Some youth sports clubs are welcoming Newmarket’s decision to remove a provincial vaccine exemption for 12 to 17-year-olds at its facilities.
Newmarket council opted to remove the exemption as it prepared for the provincial vaccine verification system that went into effect Sept. 22. People must be double-vaccinated to enter recreational facilities under provincial rules, but the province made an exemption for 12 to 17-year-olds in organized sports.
Newmarket Stingrays Swim Club head coach Dave Ling said they welcome the town's move, even though the club did not plan to mandate vaccinations among its youth.
“We think it’s very proactive, and we’re in full support of it,” Ling said.
Newmarket argued that removing the exemption makes the rules more consistent and easy to manage. Youth will have until Oct. 31 to get double vaccinated, though adults already must provide proof to enter any municipal facility.
Ling said the rule changes are challenging to keep pace with. The club did not plan to require vaccinations, with swimming organizations noting COVID-19 cases have not been traced to competitive swimming in the water itself. However, Ling said they were planning to have unvaccinated swimmers use different changerooms due to the possibility of transmission there.
“As a club, we were not going to take away the right to participate,” he said.
But with the town’s rules in place, Ling noted fortunately most of their youth swimmers are vaccinated, and they should not have a large impact.
“We anticipate that we’ll lose less than three per cent of our membership based on that decision by the town,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Newmarket Minor Hockey Association already intends to require vaccination for age 12 to 17 participants.
The organization is under the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, which announced Sept. 3 that it would require all 12 to 17-year-olds to be double vaccinated by Oct. 31 to participate. The association further said this week it is maintaining the policy even with the provincial exemption.
“Our game is played in an indoor environment where there can be close contact, and we must do everything possible to reduce the risk of any transmission around the rink. It is the duty for our players, our officials, and our communities,” OMHA president Bob Hill said in a news release.
The York North Basketball Association is also requiring vaccinations for all participants 12 and older, though it plays in local schools rather than municipally run facilities.
Ling said some families will opt out without the chance for that provincial exemption, but added, “We will be supporting the town’s policy, 100 per cent,” he said. “I really applaud them.”
