Important Update on COVID Regulations
Step Two of Ontario's Reopening Plan
June 25, 2021
Yesterday it was announced that Ontario will be able to move to Step Two in the Reopening plan effective Wednesday, June 30th, 2021, at 12:01am. Ontario Sailing has been able to review the amended Regulation 263/20 Rules for Areas in Step 2 that comes into effect next week.
Note: There are indications that both the Waterloo Region and the Porcupine Region will be remaining at Step One for a longer period. If you reside or sail in one of these regions, please continue to abide by the Step One Regulations and the guidance from your local public health.
Highlights of changes in the new Regulations for Step 2 that may impact sailing activities include:
- Team sports (instruction, practice, and competition) can proceed as long as there is no likelihood of sustained physical contact between participants – meaning that you are allowed to sail in boats with others as long as you ensure there is no sustained and engaged physical contact.
- While doing outdoor sports, masks are not needed. Following best practices of maintaining distance and wearing masks at other times (such as in preparation and post sport activity) is encouraged.
- All sailors on the same boat are no longer required to be from the same household.
- The capacity limit for all activities that are part of your ongoing operations (as opposed to events) are based on how many people your space can accommodate while maintaining the 2m physical distancing requirements.
It is also important to be aware that organized public events and social gatherings under Step 2 will be limited to 25 people outdoors and 5 people indoors. Sports competitions such as club race nights and regattas are not limited to these numbers. However, we encourage everyone to support COVID best practices and avoid gathering in large groups and do your part to maintain physical distancing.
While there is a loosening of restrictions, many requirements (especially restrictions around indoor access and the collection of information for attendance for tracing purposes) remain in place. We look to the entire sailing community to support your local organization leaders as they work hard to understand and follow all the rules to protect sailors, the organization, and the overall reputation of sailing. The promotion of overall health and safety need to continue to be front of mind as we enjoy the activities the Regulations now allow.
A reminder that Ontario Sailing does not set any Regulations or restrictions, we have been working to keep both you, the individual sailor, and the leaders of our member organizations up to date on the changes to provincial Regulations as they occur. We are available to organization leaders that have any questions about the Regulations surrounding COVID and encourage them to reach out to Lisa Roddie (lisa@ontariosailing.ca) or Glenn Lethbridge (glenn@ontariosailing.ca).
Stay Safe and Enjoy the Sailing!
