Advocacy: More sports play for many in Halton

Our community wants to return to play. Today the Halton Region Council carried my motion to advocate for our sports organizations from the Province’s unnecessary and onerous liability related to COVID.

These are the organizations that bring local play to the community level, more play for many. This is where communities connections are built and where we strengthen our sense of belonging through sport.

During the resumption plans in the province there have been a phased in approach for sport:

• Stage One - Focus on Individual elite athletes like figure skating and gymnastics and that are associated with a recognized Provincial Sports Body (PSO)

• Stage Two – open up to more individual athlete and not link to a provincial sports body

  • Open to team sport training  for skills and drills no games or scrimmage and who are associated with a PSO

• Stage there – most can play – team sport and individual sport that does not allow for prolonged contact within 2m of another player.

The focus on PSO was key for all initial phases. Every PSO has their own medical advisors and working closely with the Provincial Medical Officer of Health on their return to play plans.  They are very detailed.

Most of the return to play plans make reference to obtaining liability insurance to protect the local organization should a participant contract COVID.

Many sport organizations are run at the local community level are linked to a PSO and operate as not for profits with a volunteer board. Many if not all organizations cannot get insurance coverage to protect them from this liability, as a result some of then have decided not to train/play which is completely unfortunate and as a result participants remain at home unable to engage in an activity that they love to do.

The Province of British Columbia saw a similar trend and mitigated it by passing similar legislation to what is being proposed with this motion.

One of the things that we have been reminded of through COVID is our need to connect and our need to play, and in fact getting out to play may make us even more resilient for a future pandemics. 

If we are strong physically and mentally we have a better chance at fighting a virus.

Let’s ask the province to help get people out and active and pass legislation that makes our not-for-profits comfortable to return to play.