Well, folks…it’s official – COVID-19 has forced Kingsway College to remain unavailable for the Fall Session of 2020. Because a vast number of their students live on-campus, they understandably decided against taking bookings from outside groups for the remainder of the year.
The GOOD news is that we’ve been working extremely hard developing appropriate and necessary safety protocols so that our indoor leagues can resume in other locations in October 2020! While we’re still waiting on the status of our submissions for Barrie, Cobourg, & Peterborough – our plans have been approved by our friends at the Pickering Soccer Centre (1975 Clements Road)!
This means that all Invado Oshawa Kingsway leagues (Mon, Tue, & Thu MAX Co-ed 6s) will make the move to the Pickering Soccer Dome for the Fall Session of 2020! Here’s the full line-up of adult & youth leagues available (click on any league for more info or to register…note: MAX leagues = 6 games a night!)
Playing on the awesome turf at the dome is only slightly different than playing on a gym floor…and we would submit that it’s even more fun, as it’s a hybrid of beach & indoor volleyball. The size of the field where our 4 courts will be setup is extremely large, too, making it so much easier to practice social distancing.
While we’ll still be playing volleyball this fall, the following important safety protocols will be in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19:
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Each league night will be capped at 16 teams, in total (8 teams per time slot…6 players x 8 teams = 48 players/time slot, which keeps us under the 50 max per section of the facility)
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Teams can only have a maximum of 6 players attend on each league night
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It is preferred that spectators not attend, but if required (i.e. youth leagues), then spectators MUST wear masks and stay off the playing field, on the aluminum bleachers/benches behind the netting
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Players will need to confirm attendance on league dates and self-assess/screen (all registered players will be emailed a daily electronic screening tool…players with any of the symptoms listed will be unable to attend their league)
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Mandatory COVID-19 e-waiver (additional, one-time, & mandatory e-waiver emailed out to all participants in advance of the start of the session)
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Volleyballs sanitized after each game (used balls left with conveners for cleaning after each game…new sanitized balls provided for each game)
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Start times for each time slot will be earlier than usual at 7:00pm & 8:45pm (a 15-min gap will happen between the early & late time slots to allow for equipment cleaning and sanitizing)
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Players must wash/sanitize hands before and after time slots (hand sanitizer on-site, but players are encouraged to use a personal dispenser to avoid cross-contamination from shared bottles)
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Players are not required to wear masks on-court, but must wear one inside the building when not in the court area/gymnasium (wearing a mask during physical exertion could lead to respiratory and other heat-related issues)
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Players must arrive as close as possible to start times and leave as soon as games are finished (again, gaps between groups will need to be more distinct in order to allow for vacation of the building and sanitization of equipment)
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Players are not to share water bottles or other personal items
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Handshakes, hive fives, huddles and other unnecessary & deliberate contact between players is not permitted
So – we look forward to having you all out and back on the courts in 2020 and are very thankful to all of you who were able to help support us by taking COVID credits back in March (by the way, those never expire and to claim yours, simply register for the Fall Session and respond to your ‘COVID Credit’ email when you do – we’ll send you a partial refund to cover the full amount owed to you!). We’ve worked very hard to implement the necessary safety protocols and procedures and trained our staff to keep equipment sanitized and our players safe….now the only thing missing is YOU! Register on your own, with a friend, or as a team as soon as you can…and let’s all start LIVING again – but with safety in mind!
Hope to see you on the TURF!
