On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that as of Sunday, May 30, 2021, restrictions around outdoor sporting activities will begin to ease as part of step 1 of the province’s re-opening plan. Originally this was set to be included in step 2 of the plan, but outdoor sporting events have now been moved into step 1. Plans to re-open Indoor sporting events will remain in step 2.

The adjustments to the re-opening schedule have been made, recognizing the successful rollout of Saskatchewan’s Covid-19 vaccinations and the lowered risk of transmission in outdoor settings. Per ‘health-infobase.canada.ca‘ as of May 15, 2021, 47.02% of people in Saskatchewan had received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 4.14% of the province’s population being fully vaccinated.

Beginning May 30, 2021, sports playing outdoors can proceed with play under the following requirements:

• Participants may not compete if they are feeling unwell.
• Players and coaches should be encouraged to screen for COVID-19 symptoms prior to arriving to practice and play, using the self-assessment tool at saskatchewan.ca/COVID19.
• League play is allowed to resume; however, tournaments are not permitted at this time.  This will be revisited in Step Two of the Re-Opening Roadmap.
• No interprovincial travel.  Teams competing in regional interprovincial leagues need to contact the Business Response Team prior to beginning play. 
• Capacity must be in compliance with the public health order for public outdoor gatherings for each playing surface or game area.  Public outdoor gatherings are set to expand to a limit of 150 people on May 30 as part of the Re-Opening Roadmap.  Common areas, such as those where there are multiple playing surfaces, must also be in compliance with gathering limits in the public health order. 
• Individual and protective equipment should not be shared.  When helmets and bats or other equipment are shared, cleaning and disinfecting must occur between each use. 
• Commonly touched equipment used for game play (e.g. game ball, football) is routinely replaced or disinfected during the course of practice or play.
• Coaches, officials, umpires, referees and players who are not on the field are not required to wear masks outdoors under the public health order.  However, masks may be worn if they are more comfortable with that layer of protection. 
• No shaking hands, high-fives, etc.
• Spectators not from the same household should maintain two metres of physical distancing.
• Spectators must remain in designated areas.  Masks are not required to be worn outdoors under the public health order, but they may be worn if spectators are more comfortable with that layer of protection.
• Hand sanitizer approved by Health Canada (DIN or NPN) or soap and water handwashing stations should be available for participants and spectators. 
• No sharing of water bottles.
• Public washrooms, when available, are cleaned and disinfected regularly, and soap and water or hand sanitizer is available. 
• Contact information of the coaches, officials and players should be recorded by the home team and maintained in order to assist with contact tracing for 30 days in the case of a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Saskatchewan will remain in step 1 of the re-opening plan until at least June 20, 2021. They will remain in each step of the plan for at least 3 weeks to monitor the effects of easing restrictions and to make adjustments if the need arises.