Kelowna sports leagues start to roll out

Kelowna’s fields will soon be filled with residents returning to their summer sports leagues.

Urban Rec’s soccer and 2-pitch leagues are starting this week at privately-owned facilities, said Jamie Taverner, managing partner with Urban Rec.

The local recreational sports organization is currently waiting on the city’s and Okanagan College’s approval for beach volleyball, which she hopes will begin the week of June 20, she said.

With new COVID-19 protocols in place, the leagues will look a little different.

READ MORE: No rundown? Kelowna softball rules will be a little different this summer

For 2-pitch these procedures include but are not limited to: maintaining a two-metre distance from one another, using hand sanitizer before and after games, no congregations after the games, no use of the dugouts with teams lining up outside of them with proper distancing apart, no warm-ups, no high fives, and no team huddles. The catcher will stand two metres behind the strike bat.

All indoor Urban Rec sports have been cancelled until September.

The City of Kelowna has given the go-ahead for its summer beach volleyball, pickleball, slo-pitch softball and tennis, according to a recent newsletter. These leagues are expected to begin July 5. Registration for summer programs has also opened in the city.

Slo pitch leagues are also starting up, with Slo Pitch National organizers getting the go-ahead for July season play. Softball B.C. has also unveiled its return-to-play plans.

The smaller local leagues are able to begin sooner than larger organizations as they don’t have to go through the province for approval, Taverner said.

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