A careful restart to rowing

A Careful Restart to Rowing

Current status of rowing in BC as of January 4, 2022:

As of July 1, 2021 BC is in Step 3 of the BC Restart Plan.  For the sport sector, and specifically the rowing community, this means (1) there are no limits on group sizes for outdoor sports, and (2) recreational travel, including for sport, within Canada is possible.

The mask mandate order under the Emergency Program Act has also been lifted as of July 1, 2021. Masks are recommended in indoor public places for all people 12 years of age and older who are not yet fully vaccinated. Rowing BC encourages the continued use of masks outside the field-of-play.

Each local rowing organization will need to review and update their Restart Plan to ensure it continues to be aligned with Provincial guidance.  The current Provincial Health Order can be found HERE and updated sport sector guidance and FAQs from viaSport can be found HERE.

Rowing BC continues to work with Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) to ensure that additional Provincial changes are in-line with National rowing-specific expectations.  These include:

1. Returning to Events:
Starting in July 2021 outdoor regattas can be sanctioned with a COVID Event Safety Plan in place in addition to regular sanction application requirements. Contact [email protected] for additional information.
2. Return to Indoor Training:
Indoor training remains under the same restrictions as announced by RCA in Fall 2020 until a new update from RCA is released.
3. Communicable Disease Prevention Guidance:
In Step 3, all sectors will transition from using COVID-19 Restart Plans to communicable disease prevention guidance from WorkSafeBC.

Vaccination Requirements

On October 25, 2021, the PHO updated its Order on Gatherings and Events with information around proof of vaccine and capacity limits for sport.  viaSport has updated their Return to Sport Restart 2.0 chart in accordance.  Please carefully review both documents.

The following is how Rowing BC has interpreted the most recent information with respect to the rowing community:

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) is NOT REQUIRED for participants
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) is NOT REQUIRED for spectators
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) IS REQUIRED for unpaid supervisors of activities for youth age 12-22 (volunteer coaches, umpires, safety boat drivers, regatta volunteers etc.)
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) is NOT REQUIRED for employees (club managers, paid coaches, paid equipment staff, etc.) working in sport activities or programming in their employment capacity
    • Note that some organizations may require employees to show proof of vaccination as part of the terms of their employment.

INDOOR ACTIVITIES

  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) IS REQUIRED for participants age 22+
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) is NOT REQUIRED for youth participants age 12-22 unless they are participating in a group of primarily adults
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) IS REQUIRED for spectators
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) IS REQUIRED for unpaid supervisors (volunteer coaches, parents, etc.) of all programs
  • Proof of vaccination (two doses) is NOT REQUIRED for employees (club managers, paid coaches, paid equipment staff, etc.) working in sport activities or programming in their employment capacity
    • Note that some organizations may require employees to show proof of vaccination as part of the terms of their employment.

Please read the full Rowing BC COVID-19 Update (November 1, 2021 and January 4, 2022) from the drop-down below for further details.

Rowing BC COVID Updates

Click HERE to open the latest Rowing BC COVID Update communication

Rowing BC Return to Sport Guidelines

Before returning to operation, rowing organizations in BC must:

  1. Successfully complete the Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) Risk Assessment and Mitigation Checklist Tool and maintain a copy on file;
  2. Create a COVID-19 Reopening Safety Plan that meets the Rowing BC Return to Sport Guidelines (updated August 25, 2020);  and
  3. Approve and publish and/or post a COVID-19 Reopening Safety Plan

Additional Quick Links (alphabetical listing)

At Home with Rowing BC

From March – June 2020, Rowing BC hosted the “At Home with Rowing BC” section of the website (available here) and parallel series on social media to maintain engagement with rowers across the province while in-person rowing was on-hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit this page to access workout ideas and webinars that were created for the BC rowing community during that time.




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