Amid COVID-19 crisis management and daily updates from public health officials, Cycling BC is recommending that official programming, including group rides, be postponed until the health risks have subsided and restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus have been lifted.
On the advice of Cycling Canada, we have taken the official stance recommending that events on our calendar between now and April 30th be postponed or cancelled. We intend to make another determination on April 3rd related to events scheduled after May 1st.
We have officially stated that we recommend that clubs use their discretion and follow the recommendations of BC Health Authorities in determining how they handle club programming. At this stage, we do recommend that should your group proceed with group rides, you limit groups as per BC Health Authority guidelines.
Cycling BC has officially postponed any of our organized activities including provincial team camps, in-person coach programming, and iRide community programs. Cycling BC staff are working remotely and can most easily be reached by email.
We believe that by heeding the recommendations on social distancing now, we will be able to resume our season sooner. Although we are disappointed that organized participation in our sport is delayed, we are hopeful that the short-term sacrifice will mean that we can resume the enjoyment of our sport this season. Delaying our response will likely result in longer shutdowns for organized sport.
In the meantime, rest assured that the insurance attached to your Cycling BC Membership remains in effect despite the pandemic.
We will continue to monitor the official advice and directives in the coming weeks and encourage you to do the same.
Thank you for your patience.
Cycling BC
For more information on COVID-19, please refer to the following resources:
- viaSport BC Covid-19 Health Guidelines for Sport Organizations https://www.viasport.ca/news/covid-19-health-guidelines-sport-organizations
- BC Provincial Health Officer order on mass gatherings https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/reports-publications/covid-19-pho-class-order-mass-gatherings.pdf
- BC Centre for Disease Control http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-(novel)
- Health Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html
- World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
- Government of Canada advice on mass gatherings: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/mass-gatherings-risk-assesment.html
- Government of Canada Travel Advice & Advisories: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories