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whatsupyukon.com
June 9, 2021
A SUMMER OF SPORTS
with
Manus Hopkins
Manus Hopkins is a Whitehorse- and Toronto-based journalism student, musician and lover of heavy metal and cats.
PHOTO: Courtesy of Sport Yukon
Some activities and events will look different this year, but Sport Yukon is still offering summer programming for 2021
A
s the school year winds down, Sport Yukon is shifting its attention away from its academic year kids’ programming and onto its various summer activities and events. Sport Yukon, a member organization which includes sport governing bodies, clubs and associa-
Team Yukon athletes, volunteers and officials meet in 2020 to celebrate their hard work, despite the cancellation of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games tions that offer a variety of sport, recreation and other communitybased programs, has required its members to submit COVID returnto-play protocols in order to go through with summer programming during the pandemic. Last year was a tough season, as many events and programs had to be cancelled, including the 2020 Arctic Winter Games, a particularly harsh blow. Typically, the biggest annual summer event Sport Yukon is part of is the Klondike Road Relay, a bicycle race from Skagway to Whitehorse that has been happening every September since 1983. Last year’s edition had to be cancelled due to COVID and a virtual event was hosted to make up for the cancellation. While what this summer will look like is still unclear in many ways, Sport Yukon is determined to host a relay in
some form and is asking potential attendees to stay tuned for info on the 2021 “not-so-Klondike” Road Relay. According to Sport Yukon office coordinator and KRR administrator Julie Monaghan, several more sports are slated to start up once the snow is gone, including softball and soccer. Additionally, Flatwater Paddling, Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club, Yukon Orienteering Association and Athletics Yukon are expected to offer summer programming. Polarettes Gymnastics, Aboriginal Sport Circle, Wolfpack Basketball and Glacier Bears Swim Club have been operating indoors all year and should continue to operate during the summer. The City of Whitehorse offers camps for youth and will continue to do so this year, with some modified programming and safety measures.
The listed associations have all had to have their pandemic guidelines approved in order to move forward. The protocols are based on the advice of their national sport governing bodies. Many guidelines for Sport Yukon’s summer programs revolve around the usual steps to control the spreads of the pandemic: masks, distancing, sanitizing, gathering limits, etc. To participate in Polarettes Gymnastics’ summer programming, all athletes must wear masks and keep plastic bags to store their masks in the event that they are removed. Members must also wash their hands thoroughly before entering the facilities, declare their health and travel history and show up dressed to play, as changing rooms are closed. The facilities also have a one-way traffic flow to prevent crowding.
It can be complicated to ensure all these happen with certain team sports, so it is important for Sport Yukon’s members to have thorough plans for how their guidelines will look. Softball Yukon’s return-to-play protocols include the league being required to play in bubbles, each of no more than 60 people. Players are also required to wash their hands before entering the dugouts and discouraged from having team meetings. Community water jugs are not permitted, and players must have their own personal water bottles. Equipment is also not allowed to be shared amongst players. Necessary cleaning will take place between games. Luckily, during sports like softball, players are able to stand very far apart. To learn more about Sport Yukon’s summer programming, visit sportyukon.com n
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