Clubs, Coaches & Members,

Gym Sask is in daily/ongoing communication with our designated staff person, familiar with sport, at the Government’s Business Response Team.  Clubs, please know that if you phone the BRT yourself, you may get different responses from an inexperienced BRT staff member, – so we encourage you to let the Gym Sask staff provide you with what we know is a province-wide response from our BRT assigned staff member. Please have patience with our Gym Sask staff, who will send you up-to-date and reliable information as soon as we receive it.

We have asked for clarification on yesterday’s directives from the Government, especially relative to club facility size,  the number of groups/athletes allowed in the gym. There are still many certainties, and Gym Sask is trying to “interpret” the directives to the best of our ability.

We hope to have another update for our clubs tomorrow after another meeting with BRT at 11 am.

The following is the information we have received today. Please note that restrictions take effect as of midnight tonight.

 Government Directive: “Athletes 18 years of age and under may continue practicing, conditioning and skills training in groups of eight or fewer, abiding by the required mask use and at least three metres of physical distancing between participants at all times.” 

    • Training is allowed with a max of 8 people per group NOT including the coach.
    • Parent & tot classes will need to be reduced to 4 athletes and 4 parents.
    • Acro & RG groups (max 8) are allowed to train as long as they are in groups of 8 or less and are masked.
    • All athletes, coaches, participants must wear masks at all times.
    • Coaches, please ensure that athletes wearing masks are not compromised for sight/safety while training or while on any apparatus.  
    • Gym Sask will inquire tomorrow about exemptions for training for 18+ high performance athletes.

Government Directive: “Individual groups of eight may not share a training/rehearsal surface or space at the same time.”

    • Our staff advisor at the BRT has said that yes, multiple groups of 8 are allowed in the facility at once, as long as all athletes and coaches wear a mask and maintain 3 meters of distance.
    • Therefore , it is Gym Sask’s interpretation that:
      • Clubs must consider facility size to ensure allowable 3 meters of distance.
      • For now, clubs should use Gym Sask current Return to Play protocols for numbers and facility square footage.
      • Clubs should be prepared to do extra sanitizing and cleaning between any usage by these groups of 8.
    • BRT recommended (not mandated, but highly recommended) that dividers/barriers of some kind, are set up to separate the multiple groups in the gym, so they stay in their designated space.
    • We interpret “surfaces” as the different pieces of apparatus in the gym – so no more than 8 athletes on any one apparatus/area.
    • Coaches /trainers are not included in the training group numbers as long as everyone is masked and maintain a minimum physical distance of three meters.

Government Directive: “Mask Update” from last week

Mandatory, non-medical mask use will be required during ALL indoor fitness activities, with aquatic activities the only exception.

    • This means ALL athletes must wear masks the entire time while participating in gymnastics.  Coaches, please ensure that athletes wearing masks are not compromised for sight/safety while training or while on any apparatus.
    • Coaches MUST wear a medical surgical/procedure mask when spotting or if they cannot maintain 3 meters of distance. (Gym Sask suggests that coaches wear this type of mask at all times.)