RED Zone Announcement to NMHA members
Membership,
As you are all aware, our ever-changing situation continues to
evolve with the most recent announcement from the Province of
Ontario, placing York Region into the CONTROL Zone (RED).
The Executive of the NMHA has met with each provincial announcement and taken all information into account. This has been necessary for us to make informed decisions on the best course of action moving forward for our Association. These factors have included:
1. Ice that is available along with the cost,
2. Membership opinions and their concerns at both Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels,
3. Provincial/Regional/Municipal Health Guidelines that must be strictly followed,
4. Hockey Canada/OHF/OMHA Guidelines that must be followed,
5. Perhaps most importantly, the Association's financial stability....both in the short-term and long-term.
There will never be a perfect answer that satisfies the entire membership. However, we can tell you that we have debated long and hard with many varying opinions on all potential options moving forward. All the while doing our best take into account the responsible interests of all our members.
Ultimately, the potential financial implications, along with ensuring that as many of our members as possible can remain on the ice, means that we will continue with the current team programming moving forward, but only with one 50 minute ice slot each week.
What does this mean for the NMHA moving forward?
- Teams and coaching staff will remain the same as originally rostered (as this past week was & start of the season)
- No spectators are currently allowed into the facilities, we are at a hard cap of 10 participants within the ice facility which includes a mandatory coach and trainer.
- All teams will be on the ice for a ‘training’ session only once per week,
- Teams with more than eight players will be required to sit-out players on a rotating basis (including goalies)
- There will be NO games or scrimmages permitted at all during this stage. Only training or practices as per the definition by our Public Health Unit.
- These changes will be effective Monday, November 16th @ 12:01 a.m.
- This plan allows us the most flexibility moving forward with any other adjustments, while protecting the financial implications of not needing to add more ice costs. With a very good chance we will be running a deficit this year, adding the expense of additional ice costs is not an option at this time.
- One parent of ages groups at U11 and below will still be permitted to enter the facility with their child to tie skates (no parent permitted for U11 and above combined age groups/divisions). Then, must exit the arena until the ice session is over. (*we are trying to clarify this with the Town and our local Health Unit - will update if and when we can)
Thank you for your patience and understanding during these times. We are committed to providing ice time for all our players in a safe and fun environment, regardless of how long this lasts.
~ NMHA Executive