Sporting event organizers are wondering when they will be presented with pandemic protocols.

“We’ve been given no directive from the government at all for what that means,” says Scott Toews, owner of Silver Eye Sports Network, in regard to distancing during baseball games.

Toews’ organization runs a co-ed slow-pitch and other sports leagues and without protocols in place, he cannot rent public facilities or offer anything to register for. He also wonders who will be responsible for enforcing restrictions and what he should do if he receives customer complaints.

“'As a league organizer, what are you going to do about it?'," asks Toews imitating a potential scenario. 

"We're a region.  Steinbach might be the hub but we've got baseball players coming in from all over the southeast.  Well, I don't know if a player on team XYZ has a high contact profession.  "How much babysitting can one person do?”

Toews questions do not stop there as he considers what we already have been told. “The regulation says gatherings no more than 50 people, but what that regulation does not tell us is within how much square footage?”

Scott Toews, Owner of Silver Eye Sports Network

Further considering certain baseball situations Toews describes the scene of a typical dugout.

“You have a bag of sunflower seeds, you have water bottles, beverages, high fiving, hugging your teammate after a home run,” lists Toews, “well, that won’t be allowed. You can’t hug your teammate, you can’t share… you can’t even have sunflower seeds because it involves spitting.”

Without the social aspect of sports, Toews says so much of its basic appeal is lost, even before considering logistics. “I don’t even know how to distance a batter, a catcher, and an umpire.”

Toews believes Baseball Manitoba will be setting the baselines for “COVID baseball” once negotiations with the province are complete. Still, without timelines he must remain in a holding pattern.

“Sure, the regulations could be out by June when maybe it’s alright to play,” offers Toews, “but they haven’t had registration yet, so how do you plan?”

Toews says even if the province had initially been precautionary and offered a potential August start, he may have been able to make some amendments to original plans.

“It would be amazing if the government came out and gave a longer-term plan,” says Toews.

“Right now, it feels like we’re scrambling, and that I don’t like.”