SYDNEY, N.S. — The Cape Breton sports community says a provincial announcement to reopen school gyms is a step in the right direction, but more solutions are needed.
Bill Kachafanas, a volunteer coach with Basketball Cape Breton and parent of a high school athlete, was pleased with the provincial governments reopening plan but remains concerned.
“From a parent perspective, it’s nice that my son will get his opportunity to play this year,” said Kachafanas. “As an under-14 coach, we’re still trying to work things out, but I’m pleased that at least some progress is being made.”
Last week, the province announced public school gyms will gradually reopen to community groups for sport and physical activity, this following a successful start to the 2020-21 school year.
In a press release, Zach Churchill, minister of education and early childhood development, said the province knows the important role school facilities have in communities, noting the provincial government has been working on safely reopening gyms to the public.
“Physical activity and sport are vital to our well-being, particularly during this difficult time,” he said. “As the weather turns cold, it’s important for community members to have safe spaces to bring these activities indoors.”
Prior to the announcement, school gyms in Cape Breton and across the province were closing at 6 p.m., which provided limited time for school sports like basketball and volleyball to practice and play games.
Although not confirmed by the province, the Cape Breton Post has learned the announcement will see school gyms reopen Monday to Friday until 9:30 p.m., allowing more time for practice and games. However, gyms will remain closed during the weekend.
Kachafanas believes not having gyms open on the weekend may cause problems, especially in Cape Breton, for community sports organizations.
“It might still pose a problem for the community accessing the facilities because it’s going to cut down on the availability with school teams,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything formally, but my expectation would be school teams would be first to use their own facility.”
Unlike other areas in the province, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality doesn’t have a municipal-owned facility designated for club sports like basketball and volleyball. Those programs rely on school facilities to help run their programs.
Basketball Cape Breton is currently using the CBRM-owned Centennial Arena in Sydney for their program; however, the Post has learned the Hospital Street facility may soon be deemed closed by the municipality.
“We’re the second largest municipality in the province and we’re one of a very few communities that don’t have a youth facility for sports,” said Kachafanas. “Right now, we’re using the school system – you’re not seeing that around Halifax.”
Jonathan Penny, a basketball coach with Sydney Academy, said the COVID-19 pandemic has opened eyes in the community, especially around sports with school gyms closed.
“This pandemic that we’re in is causing a new pandemic of lack of opportunity for recreation and physical activity for our youth,” he said. “It’s trying times and it’s really showed that our community is in need for space that is municipally owned that’s going to provide all these community groups and sports groups with space.
“It really shows how dire it is that we get a facility in this community that provides space to supplement basketball, volleyball and pickle ball and all the activities that need the space.”
As part of the province’s plans to reopen school gyms, community access will be restricted to gyms and washrooms.
Meanwhile, the province is allotting $5.5 million of federal funding from the Safe Return To Class Fund in order for regional centres for education and Conseil scolaire acadien provincial to hire additional staff to ensure access is contained to the appropriate area of the school.
The province says additional cleaning will ensure students will return to schools that have been cleaned in accordance with public health COVID-19 protocols following a community sporting activity.
Rental fees will also be waived for the school year.
As a high school coach, Penny believes reopening school gyms is a big step forward.
“We were splitting gym times with three other teams and were getting like an hour or two hours a week,” he said. “We usually get two hours a day, five days a week, so it was a big change for us, but we’re happy with the progress that’s being made in keeping the gyms open later.”
The new guidelines will allow for basketball and volleyball leagues to play games during the evening hours. The Cape Breton High School Basketball League is currently planning for the season, however, a schedule was not available at press time.
Kachafanas believes the new plan addresses the game schedule as well as practice time. But, assuming COVID-19 cases remain low in the province, he would like to see gyms reopened on the weekend.
“I do understand it’s an issue of staff – you can’t solve all the problems immediately,” said Kachafanas. “We’re OK with the 9:30 p.m. timeframe, we’re happy to see that, but I would like to see it go a step further.”
The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education has identified seven school gyms available for booking, which started on last week, including Baddeck Academy, Breton Education Centre, Cabot Education Centre, Glace Bay High School, Memorial High School, Riverview High School and Sydney Academy.
Cape Breton Highlands Education Centre/Academy, Dalbrae Academy, East Richmond Education Centre, Inverness Education Centre/Academy, Richmond Education Centre/Academy, Tamarac Education Centre, and Strait Area Education Recreation Centre will be available for bookings as of Monday.
The volleyball season began on Sept. 14. Regionals and provincials are scheduled for late November and early December. Meanwhile, the basketball season is already underway with tryouts currently taking place.
School gyms reopening:
• Only essential adults will be permitted in schools during community use
• Essential people include players/participants, officials, coaches, instructors or anyone else who’s required to be on or near the field of play
- Jeremy Fraser is the sports reporter for the Cape Breton Post. He's been with the publication for four years. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @CBPost_Jeremy.