December 2, 2021

Update # 21

This update outlines the latest PHO orders, travel restrictions and updates with regards to changes and guidance related to sport.

1) viaSport has updated the Return to Sport Restart 2.0 chart to reflect what they know about new regional health orders:

•  The additional restrictions that were in place in Interior Health have been lifted. Activities can now be aligned with the PHO Order on Gatherings and Events.
•  Northern Health has released a chart explaining the differences between its regional health orders and the PHO Order. Sport-related guidance now aligns with the PHO Order on Gatherings and Events, except that:
  •  Indoor and outdoor sporting events are limited to 50% spectator capacity
  •  Events must have a COVID-19 safety plan
•  The regional health orders for Fraser East (effective September 28, 2021) remain in place.

2) During the province-wide state of emergency related to extreme weather and flooding, decisions to travel for sport should be made on a case-by-case basis. On severely damaged highways, remember that sport is not considered essential travel. Aside from those restrictions, individuals and sport organizations will need to assess their own risk factors when determining whether to travel or host events. The latest information is available on the Province’s Travel and fuel restrictions page, and TranBC’s Current Road Advisories page.

As we continue to strive to provide a safe training environment for all participants (players, coaches, and support staff), Basketball BC strongly supports and recommends the use of masks and maintaining physical distancing whenever possible.

October 29, 2021

Update #19 

The provincial government’s October 25 Gathering and Events Order is now in effect.

viaSport is currently working to update their chart with regards to sport implications and will publish as soon as possible.  

Updates to proof of vaccination requirements and capacity restrictions

•  The Order defines a “participant” as anyone at an event, which includes spectators, but does not include anyone attending in an official capacity as an organizer, supervisor, official, volunteer or event staff. For sport, however, the Order states that an adult (19+) leading, supervising, or assisting a sport program for children and youth must have received two doses of vaccine. (Section D.7 and D. 8). This includes coaches, volunteers, and officials for indoor and outdoor sport.

•  Youth 21 and under participating in sport are still exempt from showing proof of vaccination.

•  For indoor sport, adult participants 22 and older must show proof of vaccination.

•  Spectators (19+) for children, youth and adult indoor sport must show proof of vaccination. The previous exemption for events under 50 people is no longer in place for sport.

•  Records of vaccination: Organizers are allowed to keep written records of proof of vaccination from participants, if they have written consent from the participant to do so. These records may only be kept for the purposes of confirming that a participant has been vaccinated and can be kept until this Order expires or is repealed.

•  Capacity restrictions: The Provincial Health Order has removed indoor capacity restrictions; however, regional restrictions still currently apply in Fraser East, Interior Health and Northern Health (east of Kitwanga). For further information and updated regional restrictions refer to the Province of B.C.'s provincial and regional restrictions page.

Basketball BC will continue to update our membership and provincial basketball community with regards to restrictions, guidelines, and recommendations as we receive them.

As we continue to strive to provide a safe training environment for all participants (players, coaches, and support staff} Basketball BC strongly supports and recommends the use of masks and maintaining physical distancing whenever possible.

September 14, 2021

Update # 17

Pandemic Passport Sport Implications

•  The Pandemic Passport Order was released on Sat. Sept. 11. and takes effect Monday, September 13, 2021.
•  The intention of the Order is three-fold:
  •  It is being implemented as part of the government’s program to increase vaccination levels in BC.
  •  It is being implemented so public services (employment and other essential services) can continue.
  •  It is being implemented so that programming for children and youth can continue
•  The Order can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-gatherings-events.pdf
•  Currently viaSport is working on an updated Return to Sport chart.
•  For information on the overall Proof of Vaccination Program, please visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

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•  Key components of the Order for Indoor Sport
  •  Youth are exempt from the Proof of Vaccination program,
  •  The definition of youth is “persons under 22 years of age”
  •  Youth sport has no max. number for participants
  •  Adults that are supervising and supporting Youth Sports are exempt from the order.
  •  Adults (those 22 and older) must show proof of vaccination for indoor and outdoor sport
•  viaSport is currently seeking clarity from the PHO on a number of items including:
  •  Who specifically comes under the term “supervising Youth Sport” and is exempt from youth sport? (ie coaches, trainers, officials, volunteers, parents)
  •  Who counts as spectators for ticketed events and sport activities?
  •  How best to deal with vaccine passport verification requests

Additional details of the Order for Sport:

•  Spectators at ticketed indoor events will require Proof of Vaccination.
•  Spectators at non-ticketed indoor events for youth sport up to 50 do not need to show Proof of Vaccination.
•  Facility operators are likely to ask sport organizations to take responsibility for their Proof of Vaccination implementation.

Additional Interior Health restrictions:

•  Those on the field of play (participants, staff/volunteers, officials, coaches) do not count towards the total number allowed for events.
•  Spectators do count toward the total number allowable for events.
•  50 are allowed indoor and 100 are allowed outdoor.

As we continue to strive to provide a safe training environment for all participants (players, coaches and support staff} Basketball BC strongly supports and recommends the use of masks and maintaining physical distancing whenever possible.

August 23, 2021

Update #15 - Return to Step 2 for Interior Health Region

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in B.C.’s Southern Interior, provincial officials announced on Friday Aug. 20 they are extending the current restrictions to the entire Interior Health region.

This means that as the province will continue to be in Step 3 of B.C.’s Restart plan,  the Interior Health region is in Step 2.

Step 2 mandates the following restrictions for sport participation

Outdoor sport

• Recreational travel, including for sport, allowed within BC
• Maximum group size is 50 for adults (i.e. 22 and over). That 50-person count includes participants, coaches, managers, trainers, and other persons involved in an official capacity
• No maximum group size for children and youth (i.e. those under 22)
• Physical distance not required on field of play (i.e. contact is allowed). Off field of play, physical distance of 2 m must be maintained.
• Up to 50 spectators
• Masks not required

Indoor sport

• Recreational travel, including for sport, allowed within B.C.
• Maximum group size is 50 for children/youth and adults. That 50-person count includes participants, coaches, managers, trainers, and other persons involved in an official capacity
• Physical distance not required on field of play (i.e. contact is allowed). Off field of play, physical distance of 2 m must be maintained
• Field of play: no masks required
• Off the field of play: masks required
• No spectators

High-performance sport

• CSI-Pacific identified carded athletes do not have a maximum group size for outdoor sport activities but must adhere to all other Step 2 rules.

More information can be found on the Basketball BC Restart plan that outlines both Step 2 and Step 3 guidelines.

Also additional information including can be found on the viaSport website and their FAQ page

June 18, 2021

Return to Sport – Restart Plan for Basketball 2.0

On May 25, the provincial government introduced the 4-step  BC Restart Plan for the provincial sport sector.

Based on the provincial Restart Plan, we have revised our guidelines for basketball’s phased return to play in The Return to Sport - Restart Plan for Basketball 2.0. It is designed to help organizations in planning their return to competitive play and inform parents and players on how each of the steps in the Restart plan will affect their basketball training and what rules apply for competition and facility use (i.e. spectators, social distancing, masking etc.).

This document outlines the changes and implications for basketball that occurred in Step 1 (May 25) and the changes that occurred in Step 2 (June 15).

Please note we are now following the guidelines and protocols that abide with the changes that were legislated on June 15 in Step 2.

We will be updating our Restart 2.0 document periodically as we progress through future Steps of re-opening.

June 3, 2021

Update #12 – 2021

Return to Sport Restart 2.0

As we progress through the summer with the proposed provincial schedule for opening up for sport with the loosening of restrictions, it is imperative that we continue to follow government legislation with regards to Public Health Orders.

Information regarding the 4-step BC Government plan regarding loosening of restrictions can be found at the BC Government Restart Plan. As well, information regarding all current provincial restrictions can be accessed at BC COVID information.

This schedule of transition between the steps is always dependent on case counts, hospitalizations, and vaccination rates.

To help guide the sport sector in navigating this Return to Sport, viaSport has outlined the various steps involved in the Return to Sport Restart 2.0. It lists the most current directives and will continue to be a source of the most updated information regarding restrictions and guidelines.

 For indoor sports, the same restrictions that were in place prior to May 25 are still required.

•  3 m physical distancing required for children and adults on field of play.
•  Adult sport limited to two people.
•  No spectators
•  Travel to home club only (and cannot cross travel zones)

Although basketball is considered an indoor sport, during the spring/summer season, organizations may look to take their training and competition outdoors i.e., 3 X 3 etc. Outdoor basketball is required to follow the May 25 directive regarding outdoor sport.

•  Practices and competition allowed for youth and adults within their home club.
  •  No travel or inter-club play is allowed.
  •  Competition should be occurring in the same locality throughout (A team cannot play in North Van one week, then Burnaby the next, and Vancouver the week after that. -viaSport)
•  Physical distance is not required on field of play (contact is allowed). Off field of play, physical distance of 2 m must be maintained.
•  Travel allowed to home club only (and cannot cross travel zones)
•  NO SPECTATORS
•  Maximum group size for adults and varsity sport is 50 (if group is a mix of youth and adult, a 50-person maximum must be followed)
  •   Adults and Varsity have a max of 50 participants on the field of play for outdoors, but off the field of play the limit is 10 for social gatherings.
•  No maximum group size for youth to allow for more flexibility (e.g., adult supervision)

Group size needs to reflect the size of facility since basketball would not be played on the size of a soccer field/complex the number should be far less.

For information regarding specific situations access viaSport FAQ page

Prior to June 15, Basketball BC will be posting a revised Return to Sport plan specifically for basketball as we progress to Step two (June 15 at the earliest) with restrictions being loosened for Indoor Sport.

May 19, 2021

Update #10 – 2021

This update focusses on the Return to Sport as it relates to the current provincial restrictions. Recently Dr. Bonny Henry reiterated that no decision has been made as to whether restrictions will be lifted and that we will hear an update after the May long weekend. viaSport has directed all Provincial Sport Organizations to share the following message.

Specific to return to sport, Dr. Henry mentioned that outdoor sport will be more permissive than indoor sport when some restrictions are lifted. She also stated that there will be a gradual return to sport, and although outdoor sport will be the focus, it’s important that clubs/organizations and their members understand that this doesn’t mean they can immediately begin operating the way they did before the pandemic.

To help with your planning, viaSport has prepared some key messages and information to share directly with our members and basketball community. Guidance on the Return to Sport in BC May 2021

Additional guidance and information regarding current travel restrictions for Sport can be found at the viaSportTravel Reminder

April 30, 2021

Update #8 – 2021

This update focuses on the new Travel Restrictions and implications for the Sport Sector. The update has links to both viaSport and Provincial Govt. websites to further aid in clarification.

The new order further restricts non-essential travel between health authority regions, which are:

•  "Northern-Interior Health Authority region": Northern Health Authority region; the Interior Health Authority region; the local health areas of Bella Coola Valley, Central Coast and Hope.
•  “Fraser-Vancouver Coastal Health Authority region": the Fraser Health Authority region and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority region, excluding the local health areas of Bella Coola Valley and Central Coast.
•  “Island Health Authority region”

For sport, this means that travel to home clubs or high-performance athlete travel that crosses the travel restriction boundaries is not allowed. Any travel that is related to sport across one of the three zones needs to be postponed until at least after May 24.

As before, teams and groups of participants can only travel to their home club and that club needs to be close to the participants’ residence. These details are included in the viaSport updated Spring Travel Reminder.

The overall intent of the order is to minimize travel even within health authorities.

The sport-restriction section on the provincial government’s website has been updated to better reflect the Public Health Order. You can see those changes here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restrictions.

March 22, 2021

Update #6 - 2021

•  Ongoing transmission within the province has resulted in a slowdown in the process of re-opening sport, so we continue to be in a holding pattern.
•  Currently, there is no set date for further loosening of restrictions.
•  When restrictions are eased it will be through a very cautious approach with more leniency given to youth sport.
•  The current plan will be a return to sport that focusses on loosening of restrictions in three areas.
  •  Contact
  •  Travel
  •  Competition.
•  Currently there are two possible plans viaSport has proposed to PHO
  •  RTS 2.25 that would allow for only competition within your own club/ training group and continuing to impose travel restrictions.
  •  RTS 2.5 that would allow for competition within 2 or 3 clubs 

UPDATE ON ADULT SPORT AND REMINDER ABOUT TRAVEL FOR SPORT
viaSport has posted further clarification regarding what participants and clubs should know about  Adult Sport and Travel for Sport .

FAQ’S
With changes to the PHO Order being made over the last week there has been a number of questions from the sport community. FAQ on the PHO Order is now updated and available on the viaSport website.