Page 39 - GBC Spring 2022 ENG

NGCOA Canada Wins
Prestigious Award of
Excellence
In Recognition of Outstanding Support of the Entire Golf Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Advisory Board members, and the NGCOA Canada staff team - did when it came to our COVID-19 Response Plan for the industry.
NGCOA CANADA’S AWARD WINNING COVID-19 RESPONSE PLAN
Press rewind to 23 months ago. It is March, and the 2020 golf season was already underway in some regions of British Columbia, where golfers were enjoying some early spring rounds due to great weather. In other areas of the country, snow was melting, and courses were getting ready to kick- off what everyone thought would be another fantastic season for golf. Then seemingly overnight the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic called COVID-19 and the entire world shutdown.
Although the Canadian golf industry is a large contributor to the national economy, contributing
$14.3 Billion to the GDP, it is made up of 2300 small and medium- sized ‘seasonal’ businesses. The NGCOA Canada recognized the need to develop a response for both the association and industry and determined three critical aspects that needed to happen immediately:
1. Have golf recognized by all levels of government as a safe activity that contributes to the mental well-being of Canadian citizens.
2. Develop and maintain Best Practices/Safety Protocols that facilities could follow that would lead to governments recognizing golf as a safe activity.
3. Collect, analyze, and disseminate the overwhelming amount of information being presented by all levels of government, providing golf specific answers on COVID-19 funding, support and public health measures.
NGCOA CANADA REACTS QUICKLY
NGCOA Canada quickly shifted from delivering our core suite of member benefits consisting of: Marketing, Purchasing, Advocacy, Research, Education, and Networking to focus primarily on supporting golf courses through advocacy and information dissemination.
In non-COVID times, association programming is reserved for members only, however with the declaration of a pandemic, the NGCOA Canada decided to expand our audience to include ALL golf courses across the country going so far as to include multiple contact points within each golf operation to support the entire golf industry.
It quickly became evident that the need for timely and accurate information far exceeded the capacity of many golf operators across the country. With a constant myriad of changing guidelines,
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