MONTREAL -- Supervised team sports will resume across Quebec through June as more regions lower their COVID-19 alert levels, announced Minister for Education Isabelle Charest on Thursday.
Gyms are expected to reopen as regions transition to the orange zone, meaning people will be able to renew their memberships for June 7 in Montreal and Laval.
In yellow zones, outdoor sports activities will be permitted in groups of 25, starting on June 11. Not all sports though, only those incorporating brief contacts, such as soccer, baseball and volleyball.
For basketball fans, the wait continues.
The Mecca is in the US and our kids are watching all the Americans play like it's over,” said Joey Mckitterick, director of Montreal’s Brookwoodelite basketball program
“So everyone is chomping at the bit to get back in the gym and be able to play.”
Large-scale outdoor events will return on June 25. In red and orange zones, this will only include non-contact sports, such as gymnastics or shot put. The government, however, expects most regions to turn green by then.
“It will be possible to organize competitions and tournaments and it will also be possible to accommodate spectators,” said Charest.
Indoor activities requiring brief contacts may also resume on that date in green zones with a maximum of 25 participants, not counting spectators. This includes, among other things, combat sports.
Parents will be able to attend their children's sports games, but limits will be placed on the number of spectators. Outdoors, 50 spectators on an outdoor stage will be allowed with assigned seats. Indoors, in the green zone, the capacity will be reduced to 25.
Charest also affirmed that “the majority of indoor sports and recreational facilities will be able to reopen their doors from the orange level,” with face coverings mandatory for all users.
In all cases, the activities will still have to be supervised by a person in charge of respecting the sanitary instructions.
NOTHING SET IN STONE
The relaxed rules, developed in collaboration with public health, will be implemented “if, and only if, the epidemiological situation continues to improve,” said Charest.
Medical advisor Dr Érik Litvak underlined the importance of vaccination to allow a return to normal in the world of sport.
“We absolutely need everyone this summer to go get their second dose of vaccine,” he said, recalling that in the fall, with the return to school and the resumption of activities, interpersonal contacts will increase.
“We are really heading towards a certain normality,” said Charest.
-- This report was first published by the Canadian Press in French with files from CTV News journalist Matt Grillo on May 27, 2021.
