Programming Update
We are pleased to provide an update on our discussions with Uxbridge township with regards to the Arena. We had a very productive meeting this morning with Mayor Barton, Councillor Garrod and Councillor Popp along with staff from the town. The town has been very receptive to working with us on a plan to re-open the rink for the upcoming season. We still have work to do with regards to joint health protocols, schedules, and the financial impact based on the guidelines of operating under COVID. The most important outcome for today is North Durham Minor Hockey and the working group from Uxbridge Township are aligned on the importance of re-opening the rink for all user groups involved. We will keep you posted on progress as it develops.
We are hopeful that both Arenas will be ready to go by the end of the month, this is not a guarantee but is our current hope and appears quite possible. This will allow us to move into our Tiered hockey programs. OMHA guidelines require 2 weeks of development (practice) prior to game play so the opportunity for coaches to help players get back into game shape and shake off the rust is built into our revised plan. We will not be able to do the 8 sessions of Sept/Oct development and the $80 that was paid will be applied to your future registration fees. If you do not plan to continue with the tiered recreational program, you can request a refund on the North Durham website under the Registration tab and clicking on Refund Request.
The board is actively working on many facets of our return to play plan, creating our cohorts/leagues, our schedules, developing our coaching groups, and volunteers are among many of our tasks. To assist us in doing this please if you haven't already - REGISTER for the upcoming season. We understand that there are still several unknowns, we are working to solidify our plans and communicate as quickly as possible details about the upcoming season. Two priorities that are near top of our list are fees for the season, and the schedule. We are currently working through the costs related to reduced rosters and other new factors. North Durham hockey is committed to providing the lowest possible cost that we can for the coming season so please be patient, we will update all members with fees related to the level of play your player will be playing as soon as we can. The schedule is also a top priority but is a challenge, we are working closely with staff from both Arenas to create as much usable ice as possible, the amount of ice is dependent largely on how we manage the safety guidelines of each facility and numbers of players in each cohort. Again, we will be providing additional information as soon as we can.
The Board is confident that we will have players on the ice in both center's starting in early October. There are factors that of course could affect this regarding the province at large and the return to school. We will continue our planning and our contingency planning with the full intent to offer fun, safe, and instructional hockey programming for the kids of our committees.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
The North Durham Minor Hockey Association