Covid-19 and rec/minor hockey

[Yukon Joe]

Anyone around Ann Arbor? How are the rinks handling Covid? My team just voted for a tournament in mid Dec to come up from St louis.

Man, you guys do what you think is right and safe. I am playing rec hockey, but even if they were allowed (they're not) me or my kids would not be playing in any tournaments.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Man, you guys do what you think is right and safe. I am playing rec hockey, but even if they were allowed (they're not) me or my kids would not be playing in any tournaments.

how many are in your group? Are you in a league?

 

[Yukon Joe]

how many are in your group? Are you in a league?

I'm in a league, 16 guys. We play 4 games in 2 weeks, then take 2 weeks off, then do another round of games.

Kids are on teams, 12-17 players depending on age. So far have only played games against another team within the same club. We think they might move to a model similar to my rec league - calendar isn't filled out.

I mean we can't just bunker down and do nothing - being sedentary and missing out on these kind of social activities would be as damaging as the virus. But tournaments - the idea of travelling out of your home area and then playing a bunch of games in a short amount of time against teams you don't know, sounds like a guarantee to be a super-spreader event. But everyone has to make up their own minds how much risk to accept.

 

[JustJokinenAround]

Anyone around Ann Arbor? How are the rinks handling Covid? My team just voted for a tournament in mid Dec to come up from St louis.

i'm not in michigan currently but i'm from there and my friends are playing games but they are the only ones in the rink, they have their own assigned locker room, and all that stuff. if cases keep going up i'm sure whitmer will put an end to it.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I'm in a league, 16 guys. We play 4 games in 2 weeks, then take 2 weeks off, then do another round of games.

Kids are on teams, 12-17 players depending on age. So far have only played games against another team within the same club. We think they might move to a model similar to my rec league - calendar isn't filled out.

I mean we can't just bunker down and do nothing - being sedentary and missing out on these kind of social activities would be as damaging as the virus. But tournaments - the idea of travelling out of your home area and then playing a bunch of games in a short amount of time against teams you don't know, sounds like a guarantee to be a super-spreader event. But everyone has to make up their own minds how much risk to accept.

sounds like my Sunday Outdoor League. 4-6 teams of about 15 guys (even better when people don’t show up). We play three weeks and then have a ‘bye’ automatically. I think our season runs until November and then we figure it out from there

 

[Ozz]

Anyone around Ann Arbor? How are the rinks handling Covid? My team just voted for a tournament in mid Dec to come up from St louis.

I am. Most rinks are closed but beginning to open up. The opened ones I've heard are requiring masks at all times except when on the rink. You'd think that is the riskiest time, but what do I know.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Man oh man, had a game last night.

Game itself was lots of fun. But it was in a 50 year old single-sheet arena. We had almost our entire roster show up, so 15 guys. 15 guys crammed into an extremely tiny locker room, and 15 guys crammed onto an extremely small bench. In the locker room only 3 of us were wearing masks.

Man if any of us have Covid it was almost certainly passed on to the rest of the team...

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Man oh man, had a game last night.

Game itself was lots of fun. But it was in a 50 year old single-sheet arena. We had almost our entire roster show up, so 15 guys. 15 guys crammed into an extremely tiny locker room, and 15 guys crammed onto an extremely small bench. In the locker room only 3 of us were wearing masks.

Man if any of us have Covid it was almost certainly passed on to the rest of the team...

Awesome! How did the game go?

Man that's the only thing that really sucks about COVID and playing sports. My Ice Hockey group chat has been wanting to get into league play for a while. Seems like they've had it with the Cabin Fever and want to get out on the ice ASAP for competitive play.

As an aside, my outdoor ball hockey league has been going well. My team could have 500 players registered but only 8 show up anyway

 

[Yukon Joe]

Awesome! How did the game go?

Man that's the only thing that really sucks about COVID and playing sports. My Ice Hockey group chat has been wanting to get into league play for a while. Seems like they've had it with the Cabin Fever and want to get out on the ice ASAP for competitive play.

As an aside, my outdoor ball hockey league has been going well. My team could have 500 players registered but only 8 show up anyway

Oh man the game was a blast personally. I'm a defensive defenceman with zero goals lifetime (only my third season playing) so normally I'm just worried about not being scored on, but last night I got two primary assists including a nice blueline to blueline pass. Also picked up a tripping penalty on a would-be breakaway that I wasn't sad about, and we even picked up a shortie while I was in the box.

I sure hope things don't get shut down, but Alberta's numbers are climbing along with everywhere else...

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Our Governor in RI has decided to shut down the rinks for a week.. lots of backlash in my Facebook groups

 

[JMCx4]

I am. Most rinks are closed but beginning to open up. The opened ones I've heard are requiring masks at all times except when on the rink. You'd think that is the riskiest time, but what do I know.

The public rinks in Eastern Missouri (and I imagine elsewhere in the U.S.) appear to be following the guidelines of U.S. Ice Rink Association. The rink owners/managers seem to be relying on team & league-based management of player protections (covering the rinks legally by waiver acceptance from participants), with the evolving USA Hockey guidelines available for reference & adoption. Those guidelines do mention mask wearing considerations during play.

 

[Aces89]

Probably the fastest and most skilled game of the COVID era we've done.

 

[Yukon Joe]

So for Hockey Edmonton they've finally scheduled all the kids for meaningful games. It looks like each time is paired up with a team from a different hockey club. They'll play that other team 4 times over the next two weekends. Then presumably there'll be two weeks of nothing but practices, then move on to a different opponent for a series of games. Realistically that means they'll only play about 5 different teams throughout the year, but it's better than nothing.

 

[JoeCool16]

Anybody wearing masks while playing? How does it feel? Are you wearing a made-for-sports one, and do they stay on/feel comfortable? I'm seeing hockey shops selling a variety of them now and wondering if I should pick one up. So far, my league hasn't mandated masks on-ice. Our season starts next week.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Anybody wearing masks while playing? How does it feel? Are you wearing a made-for-sports one, and do they stay on/feel comfortable? I'm seeing hockey shops selling a variety of them now and wondering if I should pick one up. So far, my league hasn't mandated masks on-ice. Our season starts next week.

For my street/ball hockey league, only one player wears a mask on my team. I tried doing it for a game, but between running back and forth and it not staying on properly for me, it only lasted a period.

 

[BoardsofCanada]

I bought a mask designed for ice hockey. It attaches to my cage. Its better than a traditional mask that you see people wearing to the grocery store. It allows air to come in and it definitely stays in place.

It takes some getting used to. When the puck is in your skates, forget about it, you will not be able to see straight down with the mask on. Anyway, this isn't a choice, the game I play in requires every player to wear a mask on and off the ice.

 

[Slats432]

Alberta. Shut. Down.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Alberta. Shut. Down.

Well not everything, but hockey sure is. They say for 2 weeks, but I'm going to guess we're not playing until 2021.

 

[JoeCool16]

Alberta. Shut. Down.

Same here in Surrey, BC. The two week shutdown will be up this coming Saturday - so we should hear something soon.

By the way, thanks for the mask advice above, fellas. The hockey shop I visited was out of stock, but I guess I have a few more days now to find one. I have a feeling I'm going to hate wearing it.

 

[Slats432]

Well not everything, but hockey sure is. They say for 2 weeks, but I'm going to guess we're not playing until 2021.

You are aware this is the COVID rec/minor hockey thread?

 

[kij]

Iowa just cancelled all adult recreation until December 10th

 

[Aces89]

Boys are still able to play in Ontario even though cases are rising here. 14 goals in this game but 11 of 14 were absolute rips!

 

[shoeshine boy]

COVID is blowing up in my league.
in our league we have been playing since late June. we had probably 10-15 known cases between June and September when we were able to finish Winter season.
since the end of October, the 28th to be exact, we have had around 35 cases in 24 days, including 5 today alone. our new Winter season started mid-Oct.
over half of those 35 cases have been in our Elite levels which are the only levels that don't require any facial protection at all. it could be just a coincidence but I still find it interesting.
despite my state closing in on 500k total cases, and spiking recently, I highly doubt our governor will require indoor sports facilities to shut down so our league will likely continue to play.
most concerning to me is that after games, teams are continuing to tailgate in the rink parking lots with no masks and standing inches way from each other.

 

[LarryO]

COVID is blowing up in my league.
in our league we have been playing since late June. we had probably 10-15 known cases between June and September when we were able to finish Winter season.
since the end of October, the 28th to be exact, we have had around 35 cases in 24 days, including 5 today alone. our new Winter season started mid-Oct.
over half of those 35 cases have been in our Elite levels which are the only levels that don't require any facial protection at all. it could be just a coincidence but I still find it interesting.
despite my state closing in on 500k total cases, and spiking recently, I highly doubt our governor will require indoor sports facilities to shut down so our league will likely continue to play.
most concerning to me is that after games, teams are continuing to tailgate in the rink parking lots with no masks and standing inches way from each other.

And maybe it's just a coincidence that fish get wet.

 

[shoeshine boy]

And maybe it's just a coincidence that fish get wet.

could very well be. I mean, some division had to have more cases than the others.
I hope it's also just a coincidence that this division plays in the only rink we play in where the manager is a vocal anti-masker. I haven't had a game at that rink yet this season so I can't comment on what the staff is or is not doing.
btw, 10 more cases in our league in the last 2 days.