Richmond Jets Return To Hockey
Dear Members,
The City of Richmond has planned for its phased reopening of Ice Rinks on August 24th. We have been working hard with the city and other user groups to get our ice rinks opened as soon as possible. Everyone involved shares the same passion for community sports, but safety must remain our top priority as we plan our “Return to Play.”
Stage 1
- August 24
- 2 Rinks at the Richmond Ice Centre will be opened and shared between user groups. Minoru and the other rinks at the Ice Centre will open during the next phases.
- Ice allocation will be given to the Richmond Jets by the end of the week.
- We are planning a pilot project with our Bantam age group to ensure all our safety protocols are in place.
- Tim Preston will be coordinating with our developers and coaches to ensure they are all trained and informed of the Richmond Jets COVID-19 safety protocols on the ice and at the rink.
- No parents or spectators will be allowed at RIC.
- Change Rooms will be closed.
Stage 2
- AT THE EARLIEST END OF AUGUST
- The City of Richmond will begin to open the remaining 3 to 4 rinks at the Richmond Ice Centre.
- The Jets will begin to schedule groups/teams of more age groups on the ice to begin skills & development sessions.
- The month of September will be focused on skills and development.
- No parents or spectators will be allowed at RIC.
- Change Rooms will be closed.
Stage 3
- Start date TBD.
- Minoru Ice Rinks will open (only if City sees that user groups are adhering to COVID-19 safety rules).
- The Jets will begin to schedule groups/teams on the ice to begin skills & development sessions.
- The month of September will be focused on skills and development.
- Team Formation.
- Use of Change Rooms TBD.
- Spectators TBD.
Team Formation
We are currently working on a team formation and evaluation plan. This plan will take into consideration the COVID-19 restrictions that are currently in place around games and combat drills.
- Rep and House players will be placed into development groups
- Players will be evaluated during their practices, skill development and scrimmage sessions (Stage 3)
- As guidelines permit and we transition to stage 3, we will introduce game play and scrimmages to the team formation process.
- COVID guidelines do not permit any body contact and strictly discourage close physical contact.
PCAHA League Play and Sanctioned Games
PCAHA has released its Return to Hockey Newsletter #1. You can view it on the PCAHA website. Please remember that this plan is fluid and could change in an instant and is heavily dependent on our COVID-19 numbers moving forward.
Kind, Calm, and Safe
A few points to remember moving forward with our season:
- We are ALL volunteers working hard so that your child can play minor hockey
- Our first priority is to get kids back on the ice safely
- Our second priority is to ensure that our kids are having fun on the ice
- We need ALL parents to FOLLOW THE RULES (or we lose our ice from the city)
- We need ALL HANDS ON DECK in terms of volunteering this season
- It will take a village to make this season run smoothly and safely
- Ask yourself, HOW CAN I HELP? and then contact don.soo@richmondjetsmha.com
- BE PATIENT WITH US!
Regards,
Your Board of Directors