COVID-19 UPDATE #9
The Bowl Canada Board of Directors held a virtual meeting yesterday to consider options for several items on the bowling calendar. The following should bring you fully up to date on where things stand at this time.....

BOWL CANADA CUP & CLUB 55 CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS

We are sorry to announce that these two Championships have now been cancelled. As we all know, Zones and Provincials are not able to take place, and the extended window for qualifying is not likely to be sufficient.

Bowl Canada will begin issuing Refunds for all entry fees received next week. Watch for a cheque to land at your centre shortly thereafter. Any recently received entry fee cheques that have not yet been deposited will be returned as well.

QUBICA/AMF BOWLING WORLD CUP

The Canadian Qualifier for the Qubica AMF Bowling World Cup is on hold until further notice. Intentions are to hold a National Championship once (and if) reasonable to do so in hopes of fairly determining advancement to the World Finals in November. Stay tuned for updates, though it may be a while before a direction can be set.

BOWL CANADA ANNUAL MEETING

With Nova Scotia in a State of Emergency, our Annual Meeting of Members, scheduled for early June in Halifax, has now been cancelled. In reality... expecting any attendance from our industry (plane fares, accommodation costs, etc.) by early June would be a fool's hope on the heels of this pandemic. So we are switching gears....

For the first time ever, Bowl Canada's Annual Meeting will be a VIRTUAL meeting for 2020 , and we will be hosting it on either GoToMeeting (our current system) or some other online conferencing service (if more applicable for our needs). You are hereby formally invited to attend. All you need is a computer, tablet or smartphone to participate. You can even join the meeting by telephone, though you won't be able to see the visuals being presented this way.

The meeting is scheduled for June 4th, and more details will be forthcoming in the near future.

A last note on the Meetings... Bowl Canada's Nominating Committee Chair, Past President Todd Britton, invites any member interested in standing for elections at the coming virtual meeting to submit a nomination form (click here) .


YBC NATIONALS

As detailed in a previous update, the YBC Nationals have been cancelled in terms of the original May timeline. We are otherwise currently on hold as we see how this pandemic runs its course. We have worked on an alternate timeline, and we are left with one option in early/mid July. The Bowl Canada Board will once again review the situation at their May 5th meeting and decide at that time, based on the information at hand, whether or not it is realistic to proceed with plans or cancel outright. We will keep you updated as more is known.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UPDATE

  • Prime Minister Trudeau today announced a loosening of the requirements to be eligible for the Canada Employment Wage Subsidy. Whereas companies needed to demonstrate a 30% decrease in revenues for each of the 4 eligible months (March - June), they now recognize that Covid hit in mid March, so for that month specifically a decrease of only 15% need be demonstrated (30% criteria at half a month's damage). All other months continue to require the 30% decrease be demonstrated.

  • With respect to the Wage Subsidy as mentioned above, we understand it is possible that a self-employed individual (read proprietor) who has been drawing a salary throughout the crisis, and can demonstrate the loss in revenues as mentioned, may be eligible to apply for this subsidy for his/her business and recoup 75% of the salaries paid. Bowl Canada suggests you check with your accountant and consider actions taken to date (applications for CERB, for example) into account prior to taking advantage of this unconfirmed advice.

  • The Canada Emergency Business Account has seen a loosening of conditions for loan acceptance. Liquor licensing was to be a red line for applicants to take advantage of a $40,000 loan, but no longer. This is a great opportunity as $10,000, under certain conditions, need not be repaid, and the loan is provided interest-free for the first year. Conditions still apply.... $50,000+ in salaries for 2019 (up to $1 Million). This program will roll out in mid-April, and interested businesses should apply through their banks online. Some banks, at least, already have info online so check into it if you haven't already.

  • Canada Summer Jobs program has been elevated to allow businesses to hire students and now receive 100% subsidy. And, the program is extended into winter, so you can keep the subsidized student employment up until February 2021 (according to news sources today).

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