Minor hockey coach says children realize new COVID restrictions are all about safety
When it comes to minor hockey, Jared Harman has no problem finding the positive.
“I think for us it's still a relief that the kids can get out on the ice,” Harman, an under-11 coach with Semiahmoo, said when asked about new provincial health restrictions that put teams back in practice-only mode because of a rise in COVID-19 cases across B.C.
“The kids like the games. My son (Colton) was really excited when the games came back. At the same time, it's not the end of the world to him if we're not going to have games for a while.
“In a weird way, I think the kids most of all realize that this is about trying to keep them safe. If this happening right now means they're safer, I think they're all for it.”
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Wednesday that minor sports would be going back into Phase 2 of the return-toplay protocols created by ViaSport, the government agency in charge of sport.
The written order came out Thursday.
Just over a month ago, minor hockey teams in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions had been in Phase 3, which allows for rival associations to play in cohorts of up to four teams.
They were moved back into Phase 2, which doesn't allow for traditional games and is supposed to feature practices with drills that emphasize physical distancing, in early November, and then were moved a couple of weeks ago to a Phase 3 hybrid that allowed for games, but only against teams in your own association.
There can be some confusion regarding what's permitted with Phase 2. The ViaSport sport activity chart states that “in-club or modified games may slowly be introduced” in that period. The return-to-play protocol further clarifies it elsewhere, though, stating that “activities that cannot maintain physical distancing (including contact activities),” are not permitted at Phase 2.
“I think people get it. I think people get that we're all supposed to chill out going into the holidays,” said Cameron Hope, B.C. Hockey's CEO.
“Most of our teams had voluntarily gone back to Phase 2 before the written order came out. I think everybody has been willing to just take a breath.”
Harman added: “When the gates opened up in the fall, everyone knew there was a fear of a second wave coming around Christmas time and things might get pulled back. This is not too surprising.”
B.C. Soccer sent out an email to its members saying that “in-club distancing training,” was now the limit for its youth teams and “physical distance is now classified as three metres.”
Henry also suspended all indoor and outdoor sports for those 19 years of age and older. No timeline on the order was given.
She has said there are concerns about post-game gatherings for adult sports causing transmissions. She also mentioned Wednesday that a men's hockey team from the Interior had travelled to Alberta, and now, upon the players' return, “there are dozens of people who are infected and it has spread in the community.”
She declined to name the team. Men's teams aren't required to be members of B.C. Hockey. Hope said Thursday he didn't know which team might be involved.
Henry's written order on Thursday named 23 adult sports to be suspended, including hockey, soccer, basketball and volleyball.
There was some confusion about some of the messaging before Thursday's written announcement.
Curl B.C., for instance, posted on its website Wednesday that it wanted a clarification of Henry's remarks because “at this time, it is unclear whether curling has been suspended.”
On Thursday, they posted an update, saying that adult curling (19 and up) needs to be on pause.
“We must remember that none of this is anyone's fault. We all banded together and created strict safety protocols ... But there are many things we don't understand about this virus. And as Dr. Bonnie Henry has said, the protocols that we thought were enough two or three months ago are turning out to not be enough. It is heart-wrenching, but it is our reality.”