On October 30th 2020 Manitoba announced pandemic response level is moving to critical (aka code red) Monday November 2nd. This is because of significant and uncontained community spread as well as our healthcare system being at/over capacity. At this response level rec centers/gymnasiums are closed, and recreational sports are not permitted.

While these restrictions do not officially take place until Monday at 12:01am, Dodgeball will be suspended effective immediately. We understand that many people would like to have this Sunday as a “last hurrah” before restrictions take place, but that is both not possible and in our opinion would not protect our community (and society at large) given the current state of our healthcare system. It is not possible for us to run games this weekend as the gymnasiums we rent all felt it to be safest to cease operations immediately on Friday, and we agree with their decisions to do so, and provided no pushback when notified.

This is an extremely difficult time for all of us in the sports sector, and especially difficult for gym coordinators as not all groups have taken this announcement gracefully. We have chosen, as an organization, to support the decisions made by the gyms we rent with respect to going above and beyond the public health orders to keep us safe. These relationships are of the utmost importance to Dodgeball, and the people making these decisions are human beings doing what they believe will keep people safe – that is something we value and want to encourage. We have been extremely fortunate to have not had even a single exposure at Dodgeball this Fall, but we know that luck plays a big part in that and do not want to risk having a game be a super spreader event, which becomes more likely as the case counts and test positivity rates increase.

Dodgeball will return when the pandemic level drops back to a point where it is safe and legal to operate again. When the current Pandemic Response level is dropped (or extended) we will revisit the feasibility of finishing this season.

Once again, thank you to Dodgeballers across Winnipeg for keeping our sport safe while we were operating, and we want to thank you in advance for being understanding while we go back on ice. You are not just the best customers a business could have, you’re the best community of any hobby in the world. You have demonstrated in spades why we love this sport and the people who play it, and we will be back on the court whipping balls at each other as soon as we have the virus under control here in Winnipeg.

Stay safe,

Stacy Huen

Managing Director