All sports activities on hold

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2020 (2309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the province working to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, sporting activities across Manitoba have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely.

On March 12, the Manitoba High School Athletic Association cancelled provincial hockey and basketball championships, which were about to begin, or had already started. Ongoing badminton and other school sport activities were put on indefinite hiatus.

“The MHSAA is committed to protecting the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff, coaches, member-schools and the health of all of our fellow Manitobans,” Chad Falk, executive director of the MHSAA, wrote in a statement.

On March 13, Hockey Manitoba followed Hockey Canada’s lead and cancelled all remaining games and activities for the season, including provincial and city playoffs and championships that had yet to be played.

The Winnipeg High School Hockey League and Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League promptly followed suit, postponing divisional championship series underway or scheduled to begin. At press time, no timeline for rescheduling the events was available.

Volleyball Manitoba also suspended all ongoing club and program activity.

On March 16, Ringette Manitoba announced it was suspending all operations and would make all decisions based on World Health Organization recommendations.

While the cancellations put an abrupt end to winter sports seasons across the province, the fate of pending spring sports leagues remains in question.

On March 13, the Manitoba Soccer Association suspended all sanctioned soccer activity — which includes “all league play, training, coach and match official education, and team building activities” — pending further notice.

Baseball Manitoba also suspended all activity on March 13. Scheduled learning facilitators’ training sessions along with coach and umpire clinics were postponed, while provincial team winter training, winter academy, and spring break camp were all cancelled. The association’s annual general meeting, scheduled for March 22, was to be conducted via teleconference.
Softball Manitoba announced that all softball programming would be suspended until May 1, at which point the situation would be re-assessed. Affected programs include spring break clinic, umpire clinics, and player development.

As of March 16, Sport Manitoba had suspended operations at the Sport Manitoba Fitness Centre, Sport Manitoba Performance, and its courts, flex space and meeting rooms. At press time, the Sport Manitoba Clinic remained open.

Sport Manitoba also cancelled its annual coaching awards and Night of Champions event, which was scheduled to take place at Club Regent Casino. Instead of a public presentation, the awards were announced online on March 21 (winners and nominees were not available at press time).

For more information, visit sportmanitoba.ca

Additionally, ongoing training programs conducted by the Canadian Sport Centre at its University of Manitoba and Sport for Life Centre locations were discontinued until further notice.

“This does not mean the discontinuation of service to our athlete and coach population,” executive director Jeff Powell noted in a statement. “Nutrition and sport psychology services will continue largely as they have in the past; with a greater emphasis on technology as the medium for communication.”