Soccer in Kemptville has begun planning for a return-to-play this summer.
The Kemptville District Soccer Club Board met earlier the month to look at how to best proceed with soccer this year, in a safe manner that’s consistent with Ontario Soccer and Health Canada measures.
Club President Michael Sutherland says one thing they’re certain of, is that this will be a season unlike any other.
“If rules are shifting every week in terms of what you can and cannot do, how do we charge, what do we do for our membership, how can we do an intra-Kemptville model for this one year only. That’s really the largest change we are looking at for this year.”
Enhanced safety measures will include liability waivers for all members, screening protocols, limiting players, limiting sideline attendees, limits in travelling between heath units, and combining age groups.
Sutherland says all these measures make it extremely difficult to plan.
He says because of all this, competitive clubs will not be able to travel to different jurisdictions this season.
“You’ve got an 18-person roster on each side, you do the math, that’s 36 people, then add coaches, add on trainers – very quickly you see that you can only play one team. So, you could pick Arnprior for example, well now you have to travel there and back every single week, and you’re not allowed to change bubbles, even with 14 days of quarantine.”
Sutherland adds that combining ages, genders may be required, depending on registered numbers.
While it has been a hectic ordeal to plan the season, he says they feel confident in their ability to adjust to changing measures.
“Our rules are going to shift as we get closer to the season,” Sutherland said. “We’ll set up our model over the next few weeks that will say here’s what the product looks like for each group. We’ll make it very clear that it is subject to change as the season proceeds, and then we will evolve as the season evolves. That’s kind of what we’re looking at for this season.”
Registration for all the club’s age divisions will open shortly, and more details will be released when they become available.
If you have any questions, you can contact Sutherland directly.