Joe McGrath
General Manager
Corona-virus and Covid-19 have transformed all our lives. Even now, as many parts of the world attempt to restore ‘normal’ activities, it is a threat to our health and well-being. We want to know under what conditions you will be returning to the ice, and ask you to fill out this survey. We will publish the results.
The Oakland Ice Center had a kids camp the Summer under some explicit rules: “The County mandates that no player will have participated in another camp for the free weeks prior to our start date. The player will not be allowed to participate in any other social setting activity outside of this camp. Once registered, the player must stay in their group for the entire two weeks. Groups must comply with social distancing guidelines at all times; There will be no loitering in the facility. All guests will be health screened by an EMT prior to entering the facility. This will include temperature check and questions regarding COVID-19 symptoms. All players will need to wear a mask in the facility at all times, even on the ice.”
The adult league will not return until the Alameda County Health Department has approved Oakland Ice Center to resume league play. Additionally, they may require specific measures to be taken to lower the transmission of the corona-virus. They have posted their current protocol, but some measures taken elsewhere include:
— Required testing
— No use of the locker rooms
— Coming dressed to the rink
— More time between games, so there are fewer people in the facility (i.e., fewer games or more time between games)
— The wearing of a full-face shield
— The wearing of some other type of mask on the ice
— A player tests positive; the team forfeits game(s)
We would like to know more about how you are thinking about returning and under what circumstances. Many people have relocated elsewhere during the pandemic, lost income, and/or reevaluated priorities. We expect that this will have a dramatic impact on all the teams in the league. Answering these few questions would help us understand what a return to hockey might look like for the Hellcats.