Community clubs in holding patterns

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2020 (1810 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Those running West Winnipeg’s community centres vow to be ready to serve their areas when pandemic restrictions are lifted they admit that 2020 hasn’t been easy.

Joel Fingard’s first few weeks in his new job have truly been a baptism by fire. Fingard is general manager at R. A. Steen Community Centre, a job he only started this fall, after the retirement of  longtime GM Steven Bemrose.

Fingard said staff were always considering what was allowed to occur under health orders.

“Space and safety were ongoing considerations,” Fingard explained. “Some activities do not lend well to physical distancing and size of gatherings, so programs like basketball were not allowed. However other sports such as tennis could occur.”

Some clubs have had to shut down completely. Heritage Victoria Community Centre has been closedsince the initial lockdown in March, president Sharon Groombridge said.

“Our board made the decision at the end of June to keep the centre closed to the public through the summer and re-evaluate the situation after school resumed. In mid-September we decided we would open Oct. 15. Unfortunately numbers started to increase and we opted to keep our doors closed.”
Sturgeon Heights Community Centre president Linda Smiley said schedules at that club were monitored with decisions on postponements made on a monthly basis.

“There were a number of limitations and rules put in place that made many events impossible to hold,” Smiley said.

“Many were cancelled such as wedding socials and family events. Of course, this lost revenue is difficult to absorb but did open up slots for groups that were able to follow new provincial health rules such as volleyball skills training and fitness programs.”

Those cancellations have had a social cost. Groombridge said the busy Elderobics exercise program at Heritage Victoria has been cancelled since March. Baby, after-school and summer camp programs were also affected.

“The people of our community have lost out on valuable programming and events that our centre facilitates,” Smiley added.

“Programming such as afternoon bingo is a social meeting place for area seniors, and weekly classes such as the healthy baby and breastfeeding support group are important to new families.”

The human cost extends to staff. Groombridge said Heritage Victoria managed to retain its building manager, which was a challenge  with no revenue until the  club qualified for a wage subsidy. Fingard said most of his staff were laid off for several months in March and brought back slowly as programming gradually resumed. While R. A. Steen is closed, staff have been cleaning and repairing the facility.

Fingard said Steen is accepting hockey registrations in the hope the rinks will open up at some point but all other programming is on hold. Two sets of spring plans are being drawn up, one with social distancing and one without.

Groombridge said that if the lockdown is lifted Heritage Victoria plans on installing rinks. Smiley hopes for rinks, too, but said social distancing affects warm-up stations.

“It is unclear what the future holds, but we are preparing the best we can to provide for our community,” Smiley said. “

We are planning for winter and spring programs, sports, and events and, depending on provincial health orders, we will be ready to go when safe to do so.”