Welcome back to the hockey season! We are very excited to be able to provide you with the information you will need to get started this season. We will be providing information for 2-3 week periods to start as we get more information from our venues and governing bodies, so we thank you for your understanding. We know everyone would love to have their schedule for the full season, but that just is not possible given the current situation with Covid-19 but we are very thankful to have players on the ice starting Tuesday, September 8th.
Information will be added and updated as we receive new information. Currently on this page you will find:
- What you need to know before your first ice time
- Infographic on the Health Check questions that will be required prior to each ice session
- Around the Rink sections for all of our venues
- Safety First information
- Volunteer role descriptions and full details document
What you need to know before your first ice time
For anyone that has been at the rink over the summer, you will already have a good understanding that things are a bit different. But for those who have not ventured out to an arena yet, you do need to be prepared for what you will experience.
Before you go to your first ice time:
- we absolutely must fill the volunteer roles for each group. There are very specific processes to enter the buildings and what we need to provide them for contact tracing elements, so this is really critical that if you are able to fill a role, please do so! You can see what roles are needed for your group on your group sheet and you can sign up through the OnVolunteer portal here. A description of the roles can be found below the Division by Division section below with roles and responsibilities outlined on this document.
- we have a strict maximum group size for all sessions and we are not able to accommodate changes in times.
- determine if your child can tie their own skates. If not, be prepared with a good set of plastic skate guards that are cut to fit. Soft covers or the roller guards are not safe in either UBC or the Oval as there are stairs involved. Please ensure your child can take them off and put them on again. Coaches will assist if needed, but we are doing our best to limit close contact.
- clearly label a water bottle - and be sure to bring it pre-filled.
- you will be added to a "team" in TeamSnap for your group - be sure to add all contact information for anyone who may be coming with your player as we will need to note any parent who may need to enter the building to help with skates (permitted at UBC only) or in the case of an emergency. If you do not see your Group in your TeamSnap app, check your email for an invitation. If you do not see it, email thunderbirds@vancouvertbirds.ca with your player's name and we will resend the invitation
- know that you will need to complete the TeamSnap Health Check that will be linked to every ice session. You will not be allowed to enter without having that completed. See the infographic below to see what 5 questions you will need to answer before each session. If you answer Yes to any, you are required to stay away from the rink until you contact your doctor or call 811 for further instructions. Note that if you are in a group staff volunteer and you work in a Covid exempt field (ie health care, pilot, etc), please answer these questions with respect to your life outside of the work place.
- no spectators are permitted to watch the ice times at either venue at this time.
- plan to adhere to a "mask on until helmet" procedure as some venues (UBC and the Oval) it is required and in others (Vancouver Park Board arenas) it is strongly recommended
- there is no sharing of equipment permitted so please be sure to go through your hockey bag and check that you have everything you need.
- it is recommended that every player have a travel kit that can include items such as Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and an extra mask as a back up.
- update ePact for your player - an email with information was sent out on Thursday/Friday with further information.
- Please put a piece of tape with your player's last name on their helmet to help our coaches out. This is for ALL ages for this round of sessions as players will be providing their own jerseys.
- Complete the Participant Agreement form - one per family
Around the Rink - UBC
- The following are the rules at UBC that must be followed:
- Enter at the North Entrance for all ice times. Arrive 25 minutes ahead of your ice time and UBC staff will escort the group in. Protrans exit is the door half way up the staircase nearest the proshop (out to the North Entrance side). Father Bauer exit is out the back hallway to the Osborne parking lot.
- Dressing rooms ARE being used but no washrooms/showers are open in them. Public washrooms are located at the ice resurfacer end of Protrans - there are none in Father Bauer but the Protrans ones are just through the doors and down the stairs so they are not far.
- Masks are now required to be worn by all TBird team staff/volunteers and players aged 6 and older entering the building and until they leave the dressing room to go to the ice
- This means that a parent/guardian will need to either ensure their child can remove the mask from under their helmet on their own or they will need to enter the building to assist them (one per player, no siblings)
- Contact and game play will be allowed as of September 21st
- Maximum TBird group size = 45 at any one time - this includes any parent/guardian help entering the building so a staggered entrance may need to be monitored.
- There are NO SPECTATORS at any time for the ice sessions at this time. Anyone caught sneaking in or claiming to be a member of the team staff who is not will face sanctions by TBirds.
Around the Rink - Richmond Olympic Oval
- The following are the rules at the Richmond Olympic Oval that must be followed:
- Enter at the sliding doors from the parkade. Arrive 25 minutes prior to your ice time and your team staff will escort the players in. NO PARENTS PERMITTED. Players will exit from the green double doors located between Rows C and D in the parkade.
- Dressing rooms are not being used. They have open air dressing areas set up next to the rinks for players who are old enough to put on their skates.
- Masks are recommended to be worn by all TBird team staff/volunteers and players until helmets are on.
- No parents are allowed to enter this venue to assist, so if a player is not able to put on their own helmet they must enter fully dressed.
- Contact and game play has now been permitted
- Maximum TBird group size = 47 at any one time
- There are NO SPECTATORS at any time for the ice sessions at this time. Anyone caught sneaking in or claiming to be a member of the team staff who is not will face sanctions by TBirds.
Vancouver Park Board Arenas
The following are the rules at the Vancouver Park Board Arenas that must be followed:
- Dressing rooms are not being used at any facilities. They are setting up open air dressing areas but your group may or not be able to access one. In order to not lose an additional 30 minutes between ice sessions due to the cleaning time, it will be necessary to have groups not automatically have access to a dressing area.
- If you are assigned a dressing area, you will be able to enter 10 minutes prior to your ice time and must leave within 5 minutes after.
- If you are NOT assigned a dressing area, you will enter right before your ice time and go directly to the ice or bench depending on the facility. Skate guards will be removed and left on the bench. Following the ice time, skate guards are put back on and team will leave the venue immediately. Goalies may have special access early to finish putting pads on at the bench.
- Masks are recommended to be worn by all TBird team staff/volunteers and players until helmets are on.
- They will allow one parent to enter with the player if they need assistance but this will only be if a dressing area is assigned to the ice time.
- Contact and game play will be allowed as of September 21st
- Maximum TBird group size = 45 at any one time - this includes any parent/guardian help entering the building so a staggered entrance may need to be monitored.
- There are NO SPECTATORS at any time for the ice sessions at this time. Anyone caught sneaking in or claiming to be a member of the team staff who is not will face sanctions by TBirds.
- Venue plans for facilities (as of Sept 21) - please note the entrances and exit points:
Safety First
- All activities will be done in accordance to viaSport's guidelines to safely operate sport activity. You can read their guidelines here that apply to ALL sport activity in the province. As parents, we recommend you take time to become familiar with, at least, this chart that outlines what is allowed. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask. TBirds are asking our families to make smart decisions and stay safe.
- Players and family members are required to stay away from the rink if they are not feeling well.
- Familiarize yourself with the venue you are going to.
- TBirds are not the decision makers on any of the protocols or requirements. These are coming from Hockey Canada, BC Hockey, viaSport and our venues. While you may not agree with a rule in place (eg mandatory masks at a venue), we must comply or TBirds as a whole may lose access to ice or the ability to play games. We ask that everyone does follow what your Group Manager, Group HCSP or Group Contact Tracing Captain ask and if you have serious concerns, please raise them to our Executive Director, Tanya Foley.
Volunteer Roles
During this initial phase, each group will have the following volunteer roles that will need to be filled. Below is a high level overview of each role, but you can find more information here.
Group Manager:
Main responsibility will be to provide ice information to parents, assist in monitor Health Check
Group HCSP:
We need a CERTIFIED HCSP to be on site for all ice sessions for this group in case of emergency and to assist with the oversight of the players. CERTIFIED would be someone who holds a current HCSP certification. If you are unsure whether or not you do, contact Audrey at awhite@vancouvertbirds.ca.
This volunteer must be onsite for each session during this period.
Group Contact Tracing Captain:
As per the Order of the Provincial Health Officer (Gatherings and Events) dated August 7, 2020, all user groups operating an activity in a building they do not own must provide a list of participants and contact information to the venue in the event that contact tracing is required.
This role will be part of the check-in process for each session and the volunteer will confirm attendance and collect contact information for all attending. They will provide the final list for each ice session to the venue contact.
This volunteer must be onsite for each session during this period.
Potential Parent On-Ice Support:
For these ice sessions, it will depend on the coach leading the ice session if they will require any parent on-ice support. If you are willing and available for any session, please sign up and you will be notified of any sessions that your help is required.
On-ice assistant coaches:
For some groups, we do require additional on-ice support. To start we are asking for people who are able to attend all sessions for this group to volunteer. Volunteers must be certified as a coach or on-ice assistant (eg if you were in one of those roles last season).
For Sign Up: Click here to sign in, your username is your email which you used for TeamSnap registration and password is the same email (to be changed when you log in).