HOCKEY WINNIPEG DIRECTIVE – JANUARY 30, 2021

Effective January 30, 2021 the Board of Directors and Executive Members of Hockey Winnipeg have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the 2020/2021 Regular Hockey Season and Playoffs.  This directive excludes those teams that participate in provincially run leagues.

It has always been the hope of Hockey Winnipeg to return to scheduled league play, however the current restrictions, timelines and ice availability does not make that feasible.  This decision is not closing the door on hockey this year, just Hockey Winnipeg regular season and playoff games.  This will allow for Area Associations within Hockey Winnipeg to provide local programming for the balance of the season as public health restrictions may allow.

Hockey Winnipeg and our Area Associations will be working to provide fair refunds to our members over the next few months.  The refunds will be pro-rated based upon the amount of activity that has taken place and what activity can be offered at the local level once restrictions allow. Some fees are not recoverable (such as tryout fees where tryouts have taken place, player insurance, etc.) and those fees will not be refunded.  Should refunds be provided, they will be distributed to members by the end date of a typical hockey season which is April 30th, 2021.

The Board of Directors and Executive Members of Hockey Winnipeg did not take this decision lightly and it is with heavy hearts and after lengthy discussion that we share this directive.  We would like to thank our members for being patient throughout this trying season and we regret the premature end of the 2020/2021 hockey season. We plan to support our Area Associations as much as possible with locally run programming.

Chris Hall, President – Hockey Winnipeg

Ian McArton, Executive Director – Hockey Winnipeg

Ian McArton

Executive Director, Hockey Wpg

executivedirector@hockeywinnipeg.ca  

www.hockeywinnipeg.ca  

Congratulations to the WH U9A1 Red and U10A1 Red teams!!  

From November 23rd to December 23rd  these players were challenged to  take 100 shots per day anywhere they could (on their driveway, in their basement on their outdoor rink or in their garage) track their results and collect pledges for each day that they completed the task.

These 26 kids took over 80,000 shots and raised a staggering  $21,345.00 to help support Ronald McDonald House.  

What a great way to keep the kids busy and support a great cause.    Great job everyone!!

https://www.rmhcmanitoba.org/how-you-can-help/hockey-heroes-program

Many thanks to Scotiabank for their generous donation to APHA!

It is greatly appreciated.

HOCKEY WINNIPEG COMMUNICATION – JANUARY 14, 2021

In accordance with the extension to January 22nd, 2021 of the Public Heath Orders that have paused Minor Hockey since October 31st, 2020, Hockey Winnipeg would like to update the community and our members with our current position.

At this point in time, Hockey Winnipeg and it’s ten Minor Hockey Associations are committed to providing our members with organized minor hockey programming at such time as the public health orders will permit.  Once the public health orders allow group sports to resume and indoor sports facilities to re-open, Hockey Winnipeg will assess the existing restrictions and implement appropriate programming through our Area Associations. Our priority is to engage the youth in our community in safe, fun and beneficial activities. We are not willing to abandon minor hockey programs for our membership this year.

The question has been raised in the community about refunding registration and team fees.  It is still the hope of Hockey Winnipeg to put those fees to good use for programming this season.  We are not able to issue refunds at this point in time, but the Executive of Hockey Winnipeg is committed to providing fair refunds to our members once we are able to determine exactly what can be done in terms of our program length and content.

Hockey Winnipeg would like to encourage all of our members to continue to practice the fundamentals of safety during this pandemic and we would like to remind everyone to put the safety of your community first over the coming weeks.  We will get though this and get back to the sport we love soon.

Ian McArton

Executive Director, Hockey Winnipeg

Join THE RINK Coaches as they guide you through presentations on:

Skating

Shooting

Goalie Skill Development

See document below for further information

OCTOBER 30, 2020 – UPDATE FROM HOCKEY WINNIPEG

There has been an update from the Government of Manitoba. It reads:

The Winnipeg Metropolitan region will move to the Critical level (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System effective Monday, November 2nd. The following measures will be put in place:

Sports and Recreation Activities

• All recreational facilities, group sports, arcades, bowling, etc. Suspended.
• All indoor and outdoor sports facilities closed.

Hockey Winnipeg is implementing the following directives:

• Effective Saturday, October 31st ALL Hockey Winnipeg sanctioned activities must cease and are postponed until further notice
• This is including but not limited to: practices, development sessions, games, exhibition games, dryland workouts and team functions
• Hockey Winnipeg teams are NOT permitted to travel outside the city to participate in any hockey activities
• These directives apply to all levels of play within Hockey Winnipeg including U18 AAA
• A number of facilities are already closed in Winnipeg.  Before going to the rink tonight please check to see if your facility is still open.

Hockey Winnipeg would like to encourage our members to follow the Provincial guidelines, the sooner we can stop the spread of Covid-19 the sooner we can get back to the rink.

When more information becomes available regarding a return to sanctioned activity it will be shared at that time.

Regards,

Ian McArton

As we continue to navigate through the challenges presented to us, I would ask that you get the message out to all of your participants about rink protocol. Please ensure that you forward this message out to ALL of your coaches at ALL levels. Please also insist that they forward this information on to ALL PARENTS.

Since this differs from rink to rink, our message is very clear and will apply to all rinks.

Only 1 parent/spectator per player will be permitted.

Arrive just prior to game time and remain in your seat with your mask on the entire time unless using the washroom.

****DO NOT STAND AROUND CHATTING IN THE LOBBY.

You are there to watch the game/practice - not to socialize or congregate in groups in the lobby. You are either in the rink in your seat, in the washroom, or in your car. There are NO OTHER OPTIONS.****

After the ice time, leave the rink and building and wait in your car for your child without congregating in groups outside of the entrance. The exception to this is obviously younger kids that require assistance.

***This applies to all levels of hockey Male and Female A, AA and AAA.***

The rink staff will not be walking around to enforce rules and get into confrontations, however they WILL report non compliance and that WILL put us at risk of losing our ice privileges' and risk losing our season.

Let's all remember that this is about the children and the many benefits associated with them being active. It is IMPERATIVE that we all follow these rules and enforce compliance at ALL facilities.

.The APHA store will be open due to popular demand

Go to the link below for further information and to order

Your Winter Hawks (male) and Polar Bear (female) gear!

Due to Covid restrictions, we are not allowed to do sizing days so please

contact Kahunaverse directly with any questions.

https://polarbear2020.itemorder.com/sale

https://winterhawks2020.itemorder.com/sale

The True North Youth Foundation is excited to announce a Hockey Equipment Rental Service to low income families or families who simply can’t afford a set of hockey equipment for the upcoming season.

We will be offering this service at a cost of $100 with a $50 deposit being returned when the equipment is returned in good condition. That’s only $50 for a full set of hockey equipment for a full season!

We will also have an option to purchase a hockey stick for only $20 and a mouthguard for only $5.

Here is the link for registration on our website

https://tnyf.campbrainregistration.com/ 

  Here families can register to rent a set of hockey equipment, pay, and sign up for an equipment fitting session at the BellMTS Iceplex. We will be running this program from September 14th to October 18th with equipment being returned at the end of the season.

This is our first year offering this service and we hope to continue to offer it each season and expand on it! We are finalizing our waiver and registration process and hope to launch this Monday, September 14, 2020.

Feel free to pass this information to families who may be in need of this service or people you think would be interested.

More information to come!

Congratulations to the Atom A1 Polar Bears 

The mission of the APHA hockey program is to make sure that our children have fun while learning skills that will help them enjoy a lifetime of hockey and develop into complete individuals. Our reward for taking on this challenge is more children playing and staying in hockey.