P.A. city and sports officials respond to Sask top doctor’s prediction

The city staff are conducting ongoing feasibility studies on if and how city facilities can open when allowed by the province. Maintaining two metres of separation between people is another important aspect they’re taking into consideration, Toye said.

“If you look at every single facility that we have, the way we obtain revenue is you’ve got a full house and everybody’s paid x amount of dollars a ticket,” he explained. “If that’s halved or a third, that’s going to really make a difference in our bottom line.”

Ultimately Toye emphasized there are still many unknowns when it comes to the roll out of the Re-Open plan. Representatives of Saskatchewan cities have been meeting on weekly conference calls for the past seven weeks. Toye said Dr. Shahab’s comments regarding Phase five will be the first item on the agenda at next week’s meeting.

“We respect what [the province is] saying but that doesn’t mean we can’t have dialogue with them,” he said.

“Sometimes the devil’s in the details, we don’t have the details yet… If it’s a year, there might be other conditions that they put on it that are livable and that allows us forward.”

Optimism for ball

Softball has an interesting case for an early return. Two teams of 12 people, a few umpires and coaching staff could stay under the 30-person gathering guideline. And the only time there would be any social distancing concerns would be brief encounters at one of the bases or home plate, and crowding in the dugout.

Softball and baseball have already started in other provinces. In Manitoba for example, baseball will start on June 8 and softball league play starts on June 16.

Saskatchewan Softball put out a statement on Thursday, saying they will continue to suspend all play until Phase four is underway.

But Kalen Kovitch, the player and coaching development coordinator with Prince Albert Minor Softball Association (PAMSA), said there is currently an on-going Return to Play document that’s currently being drafted, and hopes to get the thumbs up from the Saskatchewan Health Authority at the beginning of Phase four.

“In our Return to Play document once Phase four happens, if we have the proper protocols and guidelines in place, we are ready to go Day one of Phase four,” Kovitch said. “Softball Saskatchewan is ready to go and P.A. Minor Softball/ADFO is ready to go the day the provincial government and the SHA say “play ball.”

Large gatherings needed for football

Although local minor football programs don’t start until late August, there would need to be larger gatherings allowed before football can return to Prince Albert.

“We don’t need thousands of people, but between both teams and parents and coaches and whatnot, we would need a gathering of a couple hundred probably,” Taras Kachkowski from Prince Albert Minor Football said. “My understanding of the plan, Part one of Phase four that is opening up things to sports resuming and we’re hoping to be a part of that.”

Lacrosse provincials to be pushed back

The field lacrosse provincials were initially planned June 12-14. Since no teams have been able to get on a field to even hold a practice, that’s been put off the table according to Javan Bexson, president for both the provincial and P.A. lacrosse associations. But Bexson did open the possibility of having it later in the summer or in the fall if games are allowed to resume.

Prince Albert teams were looking forward to at least holding small practices in the time being, but are still waiting for that.

“We were expecting to start small group practices when we can in Phase four. We were kind of under the impression we could look at those small group practices for a while, so we don’t know how long that will be,” Bexson said. “It’s looking like it could be longer than many people want it to be, but I guess we’ll take that advice and put our athletes in the best situation to stay healthy.”

Raiders in a different boat

The Prince Albert Raiders are in a different boat, as they are in the Western Hockey League which also has teams in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and two American states in Washington and Oregon. Even if SHA gives the green light and lifts all restrictions, the Raiders may still have to wait for the other provinces and states to follow suit, and the border between Canada and the United States be open.

Raiders business manager Michael Scissons said everybody he’s talked to in the WHL are “gearing towards a hockey season coming up.” He said the Raiders are doing the same and will be ready for anything.

“We’re preparing for a season and whatever scenarios those come with in terms of possible restrictions at those times, we’ll be prepared for them.”

Getting back on the pitch still up in the air

It has been six weeks since the Prince Albert Youth Soccer Association cancelled their season due to COVID-19. It would normally have run until July. The indoor season then runs October through March.

Asked how youngsters could play given the limit of 30 people in a gathering, president of the association Nnamdi Ndubuka said that was still up in the air.

“How that’s going to work out is still being determined, there are a lot of conversations happening [at the higher level] …there have been discussions on developing a plan for a safe return,” he said.

A game of outdoor soccer involves 11 players a side, and with substitutes and match officials the gathering can approach the maximum before any spectators are included.

“We do attract quite a number of people [for a game] including parents and supporters,” he said.

Ndubuka said it was unfortunate but he could not yet give parents and their families any message of hope regarding when soccer could resume.

“Left to us we’d like to get the kids back on the field, this is what they love doing this time of year. It’s really heartbreaking but at the end of the day safety is paramount.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliSandstrom

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

by Alison Sandstrom and Jeff D'Andrea