In response to the Provincial Announcement on February 8, Special Olympics Alberta would like to make the following announcement:

Special Olympics Alberta will end our COVID19 Vaccination Policy for all Spring/Summer programs or April 1, 2022, whichever is sooner. That means, if you are currently in a Winter program, the vaccination requirement remains in place for your program. However, any new Spring/Summer programs starting up before April 1, 2022, will not be subject to any vaccination requirements. We hope that this allows for all participants (athletes, coaches, volunteers, staff) to consider their choice in participating in a program, as well as providing adequate planning time for Affiliates to manage their program registrations. 

In conjunction with removing our vaccination requirements, Special Olympics Alberta participants (athletes, coaches, volunteers, staff) are required to wear a mask for all indoor, non-aerobic activities, with a review date of April 1, 2022. 

Please note, that all participants are expected to follow any more stringent regulations in place at a local level. That means, if a municipality or facility has stronger requirements in place, we expect our participants to follow their rules. For example, if a facility requires proof of vaccination for entry, participants are expected to provide that proof to participate in programming. 

An updated COVID19 Protocol Sheet and Return to Play resources are available on our website: https://www.specialolympics.ca/alberta/return-to-play

As always, we thank you for your patience as we support our athletes in the next steps. We appreciate there are many perspectives on all of this and we are doing our very best to work within the guidelines and direction of the Province while maintaining a high level of health and safety for everyone.