“Hockey Manitoba has a plan, and Minor Hockey has a plan based on that,” Swanson explained, “and we are following that plan. Right now, we’re looking at starting up the ice plant in the first part of October, with the hope of getting people on the ice in the middle or end of October.”
She said they wanted to see how the kids going back to school went before they started any definite moves.
Hockey Manitoba has released a Return to Play Plan, which like all such documents for getting back to normal during COVID, is a lengthy and detailed screed. It specifies different aspects of returning to play hockey, including dressing room protocols. With youth players, only one parent or guardian of a player can be in the dressing room. There will be no sharing of water bottles. Different numbers of players are allowed in a room depending on size. Rooms must be thoroughly cleaned before use. The moves are similar to every other aspect of life in 2020.
Right now, Hockey Manitoba is in Phase 2 of the reopening, which was approved on August 12. This means players can go on the ice, practice skills and do drills (with no contact), and have try-outs for teams. No games have been approved at this point.
At the arena, Swanson said they have set rules for user groups. These include not coming to the rink more than 15 minutes before going on the ice. Players will go to the dressing rooms to put on their skates and helmets, with the rest of their equipment already on. Only one parent/guardian can assist them, and they can stay in the bleachers during practice. They are only in for 15 minutes, and then are taken to the ice. They will have their normal practice time, and when done, will have 15 minutes to take off equipment and leave the building. The rink will be locked while a team is practicing, so no one else can come in. Only one team can use the rink at a time.
Swanson added they are getting a fogging machine to clean the dressing rooms and bleachers thoroughly after each use. Washing stations will be available and they are getting their directional decals for the floor. The rules are similar for figure skating.
“We are following the Hockey Manitoba rules, that is absolutely what we are doing.”
Boissevain Minor Hockey President Derek Kempthorne said it was a bit of a disappointing end to last season. Most of the teams were done their schedule by the time of the COVID shutdown in March, but it still was a little sudden.
“It was pretty abrupt,” Kempthorne stated. “It was kind of shocking, but there was not much anyone could do about it.”
Although there were a few assumptions people had about what would happen, Kempthorne said Hockey Manitoba came up with their Return to Play Plan with rules for players and facilities. It gave everyone a game plan to follow, with the ability to make a few changes to suit situations. Boissevain Minor Hockey took a look at what other jurisdictions were doing in order to get their plan together.
One of the new additions this year will be the communications officers. Kempthorne said each team in the hockey program would have someone to document everyone coming into the rink, including all of the participants. That way they can keep track of comings and goings in case something happens. These people will have to be put in place soon.
He said their format sees each team get two dressing rooms, so kids can space out. With only 15 minutes, Kempthorne says it is important for the younger kids in particular to come mostly dressed. Then they can hit the ice.
“Right now, it is just practices on the ice, going through drills and they limit you in some drills. We have a lot of guidelines we have to follow. They really lay it out and we want to make sure we get the facility up and running and follow the guidelines as we go.”
When asked if he felt the younger kids in particular would be able to follow the extensive rules, Kempthorne said they would have had a lot of practice by the time they hit the ice.
“I think with school looking different,” he explained, “they will be used to it. A lot of things will look different for them. Once we get out there and get going, we might have to break into smaller groups, but it won’t look too different once we get going.
As of now, no games or tournaments are scheduled. That would be in Phase 3. No time frame has been released for that yet. Some of the protocols listed have that phase in mind, and there will likely be others. Kempthorne said they have opened their registration now and will need to see the numbers to figure out how everything will be approached. This is especially true for any age group where the kids need to be paired with a neighbouring community. There are still a lot of questions that are unanswered and the situation seems to be ever changing. However, it seems everyone wants to get out on the ice.
“My kids are really excited to get out there. Some people thought we would not have hockey, but it looks like we will be able to ice some sort of season. How it starts will not be how it ends up, but the important part is to get the kids out on the ice, get some activity for them. We’re just glad something’s going.
Swanson agrees.
“Yes, I am glad it will be up and going,” she stated. “It is like the pool. We will do it as safely as we can, but it is important to get things up and running.”
To the west, in the Doc Bonar Memorial Arena in Deloraine, ice plant workers will be coming on September 28. Meetings were held with user groups September 10.

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff