Kelowna’s outdoor skating rink opening delayed because of health restrictions

Because of new COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings, the City of Kelowna is holding off on opening its popular Stuart Park ice skating rink.

While no opening date has not yet been announced, it usually is flooded and ready to go in early December. Last year it opened Dec. 1.

The new social gathering rules were put in place on Nov. 19.

READ MORE: Clarifying all Dr. Henry’s new orders and restrictions for B.C.

“We will continue to keep our rink operation plans flexible to align with provincial direction and will use our phased operational model to open the rink in a safe and adapted manner when it is deemed appropriate to do so.” Doug Nicholas, the city’s sport and event services manager, said in a news release. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on the latest updates from the Province and will reassess our opening timeline based on the information provided.”

Last month, the city said it planned to open the rink as usual but to ask people to keep from overcrowding it. If that didn’t work, people would have to book times.

READ MORE: Kelowna’s outdoor rink will likely start with self-regulation when it opens in December

The city is also holding off on publishing its winter sports and recreation guide until it gets more direction from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. That’s expected to be on or before Dec. 7.

Some existing recreational activities have been suspended. The news release doesn’t list them but says affected participants will be contacted.

For those activities that are still available, strict capacity limits and pre-bookings are in place.

For more information, go here.

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