Dear Clubs & Members,
On January 3rd, 2022, the Ontario government announced temporary restrictions in response to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Please see below for some of the information more relevant to sports and sport facilities.
The Ontario government will be moving to Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen with modifications. Relevant to clubs is the section on Sports and Recreational Fitness Activities:
Indoor areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, including gyms, sporting events and personal training must operate under the following conditions:
- indoor closed with limited exceptions and conditions (such as athletes training for Olympics and Paralympics, select professional and elite amateur sport leagues who will operate via an approved framework from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and persons with disabilities for physical therapy)
- outdoor open with spectators limited to 50 per cent capacity and other restrictions
- proof of vaccination required for facilities with a usual capacity of 20,000 or more people Recreational amenities
- Recreational amenities must operate under the following conditions:
• indoor recreational amenities closed
• outdoor recreational amenities open
The OFA is awaiting further clarification on “exceptions and conditions” from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, and will share that with members as soon as they are available.
Note that local health units may set out further restrictions in addition to those published by the province – clubs should check with their local health authorities for any specific queries. Additionally, the OFA urges clubs to revisit the OFA Return to Play Protocol (V8) to ensure that all measures to minimize risks to both staff and members will be implemented once we are able to return to the clubs.
The OFA recognizes that closing clubs temporarily may not be the best news to start 2022, but reminds clubs and members that we must comply with the government mandates.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the OFA Medical and Health Committee at medical@fencingontario.ca.
