Riders use Green and White scrimmage as a trial run for new game day protocols
The Saskatchewan Roughriders used their annual green and white scrimmage as a game day practice for the team and volunteers.
Fans were allowed back in Mosaic Stadium for the first time since November 17, 2019 on Saturday.
The Riders organization used the intersquad game to practice new COVID-19 protocols.
“There will be digital ticketing in effect today that is going to be in effect all year long,” Craig Reynolds, President and CEO of the Riders, said. “We have a clear bag policy as well which will just speed up the entry and prevent people from rummaging through your things obviously being conscious of COVID and making sure our fans feel safe.”
Reynolds added fans will notice some other changes throughout the season, mostly on the field. He said only players and coaches will be allowed on the turf.
“Before you used to see the big flag with a couple hundred volunteers we just won’t be able to do that, certainly not at the beginning of the season. You know even out anthem singer would normally be on the field and they won’t be able to at the start of the season,” he said.
Some fan favourites, like sunflower seeds, also won’t be allowed in the stadium this season either.
“There is just a lot of hands to your mouth and saliva involved in that,” Reynolds said. “Obviously blow horns was another one that is prohibited and that’s just as people blow through that they are spitting saliva out into the crowd.”
He said the Riders are working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to come up with ongoing best practices, adding some of these rules will ease when COVID-19 cases subside and others being permanently implemented.
The team will continue training camp next week as they prepare for their home opener against the BC Lions on August 6.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.