Extreme Weather Policies

Air Quality Policy

Whitecaps FC is committed to ensuring a safe environment for your children above all else. In the event of an air quality advisory, Whitecaps FC uses the Government of Canada’s Observed Air Quality Index and Air Quality Guidelines as its two primary resources for making informed decisions around any changes, rescheduling or reduction of its camp programs. As conditions change, the Club and its staff will always make decisions in the best interest of the players, parents/guardians, and staff, and whenever possible, commit to running the camp as scheduled.

Air Quality Rating: 7-10+ (High)

• Sessions may be rescheduled to a future date, or when possible, moved indoors. Additional time may be added to any remaining days of the camp to make up any missed sessions.
• If a camp day has already begun, the camp will continue as scheduled but the program will move to low impact activities with high exertion or strenuous activities reduced to a safe level.
• Players will be given longer rest and water breaks throughout the session, and those with pre-existing health conditions (as indicated under the section “Comments/Medical concerns” on their registration form) will be monitored closely.
• Players may choose not to participate in camp activities or withdraw voluntarily.

Air Quality Rating: 4-6 (Moderate to Low)

• Camps will run normally.
• Players with pre-existing health conditions or those with health concerns will be given additional rest or water breaks as required.
• Activities may be adjusted for younger players & those with pre-existing health conditions.

Notification Procedures

Before a camp day:

• Check your email. In the event of a change due to air quality, the email address on file will be emailed at least 1-hour prior to the start of a camp day with any changes.
• If a session needs to be rescheduled, participants will be notified by email of the new date and/or time as soon as it has been finalized. Every effort will be made to keep the rescheduled session within the existing camp week.

During a camp day:

• Should the air quality deteriorates after a camp day has begun, camps will run as scheduled with reduced activities. Parents will be notified by email if activities are changed.

Refunds:

• · Every effort will be made to first reschedule any sessions that are affected by an air quality advisory.
• · Sessions that have been successfully rescheduled, or fulfilled by adding additional time to a camp, will be non-refundable.
• · Parents with concerns may withdraw their children at any point, however, any programming missed as a result of voluntary withdrawal is non-refundable.
• Refunds/Credits will be issued on a per-session basis only under circumstances where Whitecaps FC has formally cancelled sessions and those sessions cannot be reasonably rescheduled.

Extreme Heat Policy

Participant health and safety is our first priority at Vancouver Whitecaps FC and we will be following the Extreme Heat Policy as set out by BC Soccer.

Guidelines:

• We will be relying on The Weather Network to determine whether programming will proceed.
• Find the relevant location for your respective program.
• Determine temperature (projected) and refer to the “feels like” temperature which accounts for the humidity in measuring temperature.
• Review the below chart to determine whether programming will be running.

Important notes related to training sessions:

• Staff will be monitoring conditions through training sessions in the 30C to 34C range. Additional hydration breaks will be taken and training could be postponed at staff’s discretion.
• In the case of an unexpected weather change during training, staff will implement their respective Emergency Action Plan to ensure safety of all participants. The Emergency Action Plan specific to each area is available upon request.

Procedure ahead of training sessions:

• Staff will be monitoring the forecast in the days ahead of sessions to determine suitability of training.
• A determination will be made by 9:00 a.m. on the day of a training session whether training may go ahead.
• You will receive an email notification only if a determination has been made to cancel training.
• In the cases of sudden weather changes, we will advise families as soon as possible if a session needs to be cancelled.

Preventative Measures:

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Make sure you have plenty of water to get through the session. Staff will ensure plenty of opportunity to stay hydrated during training sessions.

Please also see attached copy of BC Soccer Extreme Heat Guidelines.

For any questions or concerns about this policy, please feel free to reach out to our staff at gopro@whitecapsfc.com