Head-to-head team sports at community centres and parks are out of the question this summer, according to the BC Recreation and Parks Association.
The non-profit organization said it’s set up a task force with Sport BC to build a three-phase plan to get kids back on courts, ice rinks and fields, but must face the reality of COVID-19 restrictions.
“We definitely don’t see recreational sport in the province this summer,” CEO Rebecca Tunnacliffe said.
“Fall is definitely a question mark. It just depends how much (restrictions are) lifted. Most sport is based on some sort of contact. So that is a problem.”
The task force aims to establish a set of guidelines that municipalities and sports leagues across the province can follow.
The first phase is focused on outdoor summer sports camps with no physical contact between kids. That would mean no soccer, lacrosse or field hockey.
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“The obvious thing is skill development, but kids are only going to be interested in skill development for a few weeks and then will want to have a bit more fun,” Tunnacliffe said.
The second phase focuses on indoor sports, including hockey, and the third centres on what needs to be done to get all sports up and running. The third phase will be impossible until there is a COVID-19 vaccine.
The group also hopes to meet with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry to discuss reopening playgrounds and tennis courts, specifically on cleaning and enforcing physical-distance measures.
Recreation centres are aiming to reopen in the fall, Tunnacliffe added. One suggestion to restart activities safely is using hockey rinks to host spin or exercise classes to give participants more space to spread out.
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