COVID-19 Information
Health Screening and Contact Tracing
SWAT will apply health screening and contact tracing protocols to our players and coaches. This will require players to complete same-day online screening questionnaires prior to evaluation skates, practices and scrimmages. These records will be retained for a minimum of 30 days in compliance with Hockey Edmonton requirements.
Team Snap will be used at the cohort/team level for this purpose, after transitioning from the Google form that was used during evaluations.
Development Season
After Evaluations, the Hockey Edmonton Development Season will commence. Players will be placed in cohorts, comprising a maximum of 50 persons. Cohorted participants must still separate on the players bench and dressing room facilities, though physical distancing is not necessary on the ice. Scrimmages and mini-games will include modified rules to minimize physical interactions.
Hockey Edmonton Return to Play guidelines state that:
- U7 and U9 cohorts will include coaches, to allow coaches to be in contact with younger players to better assist with their development, injuries, etc.
- U11 and U13 cohorts will not include coaches, and coaches must physically distance from players.
Coaching
All head coaches must complete the online Hockey Canada Return to Hockey Safety Guidelines module. Coach responsibilities are outlined in the Hockey Edmonton Return to Play guideline.
The guideline states that:
- U7 and U9 cohorts will include coaches, to allow coaches to be in contact with younger players to better assist with their development, injuries, etc.
- U11 and U13 cohorts will not include coaches, and coaches must physically distance from players.
When participating via Cohorting:
- Teams officials are not required to wear masks in the dressing room, on the player’s bench or in the penalty box area, or on the ice. These areas are considered within the ‘field of play’ for the sport.
- When Cohorts are being used and some coaches are not part of the Cohort (they are instead physically distancing form all other participants), those coaches are required to wear masks while in the dressing room and while on the player’s bench.
When participating via Physical Distancing:
- Team Officials must maintain two-metre physical distancing from all other participants, and wear masks within the dressing room.
- Team Officials are to wear masks while on the bench but can remove them while coaching/instructing on the ice.
SWAT has clarified with Hockey Edmonton that coaches may participate in more than one U7 / U9 cohort, as long as they are only members of one cohort. Any contact with the other cohort will require that coach to practice physical distancing, and masking on the bench and in dressing room.
Evaluations
Player evaluations will be completed under physically-distanced conditions, to allow players to be placed in cohorts. Because of physical distancing requirements, Evaluations will not include scrimmages, but will comprise timed skill skates only.