Friday, July 24th, 2020
The Archery Ontario Board of Directors (BOD), has been working with partners at local, regional, provincial and national levels to determine the best course of action for the 2020 scheduled provincial events. Early in this process, steps were taken to reschedule provincial events to a much later date than usual, with the hope that conditions surrounding Covid19 would allow for the safe and successful return to play and the hosting of these larger scale, provincially sanctioned archery events.
The BOD met on July 22nd and was unanimous in the passing of a motion to defer until 2021 the hosting of the 4 major provincial events (3D, Field, Target and Junior Challenge). Therefore, none of the events will take place this year. This is in keeping with our value of safety: the safety of organizers, officials, participants and spectators alike – ALL of our archery family!
What does this means for host clubs? They have the first opportunity to host next year and we ask that they please confirm via email to Kevin, if they choose to do so. We would be going back the usual calendar dates. If they choose not to do so, then the host club intended for 2021 will be the next in line to be eligible to host, it not, then the hosting of the event would be open to bidding at the Fall AGM.
Contributing factors that do not allow for us to move forward in this season: For example, the regions of the province are in various stages of re-opening; the public health officials of different regions have different guidelines to follow; the liability insurance is limited in the way it offers protection for host clubs in terms of liability (if someone were become ill from COVID while attending a provincial event, the host club could be held liable, even if a waiver were signed and there is a campaign underway so as to make this change in legislation, for the future); time constraints, additional equipment requirements and availability of large outdoor spaces that allow for proper social distancing, disinfecting practices and costs associated with cleanliness, PPE, etc.
* A reminder to clubs that Under the emergency order (still in place at the time of this message) and available here https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r20223 the only persons permitted to use the facility are members of an organization, league or club. described in paragraph 34.4 of Schedule 2.
**For those who are looking to host their own local event, Clubs are required to comply with conditions in their applicable region/Public Health Unit, such as wearing a mask, limits on gathering size, physical distancing, stringent disinfecting and cleaning and having a contingency plan in place in the event that a participant is unwell and/ or displays symptoms while on the premises, etc. Keeping a list of the participants to do contact-tracing and being able to reach everyone to advise them, should a participant later develop the illness. These conditions will vary based on whether the region is in Stage 2 or Stage 3 of the Provincial re-opening framework.
***More information available here https://www.ontario.ca/page/reopening-ontario-stages
We thank you (the membership) for your ongoing support and we look forward to a time when we can come together to participate safely in Archery – our sport for life! Respectfully,
Archery Ontario Board of Directors