In light of the announcement by the Sask government on Nov 17, the MAP has given us notice that they are shutting down all programs until December 1, but that they are re-evaluating with each government announcement. In other words, that date is likely to be extended.

What you are probably not aware of is the hours upon hours of time that the Executive is putting in pouring over ever changing policies and putting out fires as they arise to make this league feasible in the middle of a pandemic. As an executive, we need to take a break from this before we start to hate volleyball because the planning is consuming our lives.

To this point, we have been following the minimums in the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan in order to have play resume, but in light of dramatic increases in cases and the frequency of updates to the guidelines over the last 2 weeks, we are choosing to take a step above. This proactive change ensures SAVA exceeds the minimum safety protocols, keeping all of our members and referees safer, and makes our league more respectable.

To that effect, we are suspending play until January 2021. We have been informed that the MAP will provide us with some credits for play missed in November, but the extent of the refunds will not be confirmed until the end of the season.

Prior to returning to play, we need to inform you of a change in the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan that will have a significant impact on what the league looks like. At the time this message was sent out, recreational play is still allowed. However, on November 2, a new guideline was introduced that we need to ensure all of our league members are following:

Change 1

It is recommended that athletes not belong to multiple sports mini-leagues (whether community or school based). They should select one sport mini-league for the duration of each season (Page 84, Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan).

This means that individuals can only play in 1 mini-league. If you are playing basketball on Monday, you cannot play volleyball on Sunday. Or if you are playing in Women's on Sunday, you cannot play Co-Ed on Sunday. This is a significant change from the prior recommendation of 'minimizing the number of mini-leagues you participate in', as was the direction in September when the original Return to Play was drafted.

We will need each captain to fill out this Opt-in form no later than November 30th, 2020 at 11:59 pm indicating that all team members are a member of only 1 mini-league. If this policy means that you can no longer put in a team, we will issue a refund based on weeks remaining, but can only determine the amount once we know how many teams remain. If you choose to combine with other players from teams that have to dissolve, send a request to our General Feedback link and we can move players.

Change 2

It will be an expectation on captains that they verify each person is checked into each game in TeamLinkt, the event waivers are submitted, and all players on that roster are registered members of the league. No exceptions. In the event of any team being out of compliance (any SAVA executive member can ask any captain at any time to produce their confirmed roster and that captain must be able to do so within 10 minutes), the entire league, either women's, co-ed, or both will be suspended for 2 weeks and no refunds will be issued as a result of someone breaking the bubble.

When a player who is not registered plays in the league, that player is not insured, the league is not insured if they cause damage or injury, they have not confirmed their health and they are causing our mini-league numbers to fall outside of the limits. Therefore, the league needs to shut down temporarily for the safety of the players and the integrity of the league.

Additionally, that team that played with an unauthorized player will be suspended for the remainder of the year with no refund issued, and those players will not be allowed to join any other teams.

This level of policy enforcement is necessary as the logistics of having someone check rosters of each and every player of each and every game puts that person in close physical contact with potentially hundreds of people. This is an adult league, and we think it a reasonable expectation for everyone to abide by the rules set in the SAVA Return to Play Protocol.

Please do not respond to this email. The responses are not monitored. If you have any queries regarding this, please send them through the General Feedback form.

On behalf of the SAVA Executive,

Treana Wunsch

SAVA President