March 7th was a pleasant early spring Sunday morning when the coaches for our Minis teams arrived at MacDonald Park to begin setting up the field for the return of the youngest bays. We weren’t entirely sure how it would work as the Phase 2 Return to Sport rules are quite restrictive and not at all conducive to rugby. However, based upon the number of families that have come out, there was an overwhelming desire to bust out of the rut of forced confinement and isolation that has been the hallmark of this past year of the pandemic.
Every week since then coaches, check-in volunteers, parents and kids (so many kids!) have gathered at 10 a.m. on Sunday for the chance to get outside, be part of a team, and play a sport. Everyone is doing their best to follow the rules, to be diligent about completing the horrid Sportlomo online attestation, and to make sure to check-in so we can take attendance for contact tracing. A few months ago we wouldn’t have thought to bother playing amidst all the rules and restrictions, now it appears everyone is happy for a place to go, parents and kids are happy to spend an hour doing something different, and it definitely has been more than worthwhile.
The club thanks everyone involved: coaches, check-in volunteers, parents. Organizing sport during these times takes more volunteers than normal and we are thrilled to have so many eager new helpers.
The minis took a break over Easter Weekend but will be back every week until the end of April.