Discussions

This pandemic has brought a lot of changes to our lives. We have been a hockey family through and through for 11 years. Due to the pandemic this year my kids only played for about a month. Only a couple of games before everything was canceled. I keep reading how kids are suffering without hockey and sports. But their mental health will not be the same due to Hockey being canceled. Ponder this for a moment. Our mental health is not affected by a cancellation of a sport. Many positive things have come from this cancellation. We now eat supper together every single night at the dinner table. We now do puzzles together. We have started ice fishing. We rented a cabin together. We went skiing. Rented show shoes for a weekend. Made our own backyard rink. We skated the river trails. There have been so many positives from not playing hockey. It is absolutely your choice as a parent or player to make the cancellation of your sport a positive. When Hockey cancelled we canceled. We didn’t continue with dryland training and exercise programs and food nutrition programs. We paused. And we enjoyed each other‘s company and our family time together. After 11 years of hockey there will be a change next year in our home. We have decided to not play minor hockey. As much as we loved early morning weekends, practices, rushing from small town to small town for a sport we loved. We found that together we loved spending time with each other even more and that the rush wasn’t worth it. How do we continued on with dryland training and programs in anticipation for Hockey to restart I don’t think we would’ve had the same reaction. This post is only meant to make you ponder the thought that maybe our mental health isn’t harmed by the cancellation of league sports. Maybe for some their mental health improved due to the cancellation of league sports. Maybe for some they found out what truly matters in this world.

That you for your very positive outlook.  
I love it that you have changed your family experiences to fit the requirements of the pandemic, and that your whole family has enjoyed the change. So good to hear a happy story.

We desperately miss hockey. My daughter is in rec hockey so it’s only 3 months of “rush”. We miss the connections. It’s more about our hockey family than anything and supporting our local rink/community. With rec hockey it isn’t as much as minor hockey so we still have a lot of time for family time as well.  
 
We too built a rink in the yard. It will do but it’s definitely not the same. We all miss it terribly but it is what it is

I’m glad your family is getting closer, ours was always close. We eat, play, spend time and pray together while hockey is on or not. Hockey is the back bone of Canadians, the heart beat of our youth. Hockey is not only a sport it teaches our kids the fundamentals of life , work hard , strive for greatness, being a team player which will take them far on and off the ice. I vote to let them play, play hockey , volleyball, soccer, baseball all the sports. Anyone who believes what I do please find and sign the petition going around on Facebook to let our kids play.

When it is safe to do so then yes they should be allowed to play sports, but not now. To reduce further spread of covid and prevent more suffering it is important to wait. We need to reduce cases and deaths and achieve at least 75% vaccination rate before sports programs start up again.

We literally just got relaxed rules yesterday. Give an inch and take a mile.... Let’s give the province some time to see what the case load numbers will be like from the recent ease in restrictions.  
 
Some of these jr players still need all the help from the parents. The locker rooms are still very small and crowded. It’s a germ breeding zone in the best of scenarios.

You may think hockey dressing rooms are the breeding grounds for COVID-19, I say look around any school yard at recess, any ski hill , look at the line up at winners and Walmart yesterday. Those are the breeding grounds. When hockey was on there was appointed covid checkers in place everything was sterilized , everyone one was tracked coming into the arena, 1 parent per child. Schools aren’t even monitored like that ,let alone the shopping line ups with strangers. If your against hockey and other sports that’s fine , but I hope your not one in the line ups to buy nonessential things.

OP, I'm glad you've found peace. We too have found that we actually enjoy the slower pace. We weren't a hockey family (by design), but with lots of our other activities dropped off, we get more time together. That's been a good thing.  
 
To anyone who wants to petition to resume hockey, I sure hope that part of your plan is to keep your kids home and remote learn. I would hate for there to be an outbreak in a school/multiple schools and shutting *school* down for dozens/hundreds of families due to outbreak. Indoor hockey is known to be associated with outbreaks due to the very physical conditions on the ice, in addition to the nature of the sport.  
 
If you want to resume hockey I hope you have, as part of your proposal, a way to mitigate this.

You can't compare those to hockey. If all your hockey was played outside, you might have a case, but hockey these days is pretty much exclusively played indoors. The very nature of the environment and of the sport itself has lead to significant outbreaks than associated with other sports, or even school.  
 
If you don't believe me, try googling hockey and air circulation. Here's a few to get you started.  
 
https://www.phillyvoice.com/ice-hockey-covid-19-transmission-risk-new-jersey-high-school-sports-coronavirus/  
 
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6941a4.htm  
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/minnesota-epidemiologist-covid-hockey-1.5782407

My child needs to go to school. My child doesn’t need hockey in there life. And like many have said they have found peace without hockey. Also I have not been in my child’s school this year once we drop off and pickup out side. They are in separate cohorts. It’s as safe as they can possibly make it by keeping there numbers small.  
 
A hockey team itself could be a cohort, but do they play another team then mixing cohorts? How many teams would you  
Limit each team to play to limit contacts between cohorts? These are all legitimate questions

I do not doubt that it can spread through hockey or any other indoor or outdoor sport. I just don’t understand why it’s safe to go to school with kids but it’s not safe to play with the same kids in a rink. Do the schools have an advanced air filtration system that personnel care homes and hospitals don’t. I’m all for kids being in school they need it . The schools run at full capacity , hockey practice has 15 kids and 3 coach’s on the ice. When your shopping your with strangers from all walks of life. I’m sure we could google covid outbreaks in schools, care homes , ski resorts, etc.

Schools are making great efforts to thoroughly clean the buildings , distance the kids indoors and take extra precautions including blended learning. Education for the kids is essential. You cannot possibly expect hard working volunteers to keep the smaller rinks clean and safe at the same level. It’s best to enjoy other things for now and let the kids find other interests until we understand the risks associated with covid more clearly and learn how to control and reduce the threat. Don’t forget that more virulent strains are known to be in circulation and we don’t fully understand them yet.

“My child needs to go to school. My child doesn’t need hockey in there life”. I’m sure as an adult you wanted all the none essentials you don’t “need” back? Your child also doesn’t “need” to be at school (outbreaks have been known there as well) they can remote learn or home school if you are worried. Sports will not change your covid numbers. School hasn’t changed them and sports have stricter rules. And if given a chance to start would lock down even more rules which is straight from people in charge.  
Yes you can compare schools, shopping, or any large gatherings to eachother. But to try and compare air exchangers to eachother? Every house has different air quality but aloud same rules. Yes that’s on a scale but you get the point.  
It’s so sad to hear parents talking about hockey or sports being removed being better for there family. I can’t believe for some people it took this to spend time together. Your kids must have being playing every day for hours. I have children in hockey, dance And other activities. We still have board game nights, go hiking, play basketball in the driveway. And my kids still complain about being bored. I wonder if you mean better for you as it would be easier to not have sports? But I love watching my kids there happiest playing them and the health benifits are way higher then small risk.  
The argument that we need to wait until safer numbers or vaccinations? Once again as an adult you got your none essentials back and did you see the line ups yesterday? Never seen that many people at a child’s game or activity.  
Have you driven by the outside rinks or ski and tobogganing hills? Would it not be safer to monitor, spread out, and have control of the sport? Once again the arenas or dance class my kids are in had the strictest and I felt safest protocols out of anything that is open. Next time your going sledding and there are 50 other people there without masks on, shoulder to shoulder, remember that inside there would be masks on everyone with hand sanitizer stations, sanitizer sprayed down benches and rooms with only one spectator per child and a covid officer at each entrance documenting names, health questions and temperature. As well as enforcing rules are followed. I’m sure there is even more I’m forgetting but if that isn’t good enough for you then spare me an argument and just agree to disagree.

I agree that children need physical exercise. But, hockey is not the only activity suffering. Any indoor activity is being put on hold. The government is looking at the science of the virus. The government is not looking at long term effects that not having sports for any age is having on obesity,mental advantages,sportsmanship etc. At least kids can play outside at school but with the colder weather, what are schools doing. There needs to a compromise between sport and government. I would not count on any changes regarding hockey because most province's have no youth sports for now

If your were aiming any of that at me I will say that I am against the current relaxations of Public health orders and I completed two Manitoba Government surveys to that end. I think that it is too early to safely relax any health orders and it is a step too far for which we may well pay the price sooner rather than later. The government release clearly states that restrictions may be relaxed further or may be reimposed if needed depending on case loads.

All wonderful for your family.  
 
Mine however is the opposite. My career is based on hockey playing. If there is none, I don’t get paid. It also hurts the players. These kids are trying to be drafted, or earn scholarships, no hockey means this hurts there future.  
 
My daughter is struggling as well. She is an elite player and has had Hockey Manitoba events like top prospects and other Hockey MB/Hockey Canada camps taken away. She wants to play NCAA, and this hurts her development in a huge way. Training with dad on a rink backyard isn’t the same. She also is on Team Manitoba Lacrosse for Canada games. COVID has shut down their practices. So telling an elite athlete for her age to go do this and this instead of worrying doesn’t really mean much when she wants it.  
 
My son, not as into it as his sister, but loves being with his friends has also had issues dealing with it.  
 
Great your family has found other interests and such other people don’t have that option. When your bills, present, and the future for not only yourself, but your kids rely on sport telling them to try different things so their mental health gets better is like beating a dead horse.