FRIDAY MARCH 5, 2021 UPDATE - 5:00 PM: Basketball Manitoba has just been informed of a clarification to the Manitoba public health orders that were issued yesterday from Sport Manitoba that will impact all indoor sports in Manitoba...
SPORT MANITOBA UPDATE: MASKS ARE MANDATORY
Contrary to what we communicated in the Sport Partner Call on Wednesday, we received clarification that masks are required when participating in indoor sporting activities at all times. Order 27 clarifies the use of masks, including medical and swimming exemptions, and can be viewed here (PDF).
In light of this change, Basketball Manitoba will be changing its return plan to reflect this change that can be seen noted below.
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Under the new Manitoba Public Health orders that take effect on Friday, March 5, 2021, that permits indoor "group training to a maximum of 10 players and 3 coaches and 3x3 half court scrimmages within the group", Basketball Manitoba will permit the following changes to indoor basketball training in all health regions of Manitoba. All other forms of basketball including games, tournaments, championships, etc. remains paused under the Red / Critical Health restrictions.
As part of today's announcement, Basketball Manitoba also announces the formal cancellation of the in-person 2021 Basketball Manitoba Awards that were scheduled for April 17, 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic and the impact it has had on the school levels of basketball this season. An alternative series of scholarship awards will still be offered and announced in mid-April with details found HERE.
PANDEMIC IMPACT ON BASKETBALL IN MANITOBA UPDATE - MARCH 5, 2021
PHASE 3 - Effective Friday, March 5, 2021, small group basketball training to a MAXIMUM OF 10 PLAYERS AND 3 COACHES present in a standard sized gymnasium will now be permitted.
Additional Details...
- Basketball Manitoba stresses that coaches lead a gradual return to basketball over the coming weeks and months understanding that athletes may not have been active for a long period of time with a focus on athlete health and injury prevention being stressed during all training.
- Normal team drills involving shared equipment are now permitted including ones involving dribbling, passing, shooting and other offensive and defensive team drills.
- Scrimmages within this group of 10 players are now permitted to a MAXIMUM OF 3x3 HALF COURT only. Full court or cross court scrimmaging of any other format (5x5, 4x4, etc.) is not permitted at this time.
- NEW All coaches AND PLAYERS are to wear masks including when active on the court at all times while in the facility.
- All equipment including basketballs and hands are to be properly sanitized before and after all training sessions. Sanitizer Notes:
- A liquid form of hand sanitizer with 70%+ alcohol content in a spray bottle works well cleaning basketballs and other equipment with a clean rag and on hands at the same time.
- The cleaner dries fast and leaves no residue or smell on the basketball or hands and shows no damaging effects to a rubber or synthetic basketball.
- The liquid sanitizer and empty spray bottles can be purchased at home repair and department stores including Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Lowe's, Home Hardware, Walmart and many other locations including many online retailers.
- Social distancing (2m) is maintained at all times between players and coaches on the sidelines and follows all restrictions imposed by a facility when using change rooms / washrooms.
- The maximum 10 players and 3 coaches in a training group is a firm number and cannot be exceeded under the current health orders and is set by Manitoba Public Health.
- Spectators are limited to no more than one person accompanying the athlete at a time and are to be masked and remain socially distanced from others at all times.
- Contact information must be kept by the coach of all players they are training with and may be requested by the facility prior to attending the training session for contact tracing purposes.
- The full Basketball Manitoba Return to Play Guidelines with the above exceptions remain in place can be found HERE.
Please note that the Basketball Manitoba Insurance Program remains paused for any accident claims by its members and only currently carries general liability coverage. Only participants who are registered members in the 2020-21 membership year are covered under this liability coverage. All others will participate at their own risk.
Sport Manitoba COVID-19 Update: New Public Health Orders Effective March 5
This week, the Province of Manitoba announced that as of 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 5, the following changes to public health orders will be in place and will expire on March 25:
- indoor recreation and sporting facilities such as gyms, fitness centres, rinks, courts, fields, ranges, studios, clubs, pools and centres to open at 25 per cent total capacity, with public health measures in place including for spectators, common areas and locker rooms. The requirement to provide one-on-one instructions has been removed;
- gym, fitness centre and pool users must continue to wear a mask while working out and in all other areas of the facility, with the exception of while in a swimming pool;
- day camps for children to operate at 25 per cent capacity with other public health measures in place;
Click here to view the press release with full details from the announcement.
The current orders have been updated and made available online here (PDF). Those pertaining to sporting activities include:
ORDER 13
- 13(1) Outdoor sporting facilities may open, subject to the requirements of this section.
- 13(2) Persons must not engage in outdoor sporting activities as part of a group of more than 10 persons, unless all persons in the group reside in the same private residence or they are participating in an organized practice, game or competition at an outdoor sporting facility.
- 13(3) Organized practices, games and competitions at outdoor sporting facilities may take place, but the operator of a facility must ensure that no multi-team tournaments are permitted at the facility.
- 13(4) Warming shacks, washrooms and other indoor facilities associated with outdoor sporting activities may open if the operator of those facilities
- implements measures to ensure that members of the public are reasonably able to maintain a separation of at least two metres from other members of the public at the indoor facilities;
- limits occupancy to all indoor facilities other than dressing rooms to 25% of the usual capacity; and
- limits the number of persons in dressing rooms to 50% of the usual capacity or to a number that ensures that all persons in the dressing room are able to maintain a separation of at least two metres from other persons, whichever is lesser.
- 13(5) Ice fishing shacks may open if all persons using the shack reside in the same private residence or have been authorized to attend that residence under Order 1.
ORDER 14
- 14(1) Indoor sporting facilities, including swimming pools, may open if the operator of the facility complies with all requirements of this Order.
- 14(2) Individual play, group and individual instruction, and team practices may take place at an indoor sporting facility but no organized team games or tournaments may be held at the facility, except as authorized under Order 16.
Sport Manitoba note: we want to reinforce that no organized team competition or tournaments are allowed at this time.
- 14(3) The operator of an indoor sporting facility must
- ensure that any group of persons participating in a sporting activity at the facility, excluding coaches or instructors, does not exceed 10 persons;
- take reasonable measures to ensure that there is no interaction between different groups of participants who are engaging in a sporting activity at the facility at the same time; and
- limit the number of persons in dressing rooms to 50% of the usual capacity or to a number that ensures that all persons in the dressing room are able to maintain a separation of at least two metres from other persons, whichever is lesser.
Sport Manitoba note: we want to clarify that you can have multiple groups of 10 participating in a sporting activity at once, as long as you do not exceed facility capacity limits and do not intersect with other groups
- 14(4) The operator of an indoor sporting facility must
- implement measures to ensure that members of the public at the facility are reasonably able to maintain a separation of at least two metres from other members of the public at the facility, excluding participants engaged in a sporting activity; and
- limit occupancy to all portions of the facility other than dressing rooms and the areas where sporting activities are conducted to 25% of the usual capacity.
These Manitoba Public Health Orders will go into effect on Friday, March 5, 2021, and will remain in place for at least 3 weeks to be renewed or changed on March 25, 2021.