Editor’s Note: This article was last updated on April 22, 2021, to reflect changes to the wording around the High Performance Athlete Exception.
With the arrival of warmer weather and sunny skies, Cycling BC would like to remind our clubs and members about the following restrictions that are still currently in place for sports in BC.
GROUP SPORT
1. A person may permit a place, other than a private residence or vacation accommodation, to be used for, or may provide, or may participate in group sport, if the following conditions are met:
- if the group sport is indoors, only two persons participate;
- if the group sport is outdoors, only ten persons participate;
- the participants maintain a distance of three metres from one another while engaged in the group sport, unless the participants reside in the same private residence;
- there are no spectators, unless the presence of a spectator is necessary in order to provide care to a participant
2. No person may permit a place be used for, or may provide, or may participate in group sport, unless the conditions in section 1 are met.
3. No person may be present as a spectator at group sport, unless the presence of the person is necessary in order to provide care to a participant.
TRAVEL FOR SPORT
1. No person may travel for children and youth sport or group sport, including for training, practice, games or tournaments.
2. Section 1 does not apply to travel by a person to the person’s home club sports facility at which the person regularly trains or practices.
For more information on the travel restrictions for sports in BC, viaSport has published the following guiding document: viaSport Guidance on travel restrictions for sports in BC (April 2021)
HIGH- PERFORMANCE ATHLETES EXCEPTION: High performance athletes already training in B.C. as of November 19, 2020 can train, travel and compete together. They must follow the COVID-19 safety protocols of the provincial or national sports organization they are affiliated with. To qualify as a high-performance athlete, you must be identified by the Canadian Sports Institute Pacific as a high-performance athlete affiliated with an accredited provincial or national sports organization.
While the current Provincial Health Order on Gatherings and Events does not specifically address every individual situation, when interpreting the order, it is important to remember that the intention of the order is to stay local as much as possible and to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.
For more information on the province-wide restrictions on events and gatherings, please visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restrictions