City’s pro athletes still waiting for all-clear to practise at team facilities

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This article was published 10/05/2020 (1705 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s pro jocks certainly didn’t get the green light Monday to begin training at city facilities.

In fact, provincial health officials gave no assurance that allowing players from the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Goldeyes and Valour FC to proceed with caution in the coming weeks is even a safe bet.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, offered little more than a cursory reply Monday afternoon when he was asked whether or not sports facilities such as Bell MTS Iceplex or IG Field would open soon — as is slowly occurring in neighbouring Ontario — for Manitoba’s pro athletes to resume training.

“We’ve been looking at it,” Dr. Roussin said. “So, this is kind of analogous to businesses that have been able to operate right from the beginning if they only did like online purchases and things so employees were allowed to enter those facilities.

“It would be analogous to that, so we’re working on it to see how that would fit here in Manitoba.”

Pro athletes in Ontario received far more specific and positive news on Friday when the Progressive Conservative government there eased restrictions on big-league teams, allowing limited access to training facilities providing teams follow their league’s “established health and safety protocols” in response to COVID-19.

It effects eight pro sports team in the province, including the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, the reigning NBA-champion Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Blue Jays major-league baseball squad, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL, and the Toronto FC soccer squad

The Raptors opened up OVO Athletic Centre for workouts Monday, while Toronto FC began voluntary individual player workouts outdoors at its north Toronto training facility. The NBA and MLS have established strict guidelines for these workouts.

The Leafs and Senators likely won’t begin workouts until their NHL brethren can keep pace. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said he expects practices in small groups to be held by mid to late May — assuming local health authorities have given their approval.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell