Dear players and families,
As we get closer to the start of the spring season, it is incumbent upon us to remind you that youth sport activities, including soccer, remain in Phase 1 of BC Soccer’s Return to Play plan. It is unclear how long we will remain in this phase; as you can appreciate, this decision rests with our provincial and national sports authorities, and they in turn are taking direction from the Provincial Health Officer and provincial health authorities.
For those of you who participated in this past fall/winter season, Phase 1 is the same stage that was in effect towards the end of the season. This phase requires that players engage in ‘distance training’, and limit activities to ones that do not involve direct contact. Unfortunately, this means that games and/or scrimmages will not be a possibility for the time being.
In lieu of games that were scheduled to start the weekend of April 10/11th, NDFC will be scheduling additional training sessions for all teams on Saturdays or Sundays, until games are allowed to resume. We remain optimistic that restrictions will start to ease over the coming weeks, and that we will be able to get back to playing games soon.
We recognize that there is concern about how the current situation will reflect on registration fees. NDFC is looking internally at evaluating options to try to maintain a full game schedule for the U5-U7 age groups, and is working closely with Cascadia Soccer League to achieve this goal for the U8+ age groups. However, if this is not a possibility, the club will be considering compensation for games that may be lost due to restrictions related to the pandemic.
We have prepared a document that outlines our plan for Safe Play Soccer during Phase 1, that will be in effect to start the season; please ensure that you become familiar with the policies and procedures in this document, as NDFC will be counting on your full cooperation.
We look forward to seeing you all very soon for the start of training!
Thank you for your patience and understanding.