It is my great pleasure to announce that the Blue Water Curling Club will be receiving $50,000 from the Community Building Fund - Operations Stream. The funds will be used to aid in our recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. This is a new Grant type for the Ontario Trillium Foundation, as they historically fund Capital projects. The money is to be used to off-set eligible operating expenses this year.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the team who worked to put together our application. Doug Karr, Cathy Moore-Coburn, and Mike Edney were all invaluable in their respective roles. I also want to thank anyone who helped us along the way to answer questions we had about our operations. Great work everyone! Your efforts will help to ensure that we have a financially successful curling season this year.
On September 1, 2021, the Ontario Provincial Government released a mandate stating that certain Ontario businesses will be required to request proof of vaccination for people entering their facilities as of September 22, 2021.
What has changed?
The full mandate can be found here but the parts that pertain to Blue Water Curling Club are as follows:
"Ontarians will need to be fully vaccinated (two doses plus 14 days) and provide their proof of vaccination along with photo ID to access certain public settings and facilities. This approach focuses on higher-risk indoor public settings where face coverings cannot always be worn and includes:
Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, as well as delivery and takeout)
Facilities used for sports and fitness activities and personal fitness training, such as gyms, fitness, and recreational facilities with the exception of youth recreational sport.
Individuals who cannot receive the vaccine due to medical exemptions will be permitted entry with a note signed by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner until recognized medical exemptions can be integrated as part of a digital vaccine certificate. Children who are 11 years of age and younger and unable to be vaccinated will also be exempted from these requirements."
It is expected that by the end of October there will be an app that has been developed for businesses and Ontario residents alike that allows a business to scan a QR code to determine vaccination status, but unfortunately, we anticipate the roll out of this process will be too late for the start of our curling season.
What is the plan?
The current plan is to have people set up at the front doors of the club for our AGM on October 24th, the practice ice times during the last week in October, and the first week of curling. The volunteers will have a list of all registered members. In order to enter the facility after September 22nd, 2021, you will be required to show your vaccination receipts as well as photo identification. We will only ask to see this the first time you enter the club and record that we have seen proof of your vaccination status (unless otherwise instructed by the government). We ask that you are prepared with the vaccination receipts and ID when you enter the building to aid in keeping the process as quick and easy as possible. Please note, you will not be permitted entrance to BWCC after September 22, 2021, without proof of a complete vaccination series approved by Health Canada or World Health Organization + 14 days unless you are ineligible for a vaccine due to age restrictions or a medical exemption..
Effective October 1st 2021 anyone entering Blue Water Curling Club must be compliant with the club vaccination policy for 2021-2022
Blue Water Curling Club mandates that all eligible parties MUST be fully vaccinated in compliance with the current Health Canada COVID-19 vaccination recommendations. To download and print your proof of vaccination, go to the COVID-19 Ontario Health webpage
