Dear Members:
We hope you are doing well. We know that you are missing your regular activities and being with your team mates or those you train and compete with. Many of the BC Blind Sports groups and teams are staying in touch with each other. If there is a sport group you wish to connect with, or a sport you would like to have more information about, please let us know. We have received the provincial return to sport guidelines from Via Sport and are working on the blind sports versions by sport and location.

What to expect: here are some things from the guidelines or which are being considered in return to sport:

• Outdoor is better than indoor
• Ability to maintain physical distancing
• Attestations or health checks before each training session (this is a checklist reviewing if you are experiencing symptoms
• For most sports – training but not competition at this point
• Regular cleaning of equipment, no sharing of equipment
• Limited or no access to changing facilities (depending on the location)
• Is a sport guide used (e.g. bowls director, tandem pilot, guide runner) and are they from the same household or will they be in your group of limited number of contacts (if/when this changes)
• How do athletes and others get to training sessions – and ability to practice physical distancing or remain safe in the commute to training.
• Waivers and informed consent related to COVID-19 risks due to insurance companies have implemented COVID-19 exemptions (basically saying that COVID-19 related claims will not be allowed). Last week the provincial government announced a Ministerial Order protecting amateur sport organizations (like BC Blind Sports) from liability and damages directly or indirectly related to COVID-19. As more information about this becomes available we will explore how it impacts BC Blind Sports programs.

This gives you a general idea of what to expect. We know that for some sports this will be easier than for others. Some may require significant modifications to activities – but we hope to be able to get people together in some way. We may need to look at some form of alternative activities. We are exploring options with team managers or coaches. Some of you may wish to try something new also.

We will keep you posted as things progress. Please send us your ideas and questions.

Take care, stay healthy, active and safe; and let us know how you are doing.

You can continue to contact us as follows:

Email: info@bcblindsports.bc.ca
Phone: 604 321-1638
Toll Free Phone: 1 877 604-8638

Yours sincerely,
Jane, Mike David, and Susan
The BC Blind Sports Staff