Return to Play Important Update - Revised Dates
*Hockey Edmonton has revised the starts dates for returning to league play. See revisions below in bold.
The Sturgeon Hockey Club is pleased to announce that our U11-U15 divisions will be returning to Edmonton Federation Hockey League (EFHL) for a modified competition season beginning November 7th for U11, U13 and November 14th for U15.
The SHC Executive voted unanimously for our U11-U15 divisions to join league play following the release of Hockey Alberta and Hockey Edmonton’s announcement to transition to the next phase of their Return to Hockey Component. Hockey Edmonton had requested that all interlock associations commit to league play within the EFHL with a modified competition season consisting of an 18 game schedule within League Tiering Grouping Play. In U11-U13, tiered groupings will consist of three teams per cohort of up to 16 players while U15 groupings will consist of two teams per cohort with full teams of 17 to 19 players with multiple games played within one week and operated as a mini-league of 10-12 teams. Teams will be required to wait 14 days before the mix of new cohort teams within the mini-league but are permitted to practice as a team in isolation during that time. Coaches and referees will not be part of cohorts in order to allow the maximum number of players in the tiered groupings so they will be required to wear masks on the ice, bench, and in dressing rooms.
As part of SHC’s Return to Play plan, evaluations will begin for U11-U15 next week in order to properly form tiered teams for league play. Practice slots will be used for skill evaluations and game slots will be used for scrimmage evaluations. All level directors will be ensuring that team practice plans are consistent across each division for evaluations. Evaluations will be completed by October 22nd for U11-U13 and October 29th for U15 teams and the development phase for these divisions will be suspended to allow for a 14 day team isolation prior to joining their tiered grouping cohort within Hockey Edmonton mini-leagues. We ask members to be patient waiting for practice schedules as they will only be released 2-3 weeks in advance for the time being with the changes involved moving from development to league play. The SHC Executive voted unanimously to keep our U9 division within our Association for the 2020-21 season for development.
*Hockey Edmonton requires finalized team numbers from SHC by October 8th, therefore any players trying out for Sting U15AA, HSL or any other AA program will unfortunately not have a spot to play with SHC if they are cut after this date.
The health and safety of our players and their families still remains our primary concern as we transition into this next phase of our Return to Play plan as determined by Alberta Health Services and Hockey Alberta. Health checks will still be administered at the team level to ensure AHS COVID-19 protocols are being adhered to and SHC members will need to be mindful of all arena facility safety guidelines in Edmonton and surrounding areas. It is important to note that Hockey Edmonton has proposed a limit of only one adult per family to be allowed into some of their older arena facilities (no siblings or extended family permitted). As we are currently in a constantly changing environment and as new rules and regulations are updated by our governing authorities, all plans are subject to change based on orders from the Chief Medical Officer, the Province of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, Hockey Alberta and Hockey Edmonton.
Thank you to all of our members for your patience and flexibility during this unprecedented time as we prepare for our players to return to league play. We appreciate your support while we work to ensure the best plan is put forward for all of our members.
-SHC Executive
