December 6, 2020
Dear VASS Family,
With the recent rise of COVID-19 cases in both the Vancouver and Fraser Health Regions and in consideration of our current provincial restrictions from Dr Bonnie Henry, VASS has made the difficult decision to suspend all services for the 2020-2021 ski and snowboard season. This means cancellation of all scheduled and non-scheduled trainings, programs and drop-in lessons. When the BC COVID-19 case numbers become more favourable and the current health orders allow, consideration will be given to running drop-in lessons and instructor training. We do have a comprehensive return-to-sport plan in place in case this is a possibility. The VASS staff and Board of Directors will be assessing the situation and we will keep you informed if there are any changes.
As a result of the cancellation, we will begin the process of refunding all VASS student and instructor fees for programs and training within the next 2 weeks. You will receive an email when this has been completed. An alternative to receiving a refund is to donate the fees as a contribution to VASS and receive a tax receipt. If you would like to make a donation, please email info@vass.ca to arrange for this, otherwise your refund will be processed.
Should you decide that you would like a refund for your CADS membership, please email corinne@bcadaptive.com and she will process the request. Do keep in mind that the CADS membership has benefits if you are intending to ski this season with someone with a disability and it can often get you free or discounted lift ticket rates at several BC mountains. The funds from the CADS membership go directly to the provincial (BCAS) and national (CADS) adaptive ski organizations and they do incredible work in our communities for people with disabilities.
We recognize that this news is disappointing and that VASS is an important part of physical, mental and social wellbeing for each of us. We encourage you to stay positive and to think of this as a ‘pause’ for VASS. During this time, we are committed to keeping the VASS Magic alive and to adding value, connection and fun to our VASS community in other ways off of the mountain. A survey will be sent out to you next week, asking for your input on how we can help and ‘adapt’ to support you at this time. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and please be excited for what is to come… in a safe online format, for all to enjoy.
Thank you for keeping the VASS Magic alive! We look forward to the 2021-2022 snow season, where we can all play and laugh again, together, in person. Our executive director, James Peters, will continue to be available, for any questions and concerns. james@vass.ca
Sincerely,
VASS Board of Directors
