Hello Thunder Families, Welcome to 2020/21 season. As everyone has faced and are still facing challenges in our community dealing with Covid-19, we are facing the same challenges with the return to hockey.
This year will be difficult to manage but our executive board and staff are committed to providing an opportunity for anyone that wishes to get back on the ice with a safe, fun, challenging place to do so. Our hope is all our families can come together and overcome these challenges to make this an enjoyable season for all our players. The Ontario Hockey Federation OHF who governs Canadian hockey and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association OMHA who is our governing body, have released the return to play guidelines (posted on our website). Using these guidelines and working with the other minor hockey associations in Haldimand, we have come up with a plan for the upcoming season. Please remember this will not be traditional hockey that we have played in the past and is a work in progress. We have tried to come up with a plan that will meet all the necessary guidelines and provide a great season for all our players. One of the many challenges that we will face together is COST! Teams have been mandated to be smaller (10 players per team) and compete within small bubble/cohorts of 50. This ultimately will drive the cost of ice per player way up. When we break down the cost of ice time, referees, jerseys, Insurance, affiliation to The OHF/OMHA and all operating costs, combined with the fact that we have less opportunity to recoup those cost in a traditional manner we are forced to look at how much to charge. In a hope to allow any who wishes to return to hockey we have ultimately decided not to raise fees this year. We will work together with cost cutting, fundraising, sponsorships, and possible grants to try and offset the costs for this year. Any loses occurred this year will be addressed next season. If any one is interested in sponsorship or have fundraising ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact Lisa Turner
[email protected] or any board member. Here are the highlights of our plan: Associations- Cayuga, Hagersville, Caledonia, Dunnville This will be Non traditional programing until we reach stage 4 of the return to play framework as set out by the OMHA Teams will consist of 9 skaters and 1 goalie. Players will only be allowed to play on 1 team and there will be no affiliation. Teams will play in a bubble/cohort of 5 teams. Maximum 50 players. Season will begin October 1st 2020. The first 2 weeks of the season will be skill development only. Game play of 3 on 3 will begin October 19th and run until December 18th. There will be a 14-day break from December 19th until January 1st. at this time our organizations will evaluate the state of hockey, possibly reorganize bubble/cohorts and the stage of return to play. If there are no changes, we will continue January 2nd with the current set up. Each age division will be divided into three tiers based on last seasons rosters and skill sets. Tier 1 – Will be made up of Rep/Ae players. 1 bubble of 5 teams (Cayuga, Caledonia 1, Caledonia 2, Hagersville, Dunville) Tier 2 – will be made up of Rep/AE/LL players. 1 bubble of 5 teams (Cayuga, Caledonia 1, Caledonia 2, Hagersville, Dunville) Tier 3 – will consist of LL Players. Multiple bubbles as needed Team formation will be by CDMHA and coaches. There will be no try outs or evaluations on ice. The return to play will operate under OMHA guidelines, Haldimand-Norfolk public health unit and Haldimand Facility guidelines and will be communicated prior to the start of the season. *Currently only 1 spectator is permitted to accompany a player in the arena. Players must come dressed. Dressing rooms are not available. Players must wear masks into the arena (not on the ice). There will be chairs available to put skates on. These are Haldimand county facility rules and must be followed to participate. Updates to these rules we be communicated as they are provided to us. Registration is now open. Teams and bubbles will be formed on approximately September 17th. Please be patient as we work with the other association to finalize all the details. Any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to ask. Brent Fehrman CDMHA president