St. Albert’s minor hockey association has called on its members to respect Alberta’s COVID safety rules lest they be penalized for having too many people on the ice.
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Association sent out a notice to its membership Nov. 28 asking them to follow the provincial government’s COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor activities after reports that a group of more than 10 people had been spotted playing hockey at the Willoughby Park Rink in Woodlands.
As of Nov. 24, the Alberta government had issued a public health order that capped all outdoor physical activity and social gatherings to 10 or fewer people as part of a package of steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. Breaching the cap could result in a $1,000 fine.
City of St. Albert spokesperson Cory Sinclair said in an email city officials were advised a group of more than 10 youths had been seen playing hockey at the Willoughby rink, along with multiple parent observers. It appeared to be a team function, as the players were all of the same age and skill. The city asked SAMHA to tell its members that such a game was not permitted under the province’s health measures.
This was not an official SAMHA game and the players were not wearing their team jerseys, SAMHA executive director Michael Tymko said, adding he had no way to verify who was on the ice in this case.
“With regards to our hockey teams, they are not active at all,” he said.
“There are no sanctioned hockey events right now.”
Provincial health orders prohibit indoor group physical activities, including team sports, unless the group involves only people from the same household or is being held among students at a school as part of an educational program.
Tymko called on all SAMHA members to follow provincial health orders by limiting their games to 10 or fewer people at a time. He emphasized that not doing so could affect the group’s abilities to use city facilities in the future.
“We need to be very strict in following the rules because we want to get our game back. We want everyone to be safe and healthy and get our game back.”
St. Albert had 290 active cases of COVID-19 as of 9:40 a.m. Dec. 1, or about 36 per cent more than it did on Nov. 24. Outbreaks (two to four cases) had been reported at Lorne Akins, Namao School, Muriel Martin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Sir George Simpson, Vital Grandin, and W.D. Cuts. Alexandre-Taché, Bellerose, Elmer S. Gish, Lois E. Hole and Paul Kane were on the provincial school watch list (more than five cases).
Anyone concerned that someone is not following Alberta’s public heath orders can either remind them that doing so is against the law and putting people at risk, or lodge a complaint with Alberta Health Services at 1-833-415-9179 or the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700.
