EC’s key actions this week:
- Prepared for the restart of events. EC announced a four-week extension to its sanctioning suspension to avoid sanctioning events that would violate mandates from provincial government bodies and public health authorities. This extension allows flexibility for events to run if they have the go-ahead from the appropriate provincial authorities until the suspension expires on June 30, 2020. This will also give athletes and equines time for the proper training and preparation required for a safe return to competition once authorized by the appropriate government bodies and public health authorities. Please note: From May 1-June 30, 2020, EC competitions may be sanctioned on a case-by-case basis upon request by a Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) due to varying timelines across provinces regarding reopening.
- Finalized a return to business operations framework for equine farms and equestrian facilities to safely return to normal activity levels post-pandemic. This framework will be published on May 4, 2020. Please note: While the framework assists with risk mitigation, it does not provide the ability to reopen business without approval from your regional and provincial government and public health authorities, who are the ones responsible for determining the phase in which equestrian activity can restart in your area.
- Began development of support document for competition organizers, in cooperation with the PTSOs and a facilities working group. This document will help event hosts and organizers identify processes and protocols to limit the transmission of COVID-19 and demonstrate a plan to health authorities for approval to restart. Please note: This document does not provide the ability to reopen business without approval from your regional and provincial government and public health authorities.
- Worked on an evaluation tool based on a mass gathering matrix from the World Health Organization and a return to training questionnaire from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium. This tool will support risk assessments for equestrian facilities and competition organizers in evaluating their ability to safely return to normal business operations. Please note: This tool does not provide the ability to reopen business without approval from your regional and provincial government and public health authorities.
- Continued meetings with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to express the dire need of schooling barns, lesson operators and the national herd.
- Partnered with Grassroots Public Affairs and Wilton Consulting Group, at no cost to EC, on the COVID-19 advocacy and media engagement plan to secure funding from the federal government to support farms and equines. To help advocate your government representatives to save our horses, click here.
- Recognized the limitations for Officials to meet re-certification requirements during the pandemic. Officials statuses from 2019-2020 will be extended for the 2020-2021 season and the re-certification requirements will be waived for that period.
Previous weeks:
EC is making every effort to ensure continuous, thorough and up-to-date communication concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. EC’s complete statement on COVID-19, including regular updates, can be found on our website here. For the running list of cancelled/postponed clinics and events, click here.