Author: mta_wp

After a long hiatus from competition due to COVID-19, MTA athletes are finally going to get the chance to stretch their legs at the first cross country event of the season being hosted by 310 Running.

The Don Olson Classic will be held on Saturday, October 3rd at Albion Hills Conservation Area in Palgrave & will feature a 2.5K youth only race along with an all ages 5K race.

In order to make the event COVID safe, 310 Running has made several key changes. There will be 3 waves with a maximum of 40 athletes in each wave for both the 2.5K & 5K events. In order to support social distancing, individual athletes will be released to run every 15 seconds in a pursuit format. With the help of chip timing, final results will be collated after all waves have been run & winners will be declared.

For more information or to register, click HERE.

Training is now permitted but precautions must be taken. Clubs, athletes, coaches and volunteers must:

• Maintain physical distancing of at least 2m during all activities,
• Disinfect any shared equipment between each individual use,
• Comply with all Provincial, Municipal, and Facility policies/orders/directives/by-laws,
• Comply with all applicable Federal, Provincial and Municipal Health Guidelines,
• Comply with Athletics Canada’s Back to Track Guidelines,
• Ensure all club participants are registered with the MTA at the time of their engagement in club activities,
• Read and sign the MTA Return to Sport acknowledgement. Each club will receive a separate email link for this document.

In addition, clubs need to be aware that: 

• Infectious and/or communicable diseases are not a part of our insurance package.
• Clubs are wholly responsible and accountable for the safety and well-being of their club members related to these risks.

We trust that you will be able to comply with these requirements and apply these guidelines into your Safe Return to Sport plans.

We have included some resources below to use as a reference. If you require assistance or have questions, please email jim.catton@rogers.com.

Welcome back to Track & Field!

Links to Helpful Resources

Ontario’s COVID-19 Website

Public Health Ontario COVID-19 Resources

Ontario’s Stage 3 Framework for Reopening

Athletics Canada’s Back on Track Guidelines

The Ontario Government recently released a document called ‘A Framework for Reopening our Province: Stage 1’ wherein they specifically mentioned track and field as an activity that would be eligible to restart as of May 19th.

The MTA applauds this decision and is excited by the potential to see its clubs and members back on the track.

While track and field has been identified as an activity that is eligible for early reopening, there is still much work to be done to ensure the health and safety of our members and the community at large along with compliance with government and public health mandates.

Athletics Canada and PSOs from all provinces have formed the ‘Back on Track Task Force’ to develop a framework to ensure that safe return to training for all track and field athletes across the country. The MTA will follow the guidance of this task force and use its outputs to help create return to training protocols that our member clubs can leverage. 

The expected timeline for return to training protocols is the end of May. After that, we will better be able to assess what our member clubs need to do to demonstrate compliance.

While we share your enthusiasm to get started as soon as possible, the MTA asks that our member clubs continue to refrain from in person team training until we have completed this very important work.