Countryside re-opens, Sudbury sports fields ready for booking Friday

Sudbury Star Staff
Aug 11, 2020  •  August 12, 2020  •  4 minute read
Sudbury native and highly decorated Team Canada player Rebecca Johnston scrimmaged with hockey players from The Sudbury and District Girls Hockey Association at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury, Ont. on Monday, December 23, 2019. Johnston presented the association with $21,000 during the event. After joining Kendall Coyne Schofield, Renata Fast and Brianna Decker for the NHL All-Star festivities last January in San Jose, Johnston was awarded $25,000 from the NHL Foundation, to be used towards charities or hockey programs of their choice. John Lappa/Sudbury Star/Postmedia Network
Sudbury native and highly decorated Team Canada player Rebecca Johnston scrimmaged with hockey players from The Sudbury and District Girls Hockey Association at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury, Ont. on Monday, December 23, 2019. Johnston presented the association with $21,000 during the event. After joining Kendall Coyne Schofield, Renata Fast and Brianna Decker for the NHL All-Star festivities last January in San Jose, Johnston was awarded $25,000 from the NHL Foundation, to be used towards charities or hockey programs of their choice. John Lappa/Sudbury Star/Postmedia Network Photo by John Lappa /John Lappa/Sudbury Star

After a delay due to a spike in local COVID-19 cases earlier this month, Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury re-opened to the public on Tuesday.

Some sports fields will also be available for booking on Friday, the City of Greater Sudbury said in a release.

Having initially scheduled a re-opening date of Aug. 3 for Countryside, the city held off after a surge in COVID cases. With new cases once again tapering off, however, officials received the blessing of Public Health Sudbury and Districts for a partial re-opening — while urging residents to remain vigilant.

“We have been working closely with Public Health Sudbury and Districts to keep an eye on the numbers, and it is encouraging to see them once again moving in the right direction,” Mayor Brian Bigger said in a release. “But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. COVID-19 has not gone away and it is critically important that we all continue to do our part by maintaining physical distance wherever possible, practicing good hand hygiene and wearing a non-medical mask or face covering.

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“We have worked so hard to get to this point and no one wants to see facilities and businesses close up again. Thank you to each and every one of you for continued diligence in helping curb the spread of this virus in our community.”

One ice pad is now open at Countryside, with the second opening on Aug. 17. The facility will be open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to midnight. For the time being, it will remain closed on weekends. To request ice time, email icebookings@greatersudbury.ca.

Effective Friday, a number of sports fields will re-open for bookings by user groups.

These fields will be open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.:

– Terry Fox Sports Complex, Sudbury (four ball diamonds)

– James Jerome Sports Complex, Sudbury (two soccer fields, one ball diamond)

– Delki Dozzi Sports Complex, Sudbury (one ball diamond, one soccer field)

These fields will be open Monday to Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m.:

– Rick MacDonald Sports Complex, Azilda (one ball diamond)

– Cote Park, Chelmsford (one ball diamond)

– Centennial Community Centre, Hanmer (two ball diamonds)

– Oja Sports Complex, Naughton (two ball diamonds)

Greater Sudbury Parks Services staff will contact user groups to confirm bookings and details over the next few days. For more information, call Parks Services at 705-674-4455, extension 4578.

Libraries continue to offer scheduled curb-side pickup at the six main branches — Chelmsford, Lively, Main, New Sudbury, South End and Valley East. These branches are scheduled to re-open the week of Aug. 17. More details are to be shared in the coming days.

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Safety precautions

– In accordance with instructions by Public Health Sudbury and Districts, residents are required to wear a face covering or non-medical mask when visiting any indoor city facility or when using GOVA Transit.

– Wherever possible, limit exposures to people within social circles of 10, as established by the province.

– The permitted size for a social gathering is 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Physical-distancing rules remain in effect and residents must stay two metres away from people who are not part of their household or social circle or bubble. To report violations, call 311.

– City bylaw officers and contracted security will continue to patrol the use of municipal spaces, and signage will be in place to remind users of rules.

– Where there are concerns that people are not practising physical distancing, or where the number of users creates a situation where it is not manageable, the city will further review and implement changes

Safety measures and guidelines for arenas and outdoor sports

In line with provincial orders and Public Health directives, a number of safety measures are in place for the re-opening of the arena and sports fields. Users must ensure they follow all mandated provincial orders and Public Health guidelines for their activities. Guidelines and restrictions include but are not limited to:

– Amateur and recreational sports leagues may resume as long as they do not allow prolonged or deliberate physical contact between players, or have modifications to avoid physical contact altogether.

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– Each league must contain a maximum of 50 participants. If a league has more than 50 participants, the league may divide into smaller groups. Players are not permitted to play against athletes outside of their league or group.

– Spectators at all sporting events, including professional sports, are subject to gathering size limits and physical distancing measures, with assigned seating where possible.

At the arena

– Enhanced cleaning of public washrooms, dressing rooms, lobby area, high touch areas.

– Separate entrances and exits for each pad.

– Dressing rooms will be open. Each team will be allotted two rooms to support physical distancing. Enhanced cleaning will take place following each use of dressing rooms.

– Time allowed in the dressing room will be decreased from 30 minutes to 20 before and after the ice booking to allow for cleaning and disinfecting between bookings. Users are asked to arrive as close to ready to play as possible.

– Face coverings or non-medical masks will be required at all times except when on the ice.

– Physical-distancing rules and face covering requirements remain in effect for spectators. A maximum of 35 spectators will be allowed for Pad 2 due to size of the area and required physical distancing requirements.

– A maximum of 40 skaters will be permitted on the ice surface at a time.

– Players must bring their own labelled water bottles, towels, et cetera. No sharing is permitted. Any personal items left behind will be disposed of.

– While on the ice for practices, figure skaters, hockey schools or individuals working on skill development must adhere to physical distance measures.

For COVID-19 updates and information related to city services, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/covid.

For up-to-date local information on COVID-19, visit the Public Health Sudbury and Districts website at www.phsd.ca/coronavirus.