Ontario Soccer, in consultation with Canada Soccer and Provincial Government authorities have been monitoring the most recent developments of COVID-19 and are currently assessing operational plans for Return to Play, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold and potentially wind down.
The Ontario Provincial Government made an announcement on April 27, 2020 and within it has laid out a phased-in approach to de-escalating the State of Emergency in Ontario.
Other Canadian provinces have also begun the process of re-opening businesses, easing social restrictions and gradually moving towards modes of operation that work in each region.
Ontario’s Provincial Government has not yet set a date for the beginning of the province’s phased-in approach but there is now an opportunity to begin thinking about what that Return to Play might look like for soccer in our province
The safety and health of our participants will be first and foremost in the decision-making to come.
The Thornhill Soccer Club has been working on safety plan, which will outline detailed safeguards in order to create and maintain a safe soccer community where our members feel more comfortable.
These provisions might include:
• Coaches equipped with hand-sanitizer and wipes available if Parents cannot provide
• Managers or parent volunteers taking temperature of individuals before commencing practice and regularly using non-touch thermometers. (If this is not feasible, then having parents agree to take temperature at home before and after each soccer activity and report fevers with stay-at-home directives)
• Disinfecting/wiping down all equipment and surfaces before and after activities (in our case it would be cones, balls, goal posts/bow nets, etc.)
• Pinnies would have to be laundered or not used at all.
• Outline a plan for social distancing such as:
- Limiting frolicking between players before and after activities.
- Utilizing drills that involve spacing rather than lining up.
- Train the players to form spaces during chalk talks and down time.
- Line up bags with spacing between, etc.
The Club has prepared a Return to Play Survey for the Parents to help with this planning. Assuming that the provincial government and public health authorities deem it safe to resume soccer activities, with the necessary precautions in place.
The survey can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQ7_V8LiNSQRnv-o7VycQodiHf3xhIA9ccmJpuhd5JqYzjpw/viewform
Please take a moment of your time and complete this survey, so that we may prepare to better serve you.
Managing Registration Uncertainty.
In preparation for a quick start to a delayed season, we ask for your assistance in our planning and encourage you to register now.
Recreational Program
Those who may be worried about signing up, as of today, you can register without any payment until the season begins, simply choose the “Office Payment “ option when checking out.
This will assist us in creating team rosters, and assigning spots for each player, we do not want any child to miss out on any more of their activities, as they have missed so much already.
If your family is experiencing severe financial difficulty due to the crisis, we will be open to discussing payment options and assistance on a case by case basis.
By registering now, you will guarantee a playing spot for yourself or child and it will allow us to prepare the teams and leagues for the re-opening.
To register go to: https://tsc.powerupsports.com/
Competitive Program:
The coaches will begin sending out the registration process as of Saturday May 2nd for the U13-U18 age group. For the U8-U12 group they will begin that process on Tuesday May 5th.
Adult League Men’s and Women’s
Please contact Russell Hamilton at adult@thornhillsoccer.com to reserve your spot.