Jan 19, 2021 | Rick Stevens | 2109 views
President's Message
Hello members,
The schedules have been changed on our web site regarding our current season. At this point we won't be back on the ice until February 11, 2021.
We wanted to give you an update on our hockey situation and the status of the current season and next season.
On Tuesday January 12th, the Ontario Hockey Federation held an on-line meeting with its member partners and the clubs. It was to provide information on the 2020-2021 season and the 2021-2022 season. All of this information was released on a Hockey level as local governments and public health units will guide any return to youth Hockey.
The OHF has extended the Hockey season until May 31, 2021. This extension is later than when a regular season/year ends and allows for Hockey to be played if regions/PHU(public health units) enter a provincial safety zone that allows for youth Hockey to return. The form of Hockey that is allowed to take place will be determined by safety protocols in each area. This decision does not make running Hockey programs mandatory, it simply gives an option to return for the remainder of this season.
The OHF have advised us the following...
1. Try-outs will be pushed to the fall. A return to Hockey next season in the competitive divisions will require that players have a chance to hit the ice before try-outs in a PREP phase. So essentially kids will be given access to ice time before we move into the phase of TRY-OUTS.
2. A DEVELOPMENT phase will then take place before moving into the REGULAR SEASON and PLAY-OFFS. The goal for next season is to have shorter play-offs more like a tournament style competition so that all players can have a similar length of regular season.
3. House league programs will be able to start their programming on the first day the competitive programs start their PREP phase. The start date for the 2021-2022 season will be determined by our board.
Your senior Executive approached the Town of Orangeville Councilors and applied for the ice fees to be reduced for the remainder of this season in hope that we are able to get back on the ice. This would allow our season to run longer than we normally operate. We will advise the outcome as soon as we can.
We would like to thank you for your support and hope that you are doing well. We look forward to the day we return to the rink and can see you in person!
OMH Executive