Just a few days after BC Hockey League commissioner Chris Hebb penned a letter to the league鈥檚 fans thanking them for their continued patience and support 鈥� while noting that the current restrictions 鈥渉ave made things difficult for us,鈥� 鈥� the province has adjusted its restrictions that kept some players off the ice.
On Monday, viaSport announced that the province has modified its rules around adult sports, allowing junior hockey players 22 and under to practise together. Under the previous rules, junior players aged 19-21 had been banned from training with their younger teammates, as the November-issued health order lumped those older players in with other adults playing recreational sports, which were suspended under the order.
With those health orders in place, the league announced it was pushing the start of its new season into January, from its previous start date of mid-December.
The revised rules have changed 鈥渁dult team sport鈥� 鈥� which previously lumped in the older juniors 鈥� to now read as 鈥済roup sport鈥� and does not include 鈥渟port for children or youth, varsity sport or high-performance athlete sport.鈥�
鈥淕roup sport (i.e. sport for those 22 years of age or older) is only permitted in groups of up to two people (e.g. singles tennis or an athlete and a coach training session). Outdoor group sport is only permitted in groups of up to four people (e.g. four individuals may run together or four individuals could run soccer drills),鈥� the statement from viaSport reads.
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Individuals are allowed to travel to their home club 鈥渇or the purpose of sport鈥� and those determined to be 鈥渉igh performance athletes鈥� in other sports, not just hockey, have also received an exemption, under viaSport鈥檚 revised conditions.
The move means that BCHL, Western Hockey League and junior 鈥楤鈥� teams can resume full-team practices now that the holiday break is coming to a close.
On Christmas Eve, Hebb, a Semiahmoo Peninsula resident, posted a letter on the BCHL鈥檚 website thanking fans and others involved in the league for their patience, while also noting that 鈥渁lthough there have been numerous obstacles along the way, we continue to be committed to this goal and will push forward with the best interests of our players and fans in mind.鈥�
Hebb expressed optimism that the league would be able to start up with games 鈥渟ooner rather than later鈥� as a result of the ongoing vaccine roll-out and the league鈥檚 鈥渆ffective safety plan.鈥� Between late summer, when teams began gathering for an extended training camp, and mid-November, there were just two reported COVID-19 cases in the BCHL 鈥� , and one .
The league鈥檚 continued stance has been that it intends to play a regular-season in some form, albeit an abbreviated one.
鈥淲e know everyone is looking for certainty, but unfortunately, in a pandemic, that is in short supply鈥� We are not here to give false hope, but we feel that waiting it out, rather than throwing in the towel, is the best chance we have,鈥� Hebb writes.
The current provincial health order expires Jan. 8.
On Dec. 30, a new statement on the BCHL鈥檚 website said the league will wait until that date 鈥渢o see if any other restrictions are lifted that will allow the BCHL to commence its regular season later in the month.鈥�
sports@peacearchnews.com
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