Based on the success of the first Special Olympics BC Pilot Programs, we are ready to take the next step in our slow, phased Return to Sport Plan. We are excited to announce that athletics, bocce, outdoor Club Fit, and golf can move to Level 1. All Locals around the province can now offer these four programs, once they receive approval from SOBC.
For anyone who has not yet viewed the SOBC Return to Sport Plan, the document and all related resources can be found on the SOBC website here. We encourage everyone to check this page regularly, because updates and additions of resources will be ongoing.
For the past six weeks, we have been in the Pilot Program level for these first four sports, with 12 Locals around the province testing the new protocols to safely reopen these sports. During this phase, staff supported the pilot programs and sought the feedback of the Locals, athletes, and coaches to make sure that the protocols outlined in our Return to Sport Plan worked to keep volunteers and athletes safe, and that each program was able to follow the protocols as set out in the plan. Based on the feedback, staff made adjustments to those protocols where needed. We are excited to say that all 12 programs were highly successful and we are ready to move to Level 1 with these four sports.
We understand that in the past many Locals have not normally run programs in August and early September. But there is nothing “normal” about our times, so now we would like to provide the opportunity for interested Locals to run these four sports that are in Level 1, until the weather will no longer allow.
ATHLETES: This means all Locals can work with the provincial office to get approval to offer these first four sports only. As Locals start to reopen sports, they will announce what sport(s) will be offered and what their registration process will be. But please know that things will be different from Local to Local. To run a sport, a Local needs to have access to facilities, enough volunteers, and enough interested athletes. Not every Local will have this right away. Thank you for being patient – everyone is doing the best they can under the circumstances, and wants to have a safe return to sport as soon as possible.
Find all SOBC Return to Sport resources
Next steps
Special Olympics BC puts the safety and wellbeing of our athletes, volunteers, and staff first. To that end, we are being cautious now as we begin our return to sport, meetings, and fundraising. We will continue with caution while trying to provide sport opportunities for our athletes.
We understand that each community will have different realities when looking to reopen sports. Some communities are opening their facilities now and asking Locals to commit to their bookings; others are not even taking bookings. Some schools will be renting faculties starting in the fall; others have indicated they will be waiting until January to decide if outside groups will be allowed into their facilities.
So over the next few months, staff will be working to develop protocols for the additional 15 sports, as well as youth programs, so that we are prepared should Locals be able to run any of those sports in the fall.
We know that not all programs will be able to start in-person in October, so we will also be developing virtual sport-specific programs. These will be programs that coaches can host with their athletes at a specific time each week using Zoom or other web platforms. Stay tuned for more information on these programs.
We will keep Locals completely in the loop as those protocols and programs are developed. It is also important to know that we continue to monitor the recommendations and protocols provided by the Provincial Government and BC Centre for Disease Control. Should they recommend the suspension of in-person programs and/or meetings, we would heed that recommendation.
If you have any questions about the Return to Sport, or anything in this memo, feel free to reach out to your Region's Community Development Coordinator or SOBC Vice President, Sport, Lois McNary, by email at Lmcnary@specialolympics.bc.ca or on cell at 604-616-1341.