Minor Hockey Players Hit the Ice in Vegreville

Minor Hockey Players Hit the Ice in Vegreville

Michelle Pinon

News Advertiser

Minor hockey players hit the ice for the very first time this season on Sept. 10.

Tina Warawa, President of the Vegreville Minor Hockey Association, (VMHA) said the decision to move forward with the season was not an easy one as there were a lot of factors to take into consideration.

“As president of minor hockey, I can say we struggled a lot to decide because we are sort of an ‘’in-between’’ size in the hockey world. We are not small like some neighbouring associations with only one team per level or some without a team per level and we are not a large multi-team association like Sherwood Park or Fort Saskatchewan.

The decision to be part of relaunches is scary, especially for any executive. We feel like each kid is our kid. I can tell you that groups that try to relaunch are not being naïve or in any way irresponsible. They are weighing all factors including the cases in their region, the age of the players, and the potential risks versus rewards and trying to decide what is best. This is tough when the professionals cannot even fully agree on the severity of COVID or the best prevention.

We recognized that we are a hub community for many activities so we had to decide if we would wait and follow others as they relaunched or try to use our assets to lead. We heard from so many parents that wanted their kids back on the ice. Especially in older levels that had their year cut short, missed playoffs, or even provincials and did not want to miss any more time.

Some said their kids “needed it” as they had been isolated for months. I am proud to say we decided to be leaders. We know that there will need to be adjustments, we know that there will be COVID spikes throughout Alberta as kids head back to sports and school and it would be unrealistic to think there would not be so nobody should be surprised as that happens. But we also know the alternative if you are waiting for everything to be fully normal again is not a few months. We realistically could be under some form of restrictions for a year or much longer and we want to do our part to help get the kids through it.

For Vegreville and District Minor Hockey we have a plan, we have the willingness of our volunteers and we have love of hockey so that is great.”

Currently, there are 140 players registered, only down slightly from the previous year, noted Warawa. That number could change, so the team numbers are not final yet. VMHA is following Hockey Alberta’s three-phase approach under the guidelines they are calling Return to Hockey, the phases are Development Season, Modified Competition, Regular Season.

Mike van der Torre, Facilities Manager for the Town of Vegreville, said the reaction to the re-opening of the arena has been really positive, and both parents and players are relieved and happy to be back on the ice.

Parent Andy Gladue, whose two boys Kayden and Tayvn, were back on the ice this past week, said they we all very happy to be back at the arena.