Vegreville News Advertiser - February 10, 2021

Page 11

february 10, 2021

News Advertiser PAGE 11

www.NewsAdvertiser.com

Vegreville Minor Hockey Cancels Remainder of the Season Michelle Pinon meant nothing to anyone.’’ News Advertiser Drayden van der Torre, who spent The Province’s recent decision many years with Vegreville Minor not to allow team sports to be Hockey, tried out for the Fort played has caused resounding Saskatchewan AAA U-16 team this anger and bitter disappointment season and was selected to play there. from players and parents. He said, ‘’I think that it is maddening As far as the sport of hockey that and this will be an entire year of lost means around 150 kids from development and will impact many Vegreville and surrounding area people’s skill levels. I think it will VMHA President Tina Warawa will no longer be able to play the impact future years because it will take game they love. It’s a hard pill to swallow and one a while to get everyone back in shape, (especially that will have side effects now and in the future. with the inability to access training) and bring the Sixteen-year-old Colby Warawa, who played on pace of the game back to the normal level. This the U-18 team, was discouraged to hear the news will hopefully not have a lasting impact on my and reacted by stating, ‘’ I wish I would have future years in hockey and I’m hoping that this known that our season would not go ahead but I will all go under the rug and the world can feel like we waited and waited and now private unpause.’’ training can happen but we still wait. Tina Warawa, who serves as the President of the I know my friends and I would have followed any Vegreville Minor Hockey Association, said the safety regulations just to be able to play. Teenagers decision to cancel the rest of the season on January complain about things like masks but we did it just 31 was very difficult because many families were to get to play. One of our favorite things is talking holding our hope they’d still be able to play. to each other in the dressing rooms but we were “I understand that the province has hard choices originally told we only had 20 minutes in the room to make and their top priority has to be safety, but so we did that, we just came in and changed and I believe we could have provided a safe program left. We followed all regulations and it is like that also. In our schools we see kids from many com-

munities in one school so I feel that hockey would not have provided higher exposure. They could have limited the game play it even allowed just practices so keeping little scrimmage games only within the team so no other teams coming in. Those kids are the same kids they see at school. I understand that sports seems like a frivolous thing amid all the other serious issues we face during Covid, but I am personally worried for kids mental health overall. Sports is one tool in our toolbox we could have used to help them.� She went on to say, “I just want to see decisions be made on a fair basis that allows everyone access to the same things not where if you pay for one on one trainers you get access others do not. I also want to see them opening based on regional numbers overall like they did prior.� Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie ArmstrongHomeniuk addressed the question as to why cohorts are allowed in school and not in team sports now, and why it’s permissible for the NHL to operate, but not minor hockey. Armstrong-Homeniuk stated, “Sports have been under extensive research. The reason the NHL and specific leagues have been permitted to play is due to the “bubble� they must maintain in order to do so. For example, the players and support staff involved cannot leave their designated living arrangements, leave their facilities, or interact with others. If they all get covid it would be contained to their small group in their isolated location, who are all healthy adults and low risk for hospitalization.

Vegreville Jr. B Rangers Hockey Club put 2021-22 Season on Ice

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Michelle Pinon News Advertiser The President of the Vegreville Jr. B Rangers hockey club informed members of town council they would be taking a break on February 2. Joe Budinski stated, “We are going to take another sabbatical for the 2021-’22 season.� He went on to explain, “We are going to take another sabbatical for the 2021-’22 season. We need to re-address our coaching situation. We’ve had no success this winter trying to recruit somebody to come in and do that job. It’s been a bad point with us for the last four or five years with all the staff. We seem to have a weakness in recruiting. I don’t know what it is. If it’s our area or minor hockey, but this year was even tougher with Covid and not being able to look at players. We had a few coaches on the list to interview, but nobody wants to come in. So, for now, we are just going to bow out of the season. But we’re going to stay involved in the community and still actively pursue a coach and manager for the 2022-23 sea-

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son. We don’t know if we’ll be successful, but we’re going to try.� Mayor Tim MacPhee asked if they were going to come back into the North East Jr. B Hockey League again. Budinski replied, “Well, that’s a bone of contention too because it’s kind of on life support too. There are a couple other franchises in the same situation as we are. We can’t seem to get any correspondence back from the President who disappeared with the shutdown. I don’t think they know what their future is either. We understand there are a couple other teams thinking about joining the WSHL, (Western States Hockey League). That’s the talk right now, joining a central league, maybe Jr. B like we had or higher. So there’s lots of things in the air; people talking, but nobody can commit until we get closer to the fall.� Vice President Laine Stefan said it’s tough slugging right now trying to recruit talent as some of the communities that used to supply the club with

season on ice - CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

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Articles inside

How to Have a Nice Valentine’s Day During COVID-19

1min
page 15

Talk of the Town on Having a Good Relationship

1min
page 13

Vegreville Minor Hockey Cancels Remainder of the Season

2min
page 11

Beaver Harvest Incentive Program Underway in County of Minburn

1min
page 9

County of Two Hills Council Discusses Property Tax Incentives

1min
page 8

Plans for Agri-Food Industrial Park Taking Shape in Vegreville

1min
page 5

Our Disappearing Headlines

1min
page 3
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