Minor sports leagues happy to get back in the game as Ontario loosens restrictions
The wait is over for athletes looking to get back into the game. On Monday Ontario began easing COVID-19 restrictions, which means sports and recreational facilities are allowed to reopen.
“We’re starting as early as tonight,” said David DeBenedictis, the director of soccer for the London TFC Academy.
To keep players safe, sports organizations including TFC will have to operate at 50 per cent capacity.
“Depending on certain facilities, they have different guidelines. For the most part - players will be allowed on the field and there’ll be limitations on spectators,” said DeBenedictis.
The City of London is also gradually resuming in-person programs with COVID-19 restrictions in place, which includes reopening community centres, pools and arenas to the public again.
In an email to CTV News London, a spokesperson for the city wrote, “In any circumstance where a class or program was cancelled, a credit was applied and refunds were made upon request. All memberships were extended based on the number of days that recreation and sports facilities were closed.”
Excitement and relief is being felt amongst many local organizations Monday.
“I think there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm to get back to our game.”
Tony Martindale, the executive director of Alliance Hockey, said they are working on balancing the schedule for some, while in other cases athletes will have their season extended, thus allowing them to continue to play until the end of March.
As for refunds for cancelled sessions over the last month due to public health measures, Martindale said it’ll be up to individual minor hockey associations to provide that to parents.
“I can’t imagine, as a young hockey player, having to pause your season for a month,” Martindale said. “To be able to come back and participate in the game you love is great.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'