As the province moves to Level 1 of the winter COVID-19 plan, it brings with it a one-time grant for not-for-profit sports organizations that faced heavy restrictions under levels 2 and 3.
On Friday, the government announced a $10,000 grant for sports organizations.
The one-time grant is “intended for not-for-profit sport organizations that have experienced financial loss due to cancelled programs or events because of the public health restrictions between Dec. 13, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2022,” according to a release from the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.
It’s welcome news for Sports NB’s interim CEO Sabrina Durepos.
“In terms of the restrictions, restrictions have been very difficult on our members,” she said in an interview on Friday. “Not being able to host events … we’ve seen drops in memberships, not being able to offer programming. We need to understand that, for our members and the sport community, that (is) their main source of revenue a lot of the time.”
She said it has been difficult to hold fundraisers, sell tickets and hold tournaments — all of which are sources of revenue for teams in any league.
Durepos said there is always room for more help but the grant is a good start.
“This fund is great news for our members in terms of helping to address some of the financial burden that has been placed on a lot of organizations,” she said.
When the province announced a week ago that restrictions would loosen yet again, it made some more room for certain sporting activities.
For Nic Jansen, it’s been a challenging several months for recreation in the province.
He said vaccination became difficult because some had it and others didn’t. Jansen said some players were included in some rules under the more restrictive levels, while others weren’t.
Returning to full-capacity sports won’t be easy, he said.
“When they announced the changes to alert Level 1 last week, which go into effect tomorrow, things have been very positive, our members are very happy to get back to playing games but the challenge now is with the number of positive cases. There is a lot of cancellations,” he said in an interview Friday.
He said the grant is a good thing for organizations, especially minor hockey leagues.
Applications for the funding will be accepted until March 11, according to a release from the department.
“The sport sector, like every aspect of society, has been hit hard by COVID-19, and we want to make sure those organizations and programs are supported,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace.
Last year, alongside the federal government, the department distributed more than $3 million to sports and recreation organizations.
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