(UPDATED November 27, 2020) The Government of Alberta announced several new measures on November 24, 2020 to stop the spike of COVID-19 cases in our province. 

Province-Wide Mandatory Measures:

  • No indoor social gatherings are permitted in any setting, including workplaces
  • Outdoor social gatherings are limited to a maximum of 10 people.

Business and Service Restrictions effective November 27th are listed under four categories; see sport specific statement under Business closed for in-person services. These new measures will remain in place for three weeks and may be extended, if necessary.

See Enhanced Public Health Measures Here >>>

Mandatory restrictions were announced for ALL levels of sport in areas in the province listed under Enhanced Status (purple areas).  This means a suspension of all team soccer activities such as practice, training, competition, and team social activities for programs in these areas for at least the next three weeks.

All members should use the Interactive Map on the Government of Alberta website to stay informed of the health status of their regions. 

For members who provide soccer activities outside of the AHS identified regions, they may continue to offer programming under the Return to Modified Games guidelines.

UPDATE for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Organizations 
(provided by the SPAR branch of the Government of Alberta on November 27, 2020)

As the community transmission and positivity rates of COVID-19 continue to increase in Alberta, the Government of Alberta has declared a province wide Public Health Emergency and has implemented new mandatory restrictions for enhanced communities. These restrictions will have a direct impact on our SPAR stakeholders

As per the measures announced on Tuesday, November 24, please find below a summary of the restrictions that will be in place for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation organizations and programs from Friday, November 27 to Tuesday December 15. These measures will be reassessed in December.

1. Businesses that are closed for in-person service include:

  • All levels of sport (professional, semi-professional, junior, collegiate/universities and amateur). Exemptions may be considered and will be approved by the CMOH.
  • Some entertainment and event services may remain open with capacity limited to 25% of the occupancy set under the Alberta Fire Code.

2. Indoor fitness, recreation, sports and physical activity centers, including dance and yoga studios, martial arts, gymnastics and private or public swimming pools.

  • Facilities can be open for individual studio time, training or exercise only.
  • There can be no group (3 or more) fitness, group classes, group training, team practices or competition.
  • Instructors can use facility to broadcast virtual fitness classes from, but there can be no group class.
  • One on one training/coaching is permitted provided physical distancing is permitted.

Please note this is for enhanced areas only; all other areas must follow provincial COVID-19 Stage 2 Guidance.

3. Outdoor Sports:

  • Outdoor gatherings are still in place for up to 10 people.
  • Outdoor sport, recreation and physical activity is permitted, as long as they are physically distanced, follow guidance and abide by the outdoor gathering limit.
  • Anyone playing hockey at an outdoor rink should observe physical distancing and abide by all public health measures.
  • Ski hills can be open to the public

4. Exemptions:

Given the seriousness of Alberta’s current COVID-19 situation and the proposed duration of the measures (to be reviewed by December 15), exemption applications for sport will only be considered for those entities that can demonstrate adherence to the Guidance for Professional Sporting Events. This includes:

  • Enforcing a mandatory 14-day “quarantine-in” procedure before any practice or play occurs and using a bubble model for the duration of the event.
  • Access to dedicated facilities and transportation that are not open to the general public.
  • Conducting daily health checks on all members of the team, and private testing team members upon entry into the bubble and every five days throughout events.
  • Conducting a comprehensive risk assessment plan and implementing risk mitigation and controls before play begins.
  • Completed plans can be sent to Alberta Health via Biz Connect at BizConnect@gov.ab.ca.

Please visit the following documents for more information:
https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

Please contact the SPAR Branch  or contact your respective SPAR consultant with any further questions.

Alberta Health continues to review best practices and emerging research on sport, physical activity and recreation in the COVID-19 context.