Section 22 Class Orders and Instructions

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Indoor Sports, Recreational, and Fitness Facilities

(Effective October 24, 2020)

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All persons in the City of London or County of Middlesex who operate indoor sports and recreational fitness activities, including gymnasiums, health clubs, community centres, multi-purpose facilities, arenas, exercise studios, yoga, dance studios, and other fitness facilities must take the following actions.

1. The total number of people permitted to be in a class, or actively participating in an organized program or organized activity at the facility cannot exceed 12 people. An additional 3 staff, referees, and/or instructors are permitted.
   
   
2. Each class, organized program, or organized activity must take place in a separate room or be in a large space such as an arena, pool, or high school gymnasium where each class, program or activity can be separated by an impermeable barrier, or be distinctly separated by a minimum of 3 metres.
   
   
3. The maximum number permitted on a field of play, such as an indoor soccer field, ice pad, basketball court, or similarly space, is 25 people, inclusive of staff, referees, and/or instructors.
   
   a. For further clarity, as an example, a maximum of 25 people can be on a single ice pad at one time and would need to be divided in to groups that are adherent to the requirements outlined in section 1.
   
   
4. For team sports in which substitutions are required, a maximum of 12 are permitted on the roster. For individuals who are not actively participating in the program or activity, a physical distance of 2 metres must be maintained between each individual.
   
   
5. If participants are not wearing a helmet, face coverings should be worn when not actively participating in rigorous physical activity.
   
   
6. For individual activities which occur in a fixed location, such as yoga or spin classes, all efforts must be made to maximize physical distance between each person, and in no case may the space between persons in a class be less than 3 metres. These activities must take place in a separate room, and a maximum of 12 participants and 1 instructor is permitted. The instructor must wear a face covering.
   
   
7. The instructor of any class, organized program or organized activity must wear a face covering or provide instruction virtually. In no instances should instructors sing or shout, and if amplification is required, a microphone should be used. Participants singing along to the music or shouting back at the instructor should be discouraged.
   
   
8. The operator must ensure that the building heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) system are well maintained in line with the Guidance for facilities for sports and recreational fitness activities during COVID-19.
   
   
9. Any steam rooms, saunas, whirlpools, or bathhouses must be closed.
   
   
10. Operators must adhere to the rules in O. Reg. 364/20: RULES FOR AREAS IN STAGE 3 under Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 17, including:
    
    a. Every person who engages in sports or a recreational fitness activity at the facility, other than a team sport, must maintain a physical distance of at least 2 metres from every other person at all times during the activity.
    
    b. Team sports may only be practised or played within the facility if they do not allow for physical contact between players or if they have been modified to avoid physical contact between the players.
    
    c. Organized team sports that are practised or played by players in a league may only be practised or played within the facility if the league either,
    
    i.  contain no more than 50 players and does not permit its teams to play against teams outside of the league, or
    
    ii. divides its teams into groups of 50 or fewer players and does not permit teams in different groups to play against one another or against teams outside of the league.

For further clarity, face coverings are not required for participants who are actively engaged in rigorous physical activity. However, face coverings are encouraged at all times if tolerated.