Minor hockey league players will not see the remainder of their 2020-21 regular hockey season, including playoffs.
The board of directors and executive members of Hockey Winnipeg made the decision to cancel the remainder of the season on Saturday.
A statement from President Chris Hall and Executive Director Ian McArton said current restrictions, timelines and ice availability doesn’t make a season feasible.
The move allows for arena associations within Hockey Winnipeg to provide local programming for the balance of the season as long as public health restrictions allow it, the statement said.
Certain fees won’t be refunded, such as tryout fees where the tryout has already taken place, as well as player insurance.
Available refunds will be sent to members by the end of what would have been the regular season, April 30, 2021.
An earlier statement addressed the lack of refunds, stating it was still the hope of Hockey Winnipeg to put those fees to good use for programming, but weren’t able to issue refunds “at this point in time”.
As of Dec. 15, the Minor Hockey Association still had sights set on completing programs in 2021 and had extended its certification deadline for coaches, officials, managers and safety persons to Jan. 18, 2021.