Hello Rotary Hockey Families!
We are so looking forward to the upcoming season! We are hard at work, getting ready to assign players to teams and preparing ice schedules. As more information on this season becomes available, we will share it with you via email, on our website and through Facebook. If you are a Facebook member, please make sure you follow us. This is an easy way to stay up to date with Rotary Hockey.
There are three very important pieces of news in this communication.
Player Evaluation Skates:
As in the past, we have set aside a few hours on Saturday September 18th to give players in the U8, U10 and U12 age groups (2010 through 2014) an opportunity to blow off some rust and show us what they can do. While attendance is not mandatory, everyone in these age groups is strongly encouraged to attend. You will be contacted closer to the date with the actual hour timeslot that you are to report for, but please try to keep the window of time below open so that you can attend:
Age Division
Arena
Times
U8 (2014s & 2015s)
Rotary Complex – Rink B
12:15pm – 4:15pm
U10 (2012s & 2013s)
Rotary Complex – Rink A
12:00pm – 4:00pm
U12 (2010s & 2011)
Rotary Complex – Rink A
4:00pm – 8:00pm
There is no evaluation skate for the U6s or the divisions from U14 and up.
Mandatory COVID Vaccinations:
We were just recently informed by our governing body – Alliance Hockey – that we will be required to comply with a mandatory vaccination policy for this season. In consultation with Hockey Canada and the local health units, this important decision was made to ensure the safety and protection of all our participants. As such, all players, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers must be fully vaccinated by October 31st, 2021. They must also have their first dose before the season starts on October 2nd. Players born after December 31, 2009 or those who have a medical issue and are not eligible for the vaccine are exempt from this requirement. It is also likely that the City of Stratford Facilities will require all who enter their facilities to be fully vaccinated as well. The memo from the Alliance can be found here:
https://alliancehockey.com/Articles/5817/ALLIANCE_Hockey_Vaccination_Policy/
We are still awaiting details on how this is to be implemented and tracked, but we feel it’s necessary to keep you informed on this topic. If your child will be 12 years or older, or you are volunteering for Rotary Hockey, proof of vaccination will be required in order to participate (excluding medical exemptions).
If you will not be able to comply with the above, then we recommend you withdraw from our program now in order to receive a full refund. Once our season starts, there will be a deduction from your fees for refunds. The Withdrawal form can be found here:
https://stratfordrotaryhockey.com/Forms/2923/2021-2022_Withdrawal_Form/
Start of the Season:
For most teams, the first ice times will be on Saturday October 2nd (U12s will practice on Friday Oct 1st and U20s will start on Sunday Oct 3rd). Please be patient with us as we continue to finalize teams. You will be notified during the week of September 27th by your coach with your team assignment. If you have not heard from your coach by Wednesday, September 29th, then please reach out to the convenor who will help you. Contact information for the convenors can be found on our website.