School gym rentals suspended for fall, sidelining sports leagues
School gym rentals in Edmonton are suspended until at least November, leaving sports and community groups across the city scrambling to make alternate plans for the fall.
The school reopening plans released by the Edmonton public and Catholic divisions earlier this month include a policy limiting outside community access to all school spaces. Groups that usually rely on affordable rental space in school gyms say other practice spaces are hard to come by.
"We depend on the gyms, in the schools," Mario Charpentier, president of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, told Edmonton AM. "We are looking at other options, but all those other options are very expensive."
There would be as many as 700 minor soccer teams registered during the typical indoor season, although Charpentier said they are expecting lower enrolment this year. Most teams use rented school gym space for practices and play games at one of the city's indoor soccer centres.
Charpentier said practicing at a soccer centre or somewhere like the Commonwealth centre indoor turf is an option but can cost up to $100 per hour, if that space is even available. In comparison, school gyms can cost as little as $10 or even be free.
Chris Wright, managing director of infrastructure for Edmonton Public Schools, says he recognizes how important school space can be for the community. However, schools will have stringent cleaning protocols they must meet when they reopen.
"A lot of our capacity will have to be directed to daytime activities," said Wright. "Accommodating evening use of common areas or gyms or classrooms is just something that we think is best addressed in a measured, responsible manner."
Wright says schools will reassess how things are going after October, and look at the possibility of opening space to community groups after that.
Not enough court space
Until then, the Edmonton Youth Basketball Association is also scrambling to run a modified fall season, starting after Thanksgiving.
"We're getting as creative as possible," Edmonton Youth Basketball Association president Jay Ouellette said. "We're lifting every rock we can to find something, but even in normal circumstances, we are short facilities."
The Edmonton Youth Basketball Association runs out of the Saville Community Sports Centre on the University of Alberta campus. In a typical season, the Saville gyms account for about 30 per cent of its game space while most games are played in school gyms across Edmonton.
This year, the association is holding skills camps outside until it gets too cold, and is looking for more space on university and college campuses. It has even looked at whether it's possible to turn small warehouses into temporary basketball courts.
It isn't just big players sidelined by the new rules around school gym space.
Small business owner Haley Shewciw would usually be doing fall registration right now for her Griesbach Dance Company. Typically, she rents space in the Major General Griesbach School Gym in north Edmonton, holding dance classes every Saturday, from September through June, for as many as 180 students.
The city told Shewciw she won't be able to rent school gyms for September and October and she hasn't yet found suitable space elsewhere. Shewciw already had to cancel her spring session during the pandemic lockdown. Now, she fears the fall session may be in jeopardy.
"For now, I am thinking there is really no other alternative, than to put the fall session on hold," Shewciw said. "We also need a good six weeks to register all our members. It's not like if something opens, I can just start the next week."
Meanwhile, Shewciw has ongoing costs, including business insurance and fees for online registration software. Most of all, though, she misses doing what she loves.
"I miss the kids," Shewciw said. "I miss our dancers and our parents more than anything. I can't wait to get back."
