Toronto Circus Centre Policies and Procedures

Last Update: March 21, 2022 

In order to ensure safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic our team reviewed procedures from organizations including American Circus Educators (ACE), En Piste, Gymnastics Ontario, ACTRA, Toronto Public Health and The Government of Ontario as well as those mandated by Leaside United Church, where we run the circus school. 

**WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR POLICIES AS NEW GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES ARE RELEASED.**

Students and staff must be screened daily by self or parent/guardian.  No participant is allowed in the building if they are feeling sick with COVID-19 symptoms. These symptoms include fever, onset of cough, runny nose, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, decrease in loss of sense of taste or smell, unexplained fatigue, stomach upset or conjunctivitis. 

Everyone is expected to follow current public health guidelines upon when it is safe to return to the circus.  Hands must be sanitized upon entry.

Mask will be worn until April 4th (this is a building wide policy)

Cleaning:

We will continue to keep up our cleaning procedures —  most were in place pre-Covid!

 
Payment:  All reservations and payments must be made online.

This means no drop-in lessons unless prebooked online at least 24 hours in advance and all payments are to be made via e-transfer when possible

If you make a cancellation due to COVID-19 related sickness, you will be expected to remain away from the studio until cleared by public health via a negative COVID-19 test or quarantine.  Make up classes will be offered within the same session.

If the venue has to close due to COVID-19, a refund less $25.00 administration fee will be issued for the missed dates.

Food:

During Summer Camp, snack and lunch will be eaten outdoors in the garden as usual

All participants must acknowledge & sign standard and COVID-19 waiver section of the registration form & abide by all new policies and procedures, including not attending training with any symptoms of sickness and/or with contact with someone who is sick.  We reserve the right to remove any person displaying any symptoms of sickness and/or who does not respect the policies and procedures of the space or the Conduct Policy as detailed on the registration forms.

 
Still have questions? Get in touch!

Phone: 416-433-7731Email: info@torontocircuscentre.com

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Past Update: August 2021
In order to ensure safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic our team reviewed procedures from organizations including American Circus Educators (ACE), En Piste, Gymnastics Ontario, ACTRA, Toronto Public Health and The Government of Ontario – Ontario Regulations 364/20 & 520/21: Rules for Areas in Stage 3, as well as those mandated by Leaside United Church, where we run the circus school.

We are in Stage 3: where indoor sports activities, fitness studios and gyms may open with physical distancing in place.

Quick Look:

Students and staff must be screened daily by self or parent/guardian at home, then again before entering the circus. No participant in a rental program is allowed in the building if they are feeling sick with COVID-19 symptoms. These symptoms include fever, onset of cough, runny nose, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, decrease in loss of sense of taste or smell and unexplained fatigue.

 

● Hands must be sanitized upon entry.

• Circus is open with limited capacity and adapted programming (maximum of 30 people in the gym).

● Masks must be worn by everyone aged four and above. Instructors and students must maintain a distance of minimum 6 ft except during spotting or an emergency.

**WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR POLICIES AS NEW GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES ARE RELEASED.**

**THE VENUES PROOF-OF-VACCINATION POLICY IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW**

 

Cleaning:

● Disinfecting surfaces

○ Props, mats, trapeze and hoops will be sanitized between each class.

● Additional ventilation

○ Venue door will remain open during training whenever possible to allow for additional ventilation.

● Hand washing

○ All participants are expected to wash their hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds upon entering the venue, after touching any surfaces, using the washroom or sneezing/ coughing into elbow and before leaving.

○ Hands must be sanitized before and after using aerial equipment and props.

Distancing:

● Maintain a minimum of 6 feet physical distance from fellow students and staff including entering and leaving the space and using the washroom.

● Changing entrance and exit procedures

○ 10 minutes has been scheduled between each training session to avoid crowding and maintain safe distance during cleaning.

○ Please do not arrive early for your class, come on time.

○ All participants in groups renting the gymnasium must enter and exit the building using the Field Avenue entrance and abide by the signage and floor markings for traffic flow purposes. If parents/caregivers are dropping off children, they must leave them at the Field Avenue door and not enter the building.

○ All participants MUST wash their hands and sanitize any equipment being used immediately upon entering the space.

○ Training times will start and end on time, including rigging, warm-up and cool down. Please respect these times to allow us time to adequately clean between sessions.

● Limiting participants to ensure physical distancing

○ All training sessions will be limited to an absolute maximum of 30 participants, including the supervisor/ coach.

○ No spectators (for parties, this means only the party parents may stay in the space).

Payment:

● All reservations and payments must be made online.

○ This means no drop-in lessons unless pre booked online at least 24 hours in advance and all payments are to be made via e-transfer when possible.

● Refund Policy Due to COVID:

○ If you make a cancellation due to COVID-19 related sickness, you will be expected to remain away from the studio for a minimum of 14-days afterwards.

○ In case a supervisor is sick, we reserve the right to cancel any training session on short notice. You will be notified via email. Please check your spam folders.

○ If the venue has to close due to COVID-19, a refund less $25.00 administration fee will be issued for the missed dates.

Precautions:

● Silks will be changed out for each class. Participants are encouraged to bring and use their own aerial equipment.

○ TCC Staff can give suggestions on where to make a purchase.

● Dress Code, injuries and personal items.

○ All participants are expected to arrive in clean, appropriate training attire. Long pants/ leggings to the ankle and fitted long sleeved shirts are preferred.

○ In accordance with current Toronto Public Health by-law, you must wear a mask when entering, exiting and moving around the space. All persons must leave personal belongings in their bag and leave it in the designated zone for personal items.

○ All persons with open wounds must disinfect and cover them before arriving at the training space. The protection/covering must be able to withstand training and last until the person leaves the space.

○ No food in the space.

○ All outdoor shoes must be removed by the entrance.

○ Please refrain from touching your face.

We recommend you bring:

● Personal hand sanitizer.

● Yoga mat.

● Full water bottle (refills are not suggested at the venue).

All participants must acknowledge & sign standard and COVID-19 waiver section of the registration form & abide by all new policies and procedures, including not attending training with any symptoms of sickness and/or within 14-days of coming into contact with someone who is sick and/or within 14-days of having traveled out of province if unvaccinated/parents unvaccinated if child is under 12. We reserve the right to remove any person displaying any symptoms of sickness and/or who does not respect the policies and procedures of the space or the Conduct Policy as detailed on the registration forms.