Local Sports See Changes Due to COVID
By Mallorie Rast
With back-to-school and a new season of sports just around the corner, different sport organizations are still grappling with the effects of COVID-19 on their season structure.
Over on the ice, Kindersley Minor Sports is aiming to have as normal of a season as possible. “We are seeing parents and players ready to get back on the ice and start doing things again,” says Kindersley Minor Sports’ President Wade Boisjoli.
Boisjoli’s statement is backed by hockey and skating registration numbers that haven’t varied far from previous years. With the ice reinstalled in the West Central Events Centre, Speed Skaters and 3 on 3 groups will be using the ice for about 3 weeks in September before giving way to the hockey evaluations.
Boisjoli says that they are still waiting for the nod from the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) in order to set dates for the actual league start and game schedule, but in the meantime, KMS is putting safe practises in place such as social distancing and health screening. Boisjoli notes that these necessary procedures will become the new normal for children after the opening of schools, and predicted that after a while those procedures will not greatly impact the hockey season.
The Kindersley Klippers are also looking at a slightly different season as their season start date was set back two weeks in a recent announcement from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The original start date for the SJHL regular season was marked for September 26th, and then with tough decisions over COVID-19 regulations, that date has been pushed back to October 9th. It is hoped that by that date, enough plans will be in place for as normal of a season as possible, considering all factors. Despite this delay in the season’s start, there has been no announcement to change the original plan of 58 games.
Kindersley Soccer is currently considering the factors involved in an indoor soccer season for 2020-2021 before deciding if the season is possible or not. At this point, the organization is reliant on using a school gym in order to host the season, and so far has not been able to get this access due to COVID restrictions. More information will be reported as it comes available.
In the meantime, the organization is hosting a 4-week program during the month of September with the focus on building individual skills, an approach that naturally lends itself to compliance with COVID regulations.
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