CONTACT SPORT HAS NEW MEANING FOR MINOR HOCKEY
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — It’s safety first — and always — as minor hockey players hit the ice amid the pandemic.
Stephanie Oates, president of the South Muskoka Minor Hockey Association, says on their website that kids in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge and Lake of Bays have ice time again this Thanksgiving weekend.
But on and off the ice in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Baysville play is under strict public health guidelines with contact tracing, screening and management protocols.
All players must be signed in by their team manager and fill out a Google contact safety form.
Players in Gravenhurst must come dressed in their hockey equipment and put their skates on the bench; only one dressing room is reserved for goalies to suit up.
In Bracebridge dressing rooms are open but with a limit of six players.
No parents of spectators will be allowed.
And medical masks must be worn at all time — except by players on the ice who must wear cages of face shields in play.
Only 30 players, coaches, managers and officials are allowed in the rink at one time.
And everyone must come and go 15 minutes before and after ice time.
See more of their guidelines at:
https://southmuskokaminorhockey.com/Public/Documents/SMMHA_Return_to_Hockey_Plan.pdf
MUSKOKA LUMBERJACKS:
Meanwhile, the Muskoka Lumberjacks — an upstart, elite level minor hockey tournament hockey program based in Huntsville that was to start this fall, has pushed back its start to the spring.
Team manager Bryan Boshold says in a couple emails today, Oct. 6, that the new team of 2011 birth-year players will commence play in the spring of 2021 thanks to the sponsorship of Griffith’s Brothers Towing and Double Diamond Farms.
He says the team has already confirmed tournaments in Montreal (Montreal Meltdown) and Niagara Falls (Niagara Bauer Hockey Challenge); two of the largest spring hockey tournaments in eastern North America he says.
Boshold says the team was initially developed for tournament play in the United States, but as a result of the coronavirus will look to the future for U.S. tournament play in many of the major markets there.
“The team will be searching for elite 2011 birth-year players to represent our area at the upcoming tournaments,” he says.
The team is based out of Huntsville, but he hopes facilities with available ice time within Muskoka will have to be utilized to practice.
He says that can’t be done until the early spring due to Hockey Canada and local health restrictions currently in place.
Boshold says in a follow-up response: “Our management team has identified some players within the region that have a unique skill-set, but no official roster has been completed yet.”
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