-19 pandemic has hit all sectors hard.
It will be up to each club or association to decide how a return to sport will work in their communities.
New Safety Measures Taken
The Fraser Valley Kings hockey program has now resumed practice. It is training with updated settings during the pandemic.
Measurements, such as six feet of social distancing, have been difficult to implement, but there are many skills.
The New Normality Is Based on Zero Ice Contact
Entrances and hallways are designated. There is a limit of one parent per child on the ice. Training can be viewed live via streaming.
Although the children attend fully clothed which takes up dressing room time, it does not seem to bother them at all.
It is not yet known when the competitive games will return. The second wave of the coronavirus is expected in the fall and it’s a real concern.
Ontario Soccer is one of the largest sports organizations in Canada with 500,000 players. According to surveys, 33% of parents are willing to let their children return to the games. 28% would let them return alone under strong security measures and 12% are not willing to let their children play.
Concerning the economic issue, the financial part has also been hit. The organization had to lay off 56 employees. The budget has also declined. It is estimated that between 8 and 9 million dollars of income per registration were lost. It can take up to 5 years to get back on a solid financial footing.
But sport is slowly returning and so are the hopes of its players, coaches, and the general public. It is very dangerous to continue in situations of confinement where mental health plays a key role.
Meanwhile, the responsible institutions are adapting plans that take care of the interest of the health and safety of athletes. These are really difficult times that no one expected. The whole world has had to improvise to be able to continue carrying out daily activities as normal as possible.
