Pausing school sports and clubs is ‘devastating’
Ottawa-Carleton decision could set Ontario trend, despite expert advice
The Ottawa-Carleton public board will put extracurricular clubs and sports on hold in September — a move Toronto public schools are also expected to announce — potentially triggering a domino effect as boards take a more cautious approach to activities than what the province’s medical officer of health and numerous pediatric experts have recommended.
The move was a blow to coaches who fear other boards will follow suit, after they wrote to Education Minister Stephen Lecce saying sports should restart in September — as they have around Canada and the U.S. — because they are key to kids’ development and school engagement, and especially for those who can’t afford to be in community leagues, which continue to operate.
One coach called it “mass confusion,” with some boards offering sports and others not, noting some Ontario boards already have students in for preseason training for football. Typically, football and crosscountry are the first sports to restart for high school students in September.
Another said the impact will be “devastating” to youth, who have gone without school sports since the pandemic began a year and a half ago.
“It takes the hopes and dreams of kids away, again,” said Heath Weir, a high school football coach in York Region, who says he continues to hear from former students about how being on a school team changed their lives.
“I have been in contact with, or spoken directly to, over 40 high school football coaches and not one has said to me they wouldn’t coach this fall.”
The York Region District School board has yet to announce any restrictions, and Weir said it is working hard with public health officials on the matter.
“This will have a devastating impact,” he said of Ottawa’s move.
“Part of the problem is everyone making these decisions has already had their day in the sun,” Weir added. “It’s very easy as you get older to forget what it’s really like.”
A spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton board said it “intends” to start sports and clubs “as soon as possible this fall,” but will begin with virtual extracurricular activities.
“We want to spend the first few weeks of school helping students and staff settle in and ensure safety precautions are working effectively,” the spokesperson said.
The Greater Essex board and other boards in the Windsor area have also cancelled football this season — but that move came after the board failed to get helmets checked and recertified in time.
The decision in Ottawa comes despite collective guidance from the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore — who has advocated for a full return of sports, including high-contact hockey and basketball — and Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Table on the advice of experts at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Sick Kids and others. They all urged a full return of extracurriculars — music, sports, clubs — that are considered key to kids’ physical and mental health and overall well-being.
With some regions recording a higher number of positive cases than others, the health risks involved in resuming sports and extracurriculars for elementary and secondary students depend largely on where they live, said Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto.
“It’s very concerning with the Delta variant what potentially could happen … This year could be a very difficult year for schools,” Banerji said.
Some sports are more unsafe than others, she added.
“Certain sports are OK, if they’re outside and distanced. For example baseball, there’s no touching. Tennis is a safer sport,” Banerji said. “But indoor sports, especially where there could be contact, should be avoided.
“Soccer, if there’s no touch, no contact and you’re outside, it’s one of the safest sports.”
Pre-vaccine data — which is also pre-Delta variant — shows almost no in-game transmission in a number of outdoor youth sports.
Dr. Beth Rubenstein, a family doctor in Kingston, said “it’s clear there is encouragement” from the Ministry of Education’s guidance to schools in terms of resuming sport and extra-curricular activities.
“I think everybody is realizing the impact of the loss of those activities … which are often the main reasons kids want to go to school.”
Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said it is still early days and most boards are just starting to determine what extracurriculars will run, and when they could start.
“This may be one of those things where local boards get the local sense of what is good for their own communities” she said.
Dr. Kirk Leifso, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and professor at Queen’s University, said while fall sports in schools could be a no-go, they are running in the community, even though the risk during the games is no different.
Banerji said schools should not limit all extracurriculars, but instead make safer activities a priority to help integrate students back into hobbies after a difficult year of online learning and social isolation.
“A lot of kids having been sitting in front of a computer for the past year, so getting out, doing activities and seeing their friends can be very healthy for the body, and the mind and socialization,” Banerji said.
Meanwhile at the District School Board of Niagara, crosscountry running, football, field hockey, tennis, golf, volleyball, basketball and indoor fitness rooms for secondary students will all resume in the fall, said a spokesperson.