Outdoor sports plan for a return to the field
After getting the go-ahead on June 16, some local sports organizations are attempting to make plans for a safe return at some point this summer.
The Government of Saskatchewan announce that outdoor sports and activities could get underway on June 22 as a part of Phase 4, Part 1 of the Re-open Saskatchewan Plan.
“The guidelines for these activities were released last week to give all of these organizations and everyone involved the opportunity to have some time to get ready,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe during a press conference on June 17.
Some overarching guidelines for all sports activities have been established.
“They include things like no tournaments or inter-provincial travel for our sports teams. No handshakes, no high fives, which will be difficult. And of course keep your physical distancing as much as possible,” said Premier Moe.
The full guidelines are posted on the Re-open Saskatchewan Plan on the government COVID-19 website.
Baseball, soccer, and football, among others, are now exploring how they can safely return to the fields.
Swift Current Minor Baseball announced that day that they were working on a return to play plan, which would need to be approved by the City of Swift Current. The plan would begin with small groups of players working on skills and hopefully move towards game related activity by the end of the summer.
The Swift Current Soccer Association announced the following day that they were drafting plans that would need to be approved by the City, the Saskatchewan Soccer Association, and Canada Soccer. The SCSA was drafting plans for players from U9 – U15+ age groups for technical based camps this summer. The SSA has outlined Return to Sport Participation Phases that include four phases. The recommendation is a four-week time frame per phase.
Swift Current Minor Football announced on June 19 that they will be meeting to discus whether a safe 2020 would be possible.
During a media availability on June 17, Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab addressed the return of outdoor sports.
“With sports teams going back to training, again outdoor activities they can be fairly safe observing some of those basic principles. The day camps are also good training for when school starts,” said Dr. Shahab.
“We don’t expect to see anytime soon lots of tournaments where there is travel throughout the province,” he said. “Staying local. Staying within your group of people who are engaged in a certain sport locally I think is a safe way to move forward,” he added.
Dr. Shahab added that testing remained a crucial element to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Occasionally if there is a transmission event, testing is easily available. Seek testing. Get tested. Most people, especially if they’re young, it’s a mild illness. You recover.”