COVID-19

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT UPDATE

August 24, 2021 

Hello Everyone,

As you are undoubtably aware, the Chief Medical Officer of British Columbia has issued a new public health order that takes effect September 13th, 2021 and runs until at least January, 2022 requiring proof of vaccination for anyone who wants to access certain indoor events, services and businesses. Included in this list are gyms and sporting events, which we have confirmed includes adult recreational sports leagues. 

In accordance with the public health order, all participants playing in or watching an Urban Rec indoor league, tournament or event, will now be required to have a valid proof of vaccination.

  • Starting September 13th, all participants will be required to show proof of at least 1 dose of a Health Canada approved vaccine. 
  • Starting October 24th, all participants will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated (you will be considered fully vaccinated seven days after your second dose).

What does this mean for my team?

If you or anyone on your team are unable to provide this proof of vaccination as outlined in the public health order, you will not be allowed to participate until such time as you are vaccinated to the appropriate levels. The government is currently working on a ‘vaccination passport’, and once the details are announced of what will be required, Urban Rec will inform all of our members on what they will need to present in order to participate in our leagues.

We realize that some of our members may have chosen to not, as of yet, get vaccinated, and some of our members who may have chosen to not get vaccinated at all, which is entirely within their rights. However, in lines with this new public health order, these members will not be able to participate in the Urban Rec fall 2021 season. It has been made very clear by the relevant authorities and our venue partners that there will be ZERO exceptions to this requirement.

We understand that this may affect your teams’ participation in our upcoming indoor fall leagues. If you know your team will not be able to meet the vaccination requirements, we want to offer your team the opportunity to withdraw from your league with a full refund outside of our normal Urban Rec Withdrawal Policy.

We will extend this option to your teams until TUESDAY AUGUST 31ST AT 12PM (NOON). After this deadline, if your team is unable to play, you will be subject to the normal Urban Rec Withdrawal Policy.

Should any team be found participating with any members who cannot show a government approved ‘vaccination passport’ in lines with the new Provincial Health Order will face severe Supplemental Discipline including immediate removal from the our league (without refund) and possible year-long expulsion.

Urban Rec is committed to providing a safe, fun, and inclusive environment in which to play coed adult recreational sports.  We fully encourage all of our members to get vaccinated so that you can play the sports that we all love.

Yours in Sport,

Urban Rec

Return to Play – COVID-19 Guidelines

May 30th, 2021

Capacity:

  • Only players that are Urban Rec members and have completed all requirements of being added to the group roster, including accepting all Waivers, Addendums and Terms and Conditions of play, may be in attendance at the venue.
  • No more than 50 participants and staff will be in any group
  • No spectators may be in attendance.

Social Distancing Strategy/Measures and Control:

  • Participants must adhere to physical distancing standards before and after games.
  • Physical distancing is not required while on the field of play.
  • The use of a mask is recommended for all participants when entering and exiting the venue.
  • Participants can arrive at the venue no more than 10 minutes before scheduled play time.
  • Do not enter the court until ALL other groups have left the court.
  • Absolutely no congregating at the facility or parking area before or after your play
  • Players must clean/sanitize their hands before and after playing
  • Participants must avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
  • Participants must cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and apply hand sanitizer immediately after a coughing or sneezing event.
  • Always maintain current physical distancing standards from others when not on the field of play.
    • At the end of your game, immediately leave the field following the appropriate exit plan.
  • Be mindful of common surfaces and limit touch points.
  • All shared equipment will be sanitized between each game.
  • Volleyballs will be sanitized at the start of each game.

Daily Health Attestation:

Each day before each session of play, all Teams will be sent an email that will require an RSVP to confirm with their group that all participants planning to attend can answer “NO” to the following 3 questions:

  1. Have you experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 (which may include but not be limited to fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, painful swallowing, loss of sense of smell) over the last 10 days?
  2. Have you travelled to any country outside Canada within the last 14 days?
  3. Have you provided care, or had contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19, in the last 10 days?

Contact Tracing:

  • Only players that are Urban Rec members and have completed all requirements of being added to the group roster, including accepting all Waivers, Addendums and Terms and Conditions of play, may be in attendance at the venue.
  • Team roster information will be provided to public health authorities if requested

Equipment Use/Disinfecting Procedures:

  • Hand Sanitizer will be available at each field.
  • UR staff will have disinfectant spray at each field.
  • Soccer Balls will be sanitized before the start of each game and between each half of play.
  • Come prepared to play! Do not change at the venue.
    • No access to change rooms.
  • Bring your own water bottle – There will be no access to water fountains or bottle filling stations at the venue.

Group Zones:

  • Cones and rope will be set-up in between zones to delineate different groups of 50.

April 2021

With the recent announcement of the extension of the existing Public Health Order that presently bans all Adult Team sports, we have unfortunately been forced to postpone the Urban Rec Spring 2021 season until the order expires at the end of May 2021.  Team Captains have been contacted with information regarding the postponement.

While we support and agree with the continuation of the existing PHO to allow for a continued flattening of the curve as well as for the mass vaccination program to take place, we are understandably saddened that we will not be able to provide you, our incredibly valued members, the opportunity to play your favorite sports for the time being.

We wanted to let you know that Urban Rec is not going anywhere!  While we would obviously like to be out their playing team sports, we are not sitting on our hands during this continued shutdown.  Our team is working hard everyday to ensure that when it is safe to resume playing that we are ready, able and oh so willing to be there for your sports league enjoyment!

In the meantime, please do your part to keep everyone safe and healthy and to getting all of us back playing sports with our friends.  Be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Yours in Sport,

Urban Rec

Summer 2020

On August 24th, viaSport British Columbia announced that sport has moved to Phase 3 of the province’s Return to Sport plan. This means that while close physical proximity should continue to be minimized, it is permitted provided these instances are limited in duration and occurrence as much as possible.  Further, these activities should be restricted by placing teams in cohorts (basically divisions or pools) that they will remain in to limit the pool of people that are interacting with each other.

For a full read of viaSport’s Return to Play plan, please click these links:
viaSport Return to Play Guidelines
viaSport Phase 3 Sport Announcement

What does this mean for Urban Rec leagues?
This means that most Urban Rec sports will be able to be played with minimal modifications to the rules governing game-play; however, guidelines around team sizes, entering/leaving facilities, and other non-gameplay aspects of our sports will still be required to be followed in order for us to play as safely as possible!

What will be done to mitigate the risk of being exposed to COVID-19?
With the leagues that we were able to run this summer, Urban Rec was able to come up with measures that not only met but surpassed the guidelines of Island Health and the applicable provincial health authorities.  For our fall leagues, the following measures will be in place (additional measures may be added at Urban Rec’s discretion depending on the venue/league):

  • Daily health check email sent to all teams participating that evening requiring an RSVP from the team captain confirming that all participants who are playing that night can truthfully answer “No” to the COVID-19 health check questionnaire.
  • Equipment provided by Urban Rec will be disinfected between games (as well as during games if necessary)
  • Hand sanitizer will be available for participants to use
  • Minimize time at venues for participants:
    • Only permitted in venue within limited time prior to game start
    • Must leave venue promptly when game ends
  • Have entrance/exit plan for each venue in order for participants to minimize contact with teams from other game times
  • Recommend that participants wear a mask covering their mouth and nose when entering and exiting the venue
  • Participants should practice physical distancing as much as possible before, during and after the games.
  • The number of people that a player can come into contact during play will be limited:
    • Teams will have a limit as to how many players/subs can be in attendance at each game
    • No spectators may be on or near the playing surface
    • Players who are not on the playing surface will maintain physical distancing on the sidelines as best as possible
    • No huddles, high-fives, handshakes, etc. between teams
    • Teams will be placed into cohorts (pools or divisions) to begin play and will only participate within the same cohort unless reseeding is necessary
    • Cohort sizes will vary from sport to sport based on contact frequncy & intensity
      • Volleyball cohorts are 100 players
      • Soccer cohorts are 50 players
      • Basketball cohorts are 50 players
    • Should reseeding be necessary, teams will have a 14-day break between games before participating with a new cohort

What types of rule modifications for game play will be in place?
Of course, this depends on the sport, but one universal rule that we want everyone to follow is that while intermittent close physical contact is now permitted, we want everyone to minimize those instances.  Participants who do not adhere to this will face supplemental discipline which can include suspension and/or expulsion.  Regular Urban Rec rules apply for each sport with the following exceptions (additional rule modifications may be made at Urban Rec’s discretion):

Soccer

  • Teams can have a maximum of 12 players play each night (rosters can be larger, however only 12 may be in attendance for each game):
    • Each team will be assigned a designated area to use at their ‘player benches’ for their substitute players. A maximum of 5 players may be in each designated area, and they must be at least 2meters apart when they are not on the playing surface.
  • Soccer balls will be sanitized before the start of each game and between each half of play.
  • Currently no throw-ins will be permitted, kick-ins will be used as an indirect free-kick from the spot where the ball left the field of play.
  • All Urban Rec leagues are non-contact, however brief periods of intermittent/accidental contact will be permitted as per the most recent Phase 3 update published by viaSport

Volleyball

  • Teams can have a maximum of 8 players play each night (rosters can be larger, however only 8 may be in attendance for each game):
    • Each team will be assigned a designated area to use at their ‘player benches’ for their substitute players. A maximum of 4 players may be in each designated area, and they must be at least 2meters apart when they are not on the playing surface.
  • Volleyballs will be sanitized before the start of each match.
  • All Urban Rec leagues are non-contact, however brief periods of intermittent/accidental contact will be permitted as per the most recent Phase 3 update published by viaSport

Basketball

  • Teams can have a maximum of 10 players play each night (rosters can be larger, however only 10 may be in attendance for each game):
    • Each team will be assigned a designated area to use at their ‘player benches’ for their substitute players. A maximum of 5 players may be in each designated area, and they must be at least 2meters apart when they are not on the playing surface.
  • Basketballs will be sanitized before the start of each game and between each half or play.
  • All Urban Rec leagues are non-contact, however brief periods of intermittent/accidental contact will be permitted as per the most recent Phase 3 update published by viaSport