Sask. Hockey Association working on plan to hit the ice this season

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) says it is working with the province and the provincial health authority on a return to hockey plan for the upcoming season.

KellyMcClintock, general manager with the SHA, said the association hasbeen working on the plan for months,but that it'sstill too early to have a date for when teams canbegin playing actual games.

What the SHA and the governmenthave agreed on is that teams can practise under what they are calling a "training" phase.

The SHA says senior and junior teams can be formed, registered and hold practices,but no games of any kind will be sanctioned.

The training phasewill usea 30/50 model, where 30 people will be allowed on the ice with 20 more off the ice, bringingthe total to a maximum of 50. This model does not includespectators, who will be allowed in the stands only if physical distancing is possible.

"We wanted to give them a little bit of hope that hockey still can be played," McClintock said.

Contact tracing in the rink

Each team will be expectedto designateone person to be the "team expert" on the guidelines and to keep detailed notes on who is attending each session to help with contact tracing.

"Organizers must keep a record of attendees. All players, spectators, staff, and volunteers should be provided with a sign-in on arrival option, with name, phone number and/or email to facilitate contact tracing, if necessary," the SHA said.

Attendance records must be kept for at least a month and can only be used for the purposes of COVID-19 contact tracing. The SHA also asks that people don't use a communalpen.

Teams will still be allowed to bring inplayers from outside of their community, with no new restrictions on where they can come from.

Liability insurance

The SHA says it has liability coverage forpotential lawsuits thatincludes pandemics, but that may not be the case for individual arenas. Hockey Canada advises municipalities to check their policies.

British Columbia hasimplemented legislationpreventing people from suing municipalities if they have contracted the virus. Saskatchewan has not enacted a similar law.

Mask usage

As for mask use, the SHA isfollowing federal guidelines, which state "mask use is recommended for periods of time when it's not possible to consistently maintain a two-metre physical distance from others".

Tournaments and out-of province travel

The SHA is continuing to temporarily ban hockey tournaments. The association says it is working with the government and the Saskatchewan Health Authority to determine a date for tournaments.

The same goes for out-of-province travel. McClintock said SHAwill bereassessing this as the situation evolves, but not to expect any changes until 2021.

McClintocksaid he knows people can't wait to see their local rinks reopen but that he's "been trying to preach patience."