The Ontario government announced the latest restrictions on return-to-play in elite amateur sports. Athletes training for the Olympics, select professional sports leagues, and Ontario University Athletics will be exempt from the new return-to-play rules. The government has not made a final decision on whether or not the OUA is an elite amateur sport.
The new restrictions in Ontario will prevent athletes from participating in indoor sports and other recreational activities until Jan. 27. The exceptions to the ban are professional sports leagues and elite amateur sports leagues such as the Canadian Hockey League, the Provincial Women’s Hockey League, League1 Soccer, and the Elite Baseball League of Ontario U18. One notable omission is the Ontario Scholastic Athletic Association.
The closure of indoor sports facilities in the province is not affecting athletes training for the Olympics, but it will affect other winter sports as well. The Canadian University Athletics ministry says it is disappointing to lose competitive sports in the winter, but the government is following the advice of the chief medical officer. Ontario is doing everything possible to limit the spread of COVID-19 and its variant, the omicron. Despite the recent closure, most Canadian sports teams are able to continue to play during the summer.
The early twenty-first century saw the acceptance of professional athletes and teams in most major team sports. However, in some sports such as boxing and golf, there is still a distinction between amateur and professional athletes. Until the Olympics of 2016, amateur boxers could only compete against professionals. Aside from being a spectator sport, the competition in the Elite Amateur Sports Tournament allows teams to prove that they are worthy of their status.
The concept of amateurism was closely guarded in the 19th century, especially by the upper class. However, this idea began to erode as the twentieth century passed. Professional sports and collegiate sports were growing in number, and fewer amateur sports organizations held it up as a desirable ideal. However, the American amateur sports system inherited the concept of amateurism from England.
While there is no single physical factor that determines whether an athlete is elite, there are several physical characteristics that distinguish elite athletes from non-elite. An example of this is the VO2max (VO2max) level of oxygen saturation in the blood. Other measures include running economy, anthropometry, and an array of training characteristics.
The New York Athletic Club is one of the oldest and most influential athletic clubs in the United States. It was founded in the late nineteenth century and became the most influential athletic club in the country. The New York Athletic Club focused on track and field competition. Its model led other athletic clubs to follow suit. Similarly, the London Athletic Club held the first English amateur track and field championships in 1866. This set the standard for the New York Athletic Club.
The Olympic amateurism rules were extremely strict throughout the twentieth century, including the 1912 disqualification of Jim Thorpe for taking expense money. The rules were gradually relaxed, however, until, in the 1990s, they were virtually abolished. The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 prohibited national governing bodies from setting higher amateur standards than those required by international governing bodies. Eventually, the AAU began to get involved in college athletic competitions.
Restrictions on Return-To-Play in Elite Amateur Sports
