As indoor sports ramps up for the winter, BC Recreation and Parks Association CEO Rebecca Tunnacliffe said spectators won鈥檛 be allowed to stay and watch games inside sporting complexes, for now.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be shut down,鈥� Tunnacliffe said, referring to a recent warning from Dr. Bonnie Henry who issued a caution to sports teams and arenas earlier this week after the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver was shut down indefinitely due to a COVID-19 exposure at its facility.

鈥淪he said we need to keep ourselves safe and to focus on players rather than spectators, and so that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to do.鈥�

Tunnacliffe said the BCRPA has been working together with viaSport, BC Hockey and the Recreation Facilities Association of B.C.

In conjunction with the spectator decision, Tunnacliffe said the organizations are looking at allowing an increase to the maximum group size of participants (players) at sports events.

Regarding spectators in the future, Tunnacliffe said they will meet that complexity when the current rough waters calm. For now she just wants to get players on the ice and in the arenas in a safe and orderly approach.

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Tunnacliffe said in making the spectator decision, a clear definition of 鈥榩atron鈥� needed to be established.

鈥淸It鈥檚] an individual who attends an event, but does not include event staff, volunteers, vendors, exhibitors, performers, presenters, the members of a team engaged in a sporting event, team managers, coaches, persons such as referees, time keepers or score keepers and staff associated with any of the foregoing,鈥� she said.

While accommodating spectators or patrons for indoor spaces is possible in the future of Phase 3, Tunnacliffe said this will likely not occur for the remainder of this year.

鈥淢unicipalities are not ready to manage the added complexity required for moving spectators in and out of indoor space safely,鈥� she said.

鈥淒r. Bonnie Henry鈥檚 recent statements have also encouraged us to focus on participation over spectators. viaSport and BC Hockey support municipalities in their decision to not allow spectators in their indoor facilities at this time.鈥�

She added it will be up to municipalities to decide whether they are ready to accommodate up to 50 outdoor spectators attending or watching a sporting event, and each municipality will be able to decide what their capacity is.

Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated following a conversation with BCRPA CEO Rebecca Tunnacliffe.

greg.sabatino@wltribune.com
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