Covid-19 and rec/minor hockey

[bleedblue94]

Out of the rink operators/managers on here, what strategies are you guys implementing for your customers? Not just the mandated ones, but things to kind of go above and beyond. What are you all finding is working vs not working?

We will be opening again in a couple months in upstate NY and have been brain storming ideas such as:

*setting up a live stream so people can watch games online instead of many people attending
*garden sprayers with bleach cleaners that we can have staff spray the team benches during ice cuts
*dedicating one of our emergency exits as the standard player exit so that there is less traffic through our main entry doors
*removal of general seating in our lobby area
*snack shop remaining closed but having vending machines available

Curious to hear more from people that are already going through this.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I'm a little worried this isn't going to end well. My kids have had 7 icetimes so far. The rink operations have been impeccable. As per the protocols outlined for the Medicine Hat case above, they've really planned everything out and I can't imagine how they could do anything better on that side of the equation.

But... rabid hockey families being what they are... there is a never-ending demand for more-more-more. So at first a few programs open up here and there, and small groups get out onto the ice after the shutdown. Finally. But those opportunities sold out fast. So the various skill development providers get a little familiarity with how to operate, and realize they can offer more sessions. Make a few more $$$. All the families are eager to get back and keep up with the Joneses. And then every coach with a competitive team gets their groups and friends together and comes out. And before you know it the parking lots are full again, and everybody is out there getting geared up with their buddies before tromping into the arena, and all the parents are packing lawn chairs and congregating in the parking lot, and... well... maybe it'll turn out ok and maybe it won't, but it seems to me like there's just such a ravenous desire to go back to "normal" again, that we may very well put things back into jeopardy in the rush. I wouldn't do it differently, though, since the precautions have been excellent. Just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, I guess. But ultimately not be surprised if it all gets shut down again at some point.

 

[sabresEH]

Out of the rink operators/managers on here, what strategies are you guys implementing for your customers? Not just the mandated ones, but things to kind of go above and beyond. What are you all finding is working vs not working?

We will be opening again in a couple months in upstate NY and have been brain storming ideas such as:

*setting up a live stream so people can watch games online instead of many people attending
*garden sprayers with bleach cleaners that we can have staff spray the team benches during ice cuts
*dedicating one of our emergency exits as the standard player exit so that there is less traffic through our main entry doors
*removal of general seating in our lobby area
*snack shop remaining closed but having vending machines available

Curious to hear more from people that are already going through this.

Really like the designated exit. Small move but a good one.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Just had my first rec hockey game. Great to be back on the ice.

But predictably the fact we are limited to 10 skaters bit us in the ass tonight. One player forgot his helmet - second player simply didn't show - so we played half the game with 8 skaters, the other half with 9 (after guy got his helmet).

There really is no way to completely socially distance in hockey - you're always going to be in the corner with someone - but honestly those interactions are so brief I wasn't quite so worried.

I did kind of miss the locker room camaraderie - can't get in until 15 minutes before, have to GTFO after 15 minutes. But what can ya do.

It did feel very weird to not shake hands at the end of the game. We all just kind of awkwardly waved at each other.

and 4 months off the ice definitely negatively impacted my game - I'm out of shape, my skating and passing is noticeably degraded... ah well. It's good to be back.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Reading some of the school opening stories in the US... is this going to rebound into another shut-down of everything, including hockey, I wonder?

So far, outside of numbskull parents tailgating in the parking lots, I've thought the hockey returns have gone extremely well. But can it be sustained through this next challenge???

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Reading some of the school opening stories in the US... is this going to rebound into another shut-down of everything, including hockey, I wonder?

So far, outside of numbskull parents tailgating in the parking lots, I've thought the hockey returns have gone extremely well. But can it be sustained through this next challenge???

Speaking upon my experiences, I played hockey these past two Sundays with a small group of 8. We had to fill out a waiver form before going in, with only selected few in at a time (my local rink has 8 different locker rooms that are available). Two hours of play was fun, but no hanging out afterwords. Strictly had to undress and be out within a 5-10 minute frame. My Roller Hockey league has been different. I got a group text message about a new league forming on Sunday Mornings/Afternoons, but that was about a month ago. Thinking about texting the captain again to see whats going on. I'm all about being safe, but getting a bit of cabin fever on my competitive side.

I should've thought about it earlier during the beginning of quarantine, but I would like to build my own net. Anyone have any advice on building something like this?

 

[shoeshine boy]

Reading some of the school opening stories in the US... is this going to rebound into another shut-down of everything, including hockey, I wonder?

So far, outside of numbskull parents tailgating in the parking lots, I've thought the hockey returns have gone extremely well. But can it be sustained through this next challenge???

in ATL we're having multiple forfeits every week. some are because teams are having COVID infections, some are because teams don't have enough players who are willing to risk it. the guys who are playing are definitely having beer in the parking lot after. makes me wonder how many are actually contracting it from the tailgating......

 

[Perennial]

I've gotten a couple of emails this past week from guys who organize our weekly games...

It looks like we'll be starting back up in the fall, but they're saying we won't be allowed to shower after the game...

We'll see about that!

 

[BruinDust]

I've gotten a couple of emails this past week from guys who organize our weekly games...

It looks like we'll be starting back up in the fall, but they're saying we won't be allowed to shower after the game...

We'll see about that!

We aren't even allowed inside the dressing rooms. One rink has us dressing outside in the parking lot, another is letting us dress on the bleachers spaced apart. We've been doing this for roughly over a month now and the general sentiment is this is a pain in the you-know-what and this cannot continue into the winter months, especially dressing outside.

 

[shoeshine boy]

I've gotten a couple of emails this past week from guys who organize our weekly games...

It looks like we'll be starting back up in the fall, but they're saying we won't be allowed to shower after the game...

We'll see about that!

don't be that guy. in most places rinks are doing everything they can to make it safe to open their doors to the community. using showers and other facilities when you've specifically been told not to puts all of that in jeopardy for everybody.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

A couple of the roller hockey rinks and their men's league games in my area have been reopened for the past couple weeks, but not the ice hockey leagues. Not sure about the ice rinks themselves either.

for the roller rink, need to wear a mask when entering/leaving facility, they have special exits, no locker rooms. so far, no infections or breakouts have happened.

 

[Perennial]

don't be that guy. in most places rinks are doing everything they can to make it safe to open their doors to the community. using showers and other facilities when you've specifically been told not to puts all of that in jeopardy for everybody.

I don't own a car, so I'm "that guy" who rides a motorcycle to the rink with his hockey bag strapped to his back...

I won't go in the showers, but I'll definitely be using a water bottle to give myself a thorough cleaning in the locker room before I put my clothes back on...

 

[Aces89]

My men's league team who have been off since February (we were knocked out of the playoffs BEFORE all of this) got our first pandemic shinny game in. We had to play in the next town over in Napanee, Ontario as the arenas in Kingston, Ontario are all closed till at least Mid-September still. We're a hockey vlogging team so we filmed it to see how bad we all were with no icetime.

 

[sabresEH]

Just read an article saying Saskatchewan minor hockey won't have games until November at the earliest. They've been one of the better provinces in terms of keeping COVID at bay. Only 22 deaths. There was a recent outbreak I believe in the indigenous communities starting from a gathering they had on reserved land.

If that province doesn't have games until November I wouldn't expect BC, AB, ON, QC to start before that. I work in a hockey shop and some people I talk to think we won't have minor hockey back until 2021.

 

[LarryO]

CANCELLATION OF 2021 TOURNAMENT

 

[Yukon Joe]

Just read an article saying Saskatchewan minor hockey won't have games until November at the earliest. They've been one of the better provinces in terms of keeping COVID at bay. Only 22 deaths. There was a recent outbreak I believe in the indigenous communities starting from a gathering they had on reserved land.

If that province doesn't have games until November I wouldn't expect BC, AB, ON, QC to start before that. I work in a hockey shop and some people I talk to think we won't have minor hockey back until 2021.

So in Alberta we're definitely going to have minor hockey back - it's just going to look different.

My kids start their evaluations next week. Teams are going to be formed very quickly, and just off of a skills skate - no scrimmages. Teams will be very small - 11 skaters plus a goalie. For the foreseeable future they will only be playing the same three teams in 4 on 4 games within the same club.

They have identified November as being the earliest we could have more regular games city-wide, but that seems like wishful thinking.

And there's no tournaments of any kind expected this year.

 

[krown]

Canlan announced 5 on 5 for their adult leagues this fall

 

[Slats432]

Elite hockey tryouts are ongoing here in Edmonton. First wave of U18 AAA and U15 AAA are in the books and cuts have been made.

 

[Aces89]

My men's league team have always started the Tuesday after Labour Day but our arenas still won't be open for a few more weeks. Still in a holding pattern

 

[Oak]

Youth hockey in NJ and CT is back in full swing. NY is still on lockdown though. Couple teams in Long Island have not started their season yet and might not for a while.

 

[NewDef]

In Quebec, we just started the men leagues. Wear mask going in and out, 3 rooms for 2 teams to keep distances. 5 on 5 like normal, no end of game handshake/fistbump. Damn that was good to play again.

Minor hockey will start on Sept 18th. Teams of 10+goalie, 2 coaches only, we (coaches) cannot tie skates or help kids with helmet. They must be fully dressed going in the arena except for goalies. Games will stay in the association at the moment.

My boys (8 and 9) are so eager to play, whatever works will be fine for now though it will be hard to coach with such limited staff... I like to have 3 assistants on the ice with me for a 14 kids roster... (coaching level C so a lot of development and hand holding is done)

 

[BruinDust]

Due to measures imposed on local rinks by government, in particular a mandated 30-min break in between ice sessions, all available ice-time in the region has effectively been cut by 1/3, in a region where the demand for ice exceeds the supply even with rinks operating normally. Thus my Friday night skate and Sunday leagues are now history, with my other weekly skate not looking too good. Meanwhile we have just 16 cases in the past 5 months.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

^ sucks.

I'm in that position with golf in my area. With reduced tee times, it's damn near impossible to get a good tee time that isn't in the late afternoon/twilight, at least on the good public courses.

In my area, the Men's ice hockey leagues still arent' back yet, good thing i'm playing on 3 roller hockey teams.....

 

[Toonces]

Due to measures imposed on local rinks by government, in particular a mandated 30-min break in between ice sessions, all available ice-time in the region has effectively been cut by 1/3, in a region where the demand for ice exceeds the supply even with rinks operating normally. Thus my Friday night skate and Sunday leagues are now history, with my other weekly skate not looking too good. Meanwhile we have just 16 cases in the past 5 months.

You should be playing...

We had a outbreak at a local rink that really nobody is talking about Cluster Of COVID Cases In Teams At Middletown Sports Complex

I play at the Red Bank Armory in Central NJ and our league just started again the other day after their compressors somehow got destroyed in early August due to some really rough storms that hit us. Red Bank has done an awful job in regards to the pandemic. They are mostly on the ball with their kids programs, keeping parents out of the rink, and directing traffic during sessions, but the adult hockey is a joke. There is a single employee on premises at night, he drives the Zamboni, so nobody directs traffic, takes temperatures, or cleans anything for 6-8 hours at a time. It's only a matter of time until we have an outbreak.

People come in with masks, but mostly toss them off as soon as they get in the lobby but that's about it. They taped the benches in the lobby at some point, but nobody has any idea what the hell any of that means. There is no enforcement of anything because there is only a single employee who works at night, and he's busy doing maintenance, not enforcing Covid restrictions.

 

[Aces89]

Gotta get our games in before the 2nd wave in Ontario shuts things down again, especially in my hometown of Kingston.