The sounds of blades carving ice and pucks banking off boards are sure signs of winter in Toronto as is the fight amongst minor hockey organizations for ice time at the city’s rinks.
But as it has with so many other organized events, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the prospect of on-ice competition this year anything but a certainty. That has been particularly true at the house league level, where teams generally play once a week at a calibre meant to be lighter on competitiveness but heavy on fun.
Already two of the city’s leagues have chosen to forego their 2020-21 house league seasons, and many more are said to be considering the same.
Earlier this week both the Amesbury/Bert Robinson Minor Hockey League and the East York Hockey Association announced their house league programs would take the season off.
In a statement on its website, the EYHA told parents, “the focus of our league has always been to provide our community’s children with a fun, healthy and safe hockey environment.”
“At this time, especially with the number of COVID cases rising and a second wave anticipated, we cannot foresee how that can be achieved at the rink and within the House League and Select environment,” the statement said.
The volunteer-run, non-profit leagues also insisted they just don’t have the staffing to comply with safety protocols set out by authorities.
“It just wasn’t worth taking that risk for the purposes of putting kids out on the ice for 45 minutes once a week,” Connie Smith, president of the EYHA, told Global News
Many of the city’s hockey clubs run their house leagues independently but also have A, AA and AAA teams in the competitive tier of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). The GTHL is also responsible for setting guidelines for pandemic-safe play in Toronto.
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Scott Oakman, the GTHL’s executive director, said the league tried to strike a good balance that would allow leagues across the city to stay in action, but “we want people to make the right decisions for the right reasons and if they’re not able to proceed then we support them.”
With more resources, the GTHL is going ahead with its modified seasons. In a Friday afternoon news conference, Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa told reporters “we have yet to have conversations with those affected parties,” specifically mentioning the GTHL.
De Villa said team sports has been shown to be a vector for the spread of the virus, adding she thinks it’s worth a discussion with the city’s main competitive minor hockey league.
In league statements explaining why the seasons are being cancelled, the EYHA and ABRMHL also cite “an increasingly litigious environment regarding the club’s liability” as a concern.
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In June, the Government of British Columbia eased liability on amateur sports organizations whose athletes contract the virus as long as the organization followed provincial pandemic protocols. However, such protections do not currently exist in Ontario.
“We are aware of the concern within the sector related to potential liability issues around COVID-19 and the order introduced in British Columbia for liability protection,” said Denelle Balfour, a spokesperson with Ontario’s Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. In an email, she told Global News the ministry is “currently exploring this issue with partner ministries.”
For organizations like the Scarborough Hockey Association, still weighing whether to go ahead with the upcoming season, such protections would help to an extent, said league president Ed Wahl.
“If somebody goes home and happens to catch COVID at the arena … and visit their grandparents or another elderly member of their family and somebody gets very sick, it’s not only a liability issue, it’s a moral issue,” he said.
Wahl said the SHA hopes to give parents a final decision on the season by Nov. 1.
The good news for kids whose house leagues have been cancelled is that Toronto has no intra-city boundary rules. They are free to play in any other house league in the city. Those still going ahead with their seasons, like the Leaside Hockey Association, said they’ve already had inquiries from East York and Amesbury parents.
“If we’ve got the ice and the ability to safely take on those players to get them on the ice they’re more than welcome,” said organization president Susan Irving.
Leaside, like many of the city’s house leagues, has yet to announce exactly what on-ice changes will be made to help keep kids safe while they play, but Irving said an announcement will be made soon.