While the province has given the green light for outdoor organized sports to begin on Monday, June 22, not all recreation facilities in Warman and Martensville will be ready on that date.

“We’re really excited to get back into the swing of things and re-open the ball diamonds and other facilities,” said Warman Recreation and Community Services Manager Paul McGonigal in an interview on Tuesday, June 16, shortly after the province announced the date for the next phase of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan.

“We’ll do our best, but it will take some time to get everything in shape before the facilities are ready to use.”

McGonigal said the softball diamonds in particular will pose a challenge to get the outfields in playing condition.

“The grass in the outfield is being maintained, but it’s not as short as it needs to be ideally for ball games,” he said. “It will take a few cuts at gradually shorter settings to get it ready.”

One facility that should be open for business on June 22 is the spray pad at Lions Park in Warman.

“That’s good to go,” said McGonigal. “All it will take is flipping a couple switches. We did some major repairs earlier this year on the playing surface and the overall system.”

The spray pad at Lions Park in Martensville will also be ready on June 22, according to Martensville Recreation and Community Services Director Ted Schaeffer.

“That’s not a problem,” said Schaeffer in an interview June 16. “I’m confident the splash park will be open.

“But I can also tell you that I’m 100 per cent sure the outdoor pool will not be ready on June 22.

“We’re basically going to be starting right from scratch with the Martensville Aquatic Centre. We’ve been maintaining it and doing regular cleaning and so on, but there’s no water in the pool. The best case scenario is it’ll take at least a couple of weeks to get it up and running.”

Schaeffer said the decision on whether to even open the outdoor pool is one that will have to be made by Martensville City Council.

“We have to put together an operating plan that takes into account the provincial health guidelines we’ll be following, what the limits on patrons will be, what our operating costs will be, and what our potential revenues might be,” said Schaeffer. “Then we’ll take that information to council and they’ll have to decide whether or not to open the pool.”

Warman Parks and Community Services Supervisor Calvin Bruneau controls weeds along the infield of a softball diamond at Prairie Oasis Park in Warman on June 16

Schaeffer said if council gives the go-ahead, the city can move quickly to hire seasonal managers and staff and get things prepared for opening day.

Schaeffer said the pool will be limited to 100 patrons at a time under guidelines announced by the province earlier this month.

During a news conference on June 16, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the low infection rate for COVID-19 across the province is due to people practicing proper hygiene and exercising physical distancing.

“I’m pleased to announce that Phase 4.1 will begin June 22,” said Moe. “This will include outdoor sports and recreational activities including outdoor pools and spray parks, child and youth day camps, and individual and team sports.”

Moe said guidelines for keeping people safe include no tournaments or inter-provincial travel, no handshakes or high fives and to maintain physical distancing.

He said dates for the next part of Phase 4 of the Reopening Plan will be made public later this week or early next week. Activities included in the second part of Phase 4 include indoor pools, rinks, libraries, museums, galleries, movie theatres, casinos and bingo halls.

The beginning of Phase 4 will allow almost all businesses and activities to reopen, said Moe.

“We’re working hard to get everything reopened as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible, so our economy can recover and more people can go back to work and also enjoy the great summer activities that mean so much to the quality of life here in Saskatchewan,” he said.

The spray pad at Lions Park in Warman will be ready for youngsters on Monday June 22

Moe said while it will be impossible to eliminate the COVID-19 virus, the goal of flattening the curve and ensuring the province’s health care system is able to cope with the pandemic is being achieved.

“The case numbers in Saskatchewan remain low,” said Moe. “Because of this we can continue to move forward with the next phase of the reopening plan, but we have to remain vigilant.”

Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said new limits on gathering are effective Monday, June 22. These include indoor gatherings of up to 30 where space allows for two metres of physical distancing between participants.

“For food service at indoor gatherings, potlucks are discouraged and there should be no shared platters of food or shared buffet service,” said Shahab. “If food is being served, it should be plated. One person should handle the preparation of food and drink following proper food safety protocols. This reduces the number of people who touch serving utensils or drink containers.”

Outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people continue to be permitted with a two metre physical separation between individuals.