About a month after reopening classrooms to students across the province, the provincial government has decided to allow school-based sports tournaments to resume as well.
According to a tweet by BC School Sports, the governing body for high school sports across the province, the change follows “constant dialogue” with the provincial government and stakeholders.
“Thanks everyone for your support this week and to the Minister of Education and stakeholders for being open to constant dialogue this week to understand the issue,” the association wrote.
“We look forward to continuing working with you moving forward.”
On Friday, the B.C. government updated its online information on COVID-19 protocols in schools to reflect the change, stating “all sports, clubs and extracurricular activities are allowed.”
“Sport and extracurricular activities should be held outside whenever possible,” says the website.
“Students will be encouraged to wash their hands before and after using equipment and cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing.”
The website also says students will be asked not to share equipment that touches the mouth unless cleaned and disinfected in between uses.
“It was an extreme relief, the excitement — you can feel it in the gym,” Burnaby South Secondary School basketball coach Mike Bell told Global News.
“Everyone is so ecstatic to have that news come. We’re going to have a tournament — it’s uplifting.”
The decision to allow school-based sports tournaments was not formally announced by the province.
It comes days after community and club-based youth tournaments were allowed to resume on Feb. 1, an amendment to provincial health orders announced by Dr. Bonnie Henry on Jan. 25.
That news prompted many B.C. parents, coaches and student athletes to express frustration and confusion about why their athletic events could not safely resume as well.
“Student athletes, parents, coaches, school officials — everybody kind of came together and communicated some of the concerns and frustrations, and I think that was helpful in understanding why it was important for this to move forward,” said Jordan Abney, BC School Sports executive director.
Tournaments had been cancelled in December 2021 in a round of sweeping public health restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
An online petition to lift the ban on B.C. high school sports tournaments attracted more than 13,500 signatures.
In an interview earlier this week, Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said additional due diligence was required to approve school-based sports tournaments, particularly those that take place in community settings.
“As everybody knows, the current circumstances with Omicron have been very challenging for our communities, our schools and our health-care system,” she explained.
As that planning and deliberation continued, she said she expected to make an announcement about school-based sports tournaments in the “coming days.”