On Friday, November 20, the government of Ontario announced further restrictions for Toronto and Peel regions. In our communication, we noted that we had reached out to the ministry for further clarification on what the “limited exceptions” would be, as mentioned by the government of Ontario, and how these changes would impact organized sports.
Today, the ministry published the new guidelines for the Toronto and Peel lockdown regions. They have indicated that only athletes listed on the NSO (Athletics Canada) list of athletes training for Olympics or Paralympics are allowed to use indoor or outdoor sports and recreational facilities.
The following is a link to the specific regulations: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r20654. We recommend all members in the affected regions read the entire release to ensure you understand and abide by the new regulations.
The information below outlines some of the specific regulations applicable to Athletics Ontario members in Toronto and Peel regions:
Facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness activities
- (1) Facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness activities that meet the conditions set out in subsection (2) or the conditions set out in subsection (3), as applicable.
(2) A facility for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness activities may open if it meets the following conditions:
- The facility is,
- operated by, or for the sole use of, persons who are athletes, coaches or officials training or competing to be a part of Team Canada at the next summer or winter Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, if the persons are,
- identified by a national sport organization that is either funded by Sport Canada or recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee or the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and
- permitted to train, compete, coach or officiate under the safety protocols put in place by a national sport organization mentioned in sub-subparagraph A
Athletics Canada has identified anyone on their CAPP list as fitting these criteria. If you need assistance with communicating this to your local facility please contact Paul Osland at [email protected] and he will assist.
