May 26, 2021 | Mike Klein | 809 views
Return to Baseball
This is the update we received from Baseball Ontario regarding the Reopening of Outdoor Sports on May 21, 2021
Baseball Ontario is extremely disappointed in the approach to reopening outdoor sports announced by the Government of Ontario on May 20th. The announcement did not indicate changes to bubble sizes nor were specifics about team activities provided
So, Baseball Ontario is left to assume that no other changes have been or will be implemented and our projected dates and activity allowed are based upon the information available today. The dates below are based on the Government's current estimates on achieving the various Steps and are subject to change.
Based on the information made available so far, organized team activities of up to 10 people can resume in Step 1 of the plan. The estimated start date of Step 1 is the week of June 14th. As such, Baseball Ontario’s suspension of in-person baseball activities will be extended to at least June 14th, as the Province's current reopening roadmap does not allow for a return to baseball before then.
When we are allowed to move to Step 2 of the announced reopening plan, practices for up to 25 people will be permitted. The earliest date to move to Step 2 is July 5th.
When we are allowed to move to Step 3 of the announced reopening plan, scrimmages and games will be allowed. Unfortunately, because the Province has not yet signaled otherwise, we anticipate that we will still be limited to leagues of 50 players. The earliest date to move to Step 3 is July 26th.
We know that yesterday’s announcement said that outdoor sports and recreational facilities can open as of May 22nd. While this is true, no organized practices or training is permitted. Only casual use by up to 5 people is allowed.
Of course, this was not the information we were expecting to receive from the government, and we will continue to petition them to consider a much more accelerated reopening for baseball specifically, and outdoor sport in general. We encourage you to do the same. Please reach out to your MPP and let them know if you believe we need a return to baseball now.