New measures put in place by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) on Tuesday mean that sports group in the city are in a holding pattern. Again.
The city issued an order, also on Tuesday, shutting down almost all of its recreational facilities until at least Jan. 21. The exception is the walking track at the Fieldhouse, which will continue under normal hours of operation.
The Multiplex and Yk Community Arena have both been shut, meaning no hockey of any kind will happen until at least Jan. 22. The Yk Rec Hockey League has already rescheduled its games that were set to be played between Jan. 5 and 21.
Tim Morton, league programs director with the Yk Minor Hockey Association, confirmed that Jan. 22 is also the date that minor hockey is planning to resume operations.
The Yellowknife Gymnastics Club is attached to the Multiplex but owns the space it occupies separately from the rest of the building. It, too, will not have any activity until at least Jan. 22. Jessica Smith, the gymnastics club’s manager, said that’s when recreational and competitive programs will get going for the new season.
“We were supposed to start our winter programming this Saturday (Jan. 8), but we’ve pushed that back,” she said.
When the club returns to action, Smith said all of the safety protocols that have been in place will resume with the hope of getting back to something resembling business as usual.
Basketball NWT issued a blanket shutdown of all its activities territory-wide until Jan. 22. That means the Yk Basketball Association (YKBA) and the Yellowknife Eagles basketball program are off the court until then. Aaron Wells, who’s on the YKBA board and who also runs the Eagles program, confirmed both of those matters on Wednesday.
The Yellowknife Curling Centre will also be in a holding pattern until programs restart on Jan. 24, according to Cole Parsons, the centre’s president.
“Our league and junior programming will be able to get underway that evening,” he said.
The U20 Female NWT Curling Championship was also set to happen next week at the centre but that’s been postponed for the time being, according to Nick Saturnino, NWT Curling’s president. Parsons said NWT Curling will ultimately decide when that event will be held because it’s a territorial championship, but the curling centre will do what it can to allow it to proceed.
“We’ll provide them with a list of available dates and they’ll choose which one works best for them,” he said.