Athletes throughout British Columbia will be able to engage in more organized sporting activities and some competitive play as the province moves to Phase 3 of the Return to Sport Guidelines.

It means amateur sport clubs and teams may be able to engage in additional training opportunities, modified games and matches and league play within sport cohorts. The guidelines have recommendations for how different types of sports now can resume activities while continuing to adhere to current public health recommendations.

The new guidelines addresses contact activities, cohorts, competitions, high-performance training environments, and travel.

“This is more a return to club and league play with the introduction of cohorts. Within that, certainly some competition,” viaSport CEO Charlene Krepiakevich told NL News. “This is a gradual return of activity while other sports will advance more quickly than others and vary from community to community.”

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture says she knows athletes and their families have been longing for the joy of competition over the past few months.

“viaSport has done a great job working with health officials and our amateur sport organizations to ensure we can safely and gradually return to game play,” she said, in a statement. “I encourage everyone – players, parents, coaches and volunteers – to continue to work together to make sure we can play and compete safely.”

Sports clubs are encouraged to go online and look at page 42 of the Return to Sport Guidelines.