It seems like what鈥檚 old is new again when it comes to sports and recreation.

The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) has laid out a new public health order which will allow indoor gatherings to be capped at 25 and outdoor gatherings at a maximum of 50 people. If that sounds familiar, it鈥檚 what the initial reopening numbers were when Covid-19 restrictions were first lifted in summer 2020.

The difference now is that there鈥檚 an option for groups and/or businesses to ask for proof of vaccination before allowing people to take part. What that means is the possibility for larger gatherings of up to 100 people indoors and 200 outdoors, if a group/business applies for, and receives, an exemption from the OCPHO.

The order itself is contingent on a risk evaluation being conducted by the OCPHO, which should be done on or before this Friday, according to a news release from the OCPHO on Oct. 14.

The Racquet Club is one of those businesses that will be looking to increase its numbers at the first available opportunity. It will be asking its membership for proof of vaccination before doing so. As it stands, the club has a firm limit of 10 people inside, which includes staff and anyone using the club鈥檚 services.

Meghan Newberry, the facility鈥檚 manager of member services, said the club is planning on applying for an exemption to allow up to 100 people inside the premises. If that doesn鈥檛 work, it will abide by the order as it stands.

鈥淲e have asked our members to submit their vaccination status by (Oct.) 25th,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f our application isn鈥檛 approved, we鈥檒l go to 25 (people). It鈥檚 not ideal but the job is to keep the community safe. We have the best members in town and they鈥檝e rolled with the punches, just like the staff has, and we鈥檒l do our best to keep things running as normal as we can with the capacity we鈥檙e allowed.鈥�

The Yellowknife Gymnastics Club is in wait-and-see mode for the time being, but the news that things could open up again was exciting to hear, said Jessica Smith, the club鈥檚 manager.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just waiting for the announcement about what the new vaccine mandate will be and get as much information as possible before deciding what to do,鈥� she said.

That isn鈥檛 stopping the club from preparing for a reopening, she added.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here at the club setting up equipment, marking off the six-foot distances, making sure we have enough supplies on hand,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to make sure we have everything ready for our members.鈥�

As for the Yk Volleyball Association, it鈥檚 in a holding pattern for the time being.

Terrel Hobbs, the association鈥檚 president, said gymnasium time hasn鈥檛 been released as of yet so there鈥檚 no way of drafting a schedule, but the hope among the executive is for a Nov. 1 start date.

鈥淚t鈥檚 week-by-week situation right now for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l wait and see what happens with the new order and see what the requirements will be.鈥�

The association held its annual general meeting on Oct. 6 and Hobbs said there was some discussion about whether full vaccination would be required in order to play this season.

鈥淭he talk leaned toward having players be fully vaxxed before getting out there,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 itching to get back out there but we all agreed that having someone there to check (vaccination) would be good in case we do have another outbreak.鈥�