An update from ASC President on COVID-19

March 24, 2020

ASC President, Lynn Lavallee

As many of you know, COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way of life as we know it. We have all been impacted in one way or another by this global pandemic. And while the disruption this virus has caused is undoubtedly profound, I want to assure you that the important work of the ASC will continue in these uncertain times to the best of our abilities.

There will be much dialogue and reflection needed as we look to the future - the ASC community is strong, passionate and resilient. In that same breath, it is no surprise to see the swift and immediate responses to COVID-19 from our membership. With the safety and well-being of our community at the heart, difficult decisions were made, which saw cancellations and the postponement of programming.

We are committed to following evidence and recommendations from public health officials on how to inform the ASC position. As information becomes available, we will continue to provide communication to the membership through available communication channels.

With that, I want to provide you with a quick snapshot of the work we have been doing over the last 18 days:

ASC update on COVID-19

• March 5, 2020 - ASC added COVID-19 to the agenda of the first PTASB membership call.
• March 5, 2020 - We distributed a joint notice from the Sport Medicine Advisory Committee on COVID-19 to PTASBs.
• March 10, 2020 - Contacted ASC membership via phone and email to discuss possible cancellation of end of March meeting in Alberta.
• March 11, 2020 - ASC Membership meeting cancellation notice sent to Board and membership
• March 11, 2020 - ASC issued response on the World Health Organization's declaration of the COVID-19 as a global pandemic (See the memo below).
• March 12, 2020 - ASC receives updates re: roll out of COVID-19 related closures, cancellations and precautions.
• Hockey Canada - We received a notification from Hockey Canada that the Hockey Canada (HC) Board of Directors held an emergency meeting. The ASC Hockey Committee Chair, Jeff Spencer, received confirmation from HC that all sanctioned events were cancelled. This meant that the NAHC would also be cancelled.
• March 13, 2020 - We sent out a joint notice with the ASC Hockey Committee that the NAHC was to be cancelled for this year (See below for announcement).
• March 13, 2020 - ASC advises staff to work remotely for about 3 weeks. Will continue to monitor and reassess as more information becomes available.
• March 15, 2020 - We received a message from the RA Centre detailing building closure and limited access to House of Sport passes.

These are critical times. The irony about this modern age is that while we've never been so connected, we've also not seen this level of distance. Let's stay connected (at the recommended distance of course). We are a family, a team, and we work together.

We will provide more updates as we move forward.

All my relations,

Lynn Lavallee
ASC President

 

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