Provincial restrictions now allow gatherings of up to 10 people outdoors. These outdoor gatherings can occur only with the same people every time, not with new people, and must continue to use COVID-19 layers of protection and physical distancing.
Given this opportunity, Special Olympics BC outdoor in-person group sport training can now take place with up to 10 people gathering, with these conditions:
- Group numbers: 10 athletes/coaches. One of these 10 individuals needs to take on the Program Safety Volunteer role. Sport-specific coach-to-athlete ratios must be observed.
- Participants must have 3 metres of physical distancing between each other during sport training.
- Training groups of 10 cannot gather together. This means you can have two groups of 10 training, but they can not come together at any point before, during, or after that training.
- Everything else remains the same as announced in January.
- All other existing Return to Sport safety protocols need to be followed, e.g. No spectators can be present.
We all want athletes to be able to participate in as many sports as safely possible. But given the current COVID conditions in our province, right now SOBC athletes are still only allowed to participate in one sport at a time, specifically because of the concern around expanding contacts by mixing different athletes and coaches from week to week.
However, there are ways to address this, if a Local's numbers allow. If it's possible to keep the same athletes and coaches participating regularly together, the same group can do multiple different sports at once.
Some Locals are addressing this capacity issue in a different way. They are rejigging their traditional program seasons and planning to run a set of sports in spring followed by a different set of sports in a summer season (focusing on weeknights rather than weekends).
We admire and appreciate the efforts that Locals have taken to reopen what they can under the current conditions. And we know better days are ahead. We're so grateful for all that Locals are doing to run what they can today, and plan for spring, summer, and beyond!
Find the full SOBC Return to Sport Plan and resources
A reminder that prior to reopening, all programs must apply to reopen using this form, and must receive approval from the provincial office before restarting. Please submit the form to your Community Development Coordinator.
Powerlifting and indoor Club Fit remain paused at this time, because of the Provincial Health Order requiring the suspension of high-intensity group exercise.
If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to email covid@specialolympics.bc.ca.
To find all province-wide restrictions on events, social gatherings, and travel, please click here.
To find virtual resources for staying active, connected, positive, and informed, please click here.
More support:
- Mental health and anxiety support at BounceBack BC
- BC Centre for Disease Control information on mental well-being
- Community Living BC’s collection of plain-language resources
- Find more in the Stay Positive and Stay Informed sections on this page