SECTION 1 Purpose

The Ontario Hockey Federation has worked in conjunction with Hockey Canada, the National Sport Organization (NSO) for hockey, and the Ontario Government as one of its recognized Provincial Sport Organizations (PSO) to ensure that in every phase of our return the safety of our Players, Coaches, Officials, Administrators and Volunteers are at the center of our plan and decision making. This plan focuses on making the return to traditional hockey the primary focus while ensuring a great experience in situations where we are not back to normal. This document is used for the purposes of the Ontario Hockey Federation only and does not make assertion to hockey programming that falls outside of its jurisdiction.

SECTION 2 Disclaimer

The information in this document is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The Ontario Hockey Federation and its Members make no representation and assume no responsibility in respect of their information concerning COVID-19 as the circumstances are constantly changing, and any information on COVID-19 should be obtained from your Public Health Authority.

SECTION 3

Framework for

Return to Hockey

The impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak have been felt across Ontario, by families, workers, businesses, and communities. Our hockey family has also felt the impacts of this during the 2020-2021 season where traditional hockey was limited to a few areas of the OHF and only for short periods of time, while many of our participants were not able to participate in traditional hockey programming if any hockey at all.

While the COVID-19 Pandemic is still evolving, the OHF continues to work with its partners to prepare for a return to traditional programming for the 2021-2022 season with the necessary measures in response to COVID-19.

Our plan to return recognizes that hockey must comply with the Government requirements but that to the best of our ability the focus is on traditional hockey operating from the beginning of the season.  Ontario has transferred its platform to the Roadmap to Reopen Ontario which is comprised of three steps.

OHF Stage 1 - Ontario Government Step 1

No indoor sport programming allowed under the government regulations in Step 1.

OHF Stage 2 - Ontario Government Step 2

No indoor sport programming allowed under the government regulations in Step 2

OHF Stage 3 - Ontario Government Step 3

OHF Stage 3 programming for Minor Hockey will begin on September 7 in accordance with the OHF Regulations adopted by the OHF Members.  Junior, Senior and Female programming is eligible to begin in accordance with the date established by the Member responsible.

In-Person Training

Instructional Training – Individual athlete training on or off ice sanctioned by the OHF with numbers of participants based on the Ontario Government and Public Health restrictions

•         OHF Members may conduct programming with the use of an instructor who meets the qualifications under the

OHF Hockey Canada Licensed Skill Development Program Policy.

•         Minor Hockey Associations may conduct, with the approval of their Member, instructional training for players registered with their MHA, where such training is conducted by a registered coach with the MHA.

•         In process and fully licensed Hockey Canada Licensed Development Specialists who are in compliance with the OHF Hockey Canada Licensed Skill Development Program Policy may conduct training.

•         If utilizing a private skills instructor or is a registered coach with the MHA; MHAs will need to validate that the skills instructor qualifies under the OHF Hockey Canada Licensed Skill Development Program Policy.

•         Junior hockey teams may conduct programming with the approval of their Member for players that they have registered or any players that are on their protected list and eligible players that have received their Permission to Skate from their last carded Team either from the 2020-2021 season if they registered or the 2019-2020 season if they weren’t registered for 2020-2021.

Virtual Training

Sport Science – sleep, nutrition, fitness, training, dance, flexibility, yoga, mental training and mental health.

•      Such programming that is being offered will be done with approval of the OHF or Member for the purpose   of sanctioning and insurance.

Professional Development

Training of stakeholders online or in person in compliance with the Ontario Government’s Roadmap to Reopen Ontario and OHF policies.

•         OHF Hockey Canada Licensed Skill Development Program

•         Gender Identity and Expression

•         Hockey Canada Safety Program/Hockey Trainers Certification Program

•         Officials On-Line Recertification

•         Respect-In-Sport

•         Hockey University – Planning a Safe Return •       Etc.

Tryouts, Team Practices and Games

•         Based on OHF Playing Regulations posted at https://www.ohf.on.ca/rules/by-laws-and-policies.

OHF Stage 4 - Ontario Government Exiting Step 3

OHF Stage 4 programming is the same as OHF Stage 3 programming.  The only changes in programming will be determined by fewer restrictions within facilities as determined by the Ontario Government, Public Health Units and Municipalities.

 

OHF STAGE	ONTARIO GOV. STAGE	OUTLINE	PLAYER CONTACT	# OF PARTICIPANTS	STRUCTURE	TRAVEL
STAGE 1	Step 1	No programming allowed.
STAGE 2	Step 2	No programming allowed
STAGE 3	Step 3	Traditional Hockey Regular Practice and games Bench is considered field play Dressing room use minimized, masks and distancing Coaches must wear masks on the Bench	Full contact allowed	Max participants (players & coaches) on-ice in accordance with PHU, municipality or facility; if more restrictive than Ontario government Step 3 whic h is based on building fire code	MHA/ Leagues/ Teams Regular Programming	Within Canada unless approved otherwise by your Member, on application
STAGE 4	Step 3 Exit	Masking required except when in participation of sport programing. Coaches must wear mask on the Bench	Full contact allowed	Based on PHU, municipality or facility requirements	MHA/ Leagues/ Teams Regular Progamming	Within Canada unless approved otherwise by your Member, on application
If crossing Public Health Unit boundaries or municipal boundaries, teams must comply with the regulations of the Public Health Unit or Municipality they are participating in. Minor Hockey Associations are responsible to inform incoming Teams of the requirements within the facilities the game is being played.

SECTION 4 Facilities

Public and Private facilities that are providing training to hockey need to ensure that they maintain their own insurance on their facility and are in compliance with the Ministry of Labour Protocols and those protocols specific to the Ontario Government’s Roadmap to Reopen.

All hockey programming providers that are sanctioned by the Provincial Sport Organizations in Ontario will:

•         be listed on the OHF website and will be able to present a Hockey Canada Insurance Certificate.

•         be required to complete a tracking document of participation use and an ice surface by ice surface training attendance form;

•         each MHA/Club must have a Safety Plan as set out below; and •             be required to have a COVID-19 Contact Person.

Facilities are directed to utilize the information provided by the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA) as an industry standard material: ORFA Recreation Facility COVID-19 Reentering and Reopening. MHA facilities procedures meeting

Facility Entrance - Entrance to Arena is based on facility plan and all sport groups collectively are required to have a meeting with the facility based on the following agenda.

•         Parking Lot Entrance

•         Entrance Doors

•         Entrance Process

•         Entrance Time

•         Changing of equipment location process

•         Dropping off Minor participants – Parents/Attendance – number of attendees permitted to support and watch

•         Conduct of Parents in the stands (i.e. food and beverage maintaining facility cleanliness). Items allowed in the facility (bags, food, and beverage)

 

Other Facility Specific Issues

•         Tenant Dressing Room Requirements must be dealt with through a meeting with facility to determine contractual agreements on responsibilities

•         Elite hockey rental requirements (i.e. longer break if require warmups)

•         Plan for longer Ice-times rental

•         Warming up within the facility

Reporting of incidents of injury or COVID-19 to facility personnel

•         Until a standardized form is approved with all facilities the form that is provided by the facility will be the required form.

Equipment Storage

•         Each rink will have to determine private storage requirements and if applicable should be part of your meeting agendas.

Safety Plan

Each Minor Hockey Association (Minor, Junior, Senior Hockey Club, Female Hockey Association),  as a result of their meeting with their facilities in accordance with “O. Reg. 364/20: Rules for Areas at Step 3  and at the Roadmap Exit Step”, paragraph 3.3, indicates each business operating a facility for the purpose of indoor and outdoor sport is required to develop a Safety Plan.  The facilities all have a requirement to develop a Safety Plan for their operations but in addition facilities will be looking for the users of the facility to have their own Safety Plan in writing that outlines the following:

•         The safety plan shall describe the measures and procedures which have been implemented or will be          implemented in the business to reduce the transmission risk of COVID-19.

•         The safety plan shall describe how the requirements of Regulation 364/20 will be implemented in the         location including by screening, physical distancing, masks or face coverings, the wearing of personal                  protective equipment and preventing and controlling crowding.

•         For  facilities offering indoor sport, the safety plan shall also include information as to how the      facility, place or event will,

o                     prevent gatherings and crowds in the business or place or at the event;

o                     ensure that section 3.2 of this Schedule is complied with in the business or place or at the 

                                                event; and

o                     mitigate the risk of any interactive activities, exhibits or games that may be included in the                              business or place or at the event.

MHA/Club Responsibility for incoming teams

Minor Hockey Associations and Clubs are responsible to ensure that incoming teams from outside of their Public Health Unit or Municipality are provided and aware of the internal requirements they must follow for participation in the home Teams facility.  This may include but is not limited to the above safety plan and any safety plans and regulations of the PHU, Municipality or facility.

Recommendations for MHA/Clubs Around Programming

•         Teams should Minimize pre- and post- activity gathering time; participants should only arrive before the    beginning of the activity and should leave immediately following.

•         Parents should limit the gathering time and numbers of people.

•         Carpooling to and from programming should be minimized and if carpooling is required that individuals      should be masked.

SECTION 5

Vaccination Position

The Ontario Hockey Federation’s (OHF) priority is the health and safety of our hockey community which includes all players, coaches, officials, volunteers, staff, families and fans.

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the OHF requests that all eligible players, coaches, officials, volunteers, staff, families and fans consider getting vaccinated, guided by information from health officials including Health Canada and Public Health Ontario.

 

Return to Sport after a confirmed instance of COVID-19 in Hockey

The Ontario Hockey Federation feels that the protocols that have been established Nationally, by our Members, the local associations and the OHF will reduce the chance of transmission within our programming.  The OHF also recognizes that there is an aspect of inevitability that an athlete or coach within our programming will at some point have a confirmed positive case of COVID 19 and as such protocols are required for this instance.

If anyone becomes ill at a hockey, they will:

•                     be immediately separated from others, in a separate room if possible, until they can go home

•                     be provided with a medical mask

•                     continue to be supervised according to the local hockey associations usual policy

•                     be asked to maintain physical distancing

•                     be unable to take team or public transportation

If your child becomes ill at hockey, they must go home;  

•                     the team or local hockey association will contact you and you’ll need to arrange for them to get home, in a way that does not include public transportation.

•                     we encourage you to have a plan for this ahead of time. you should consult their health care provider.

•                     they may recommend your child get tested for covid-19.

•                     if you or your child are tested for covid-19, it’s easy to get the results.

If a COVID-19 case is confirmed at hockey; the local public health unit will determine what happens and based on that direction the following flow charts will govern the Return to Programming.

Flow Chart 1: Case and Contact Management in Hockey for High-Risk Contact

Adapted from Appendix 11 of Management of Cases and Contacts Of COVID-19 in Ontario by the Government of Ontario

 

 

For the purposes of case/contact/outbreak management, an individual is defined as fully immunized ≥14 days after receiving their second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or their first dose of a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine series that is listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization or approved by Health Canada. Individuals who are immunocompromised are excluded from this definition, in accordance with COVID-19 Fully Immunized and Previously Positive Individuals: Case, Contact and Outbreak Management Interim Guidance. For the purposes of case/contact/outbreak management, an individual is defined as previously positive if they were a confirmed case of COVID-19 where their initial positive result was ≤ 90 days ago AND they have been cleared from their initial infection. Individuals who are immunocompromised are excluded from this definition, in accordance with COVID-19 Fully Immunized and Previously Positive Individuals: Case, Contact and Outbreak Management Interim Guidance.

Flow Chart 2: Case and Contact Management in Hockey for Household Members of High-Risk Contacts

Adapted from Appendix 11 of Management of Cases and Contacts Of COVID-19 in Ontario by the Government of Ontario

 

For the purposes of case/contact/outbreak management, an individual is defined as fully immunized ≥14 days after receiving their second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or their first dose of a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine series that is listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization or approved by Health Canada. Individuals who are immunocompromised are excluded from this definition, in accordance with COVID-19 Fully Immunized and Previously Positive Individuals: Case, Contact and Outbreak Management Interim Guidance. For the purposes of case/contact/outbreak management, an individual is defined as previously positive if they were a confirmed case of COVID-19 where their initial positive result was ≤ 90 days ago AND they have been cleared from their initial infection. Individuals who are immunocompromised are excluded from this definition, in accordance with COVID-19 Fully Immunized and Previously Positive Individuals: Case, Contact and Outbreak Management Interim Guidance.

Covid-19 incident reporting

The following processes have been identified for incident reporting in the case that a participant has tested positive for COVID-19.

If a participant tests positive, Public Health will automatically be notified by the entity that conducted the testing. Public Health will be in contact with the individual to facilitate contact tracing, at this time Public Health will inform teammates and coaches through the contact tracing process.

 It is recommended that the participant or the participant’s guardian informs their coaches and teammates, however, they cannot be compelled to do so.

Participant Tests Positive and is Willing to Disclose Information:

If the participant chooses to advise their coach, the coach should ask the participant to contact Public Health and give Public Health permission to discuss the matter with the coach. If the participant agrees to do that, the coach can then seek guidance directly from Public Health.

Participant Tests Positive and is Unwilling to Disclose Information:

 If the coach becomes aware of a positive test among their players, but does not know the identity of the player, or if the player does not give the coach permission to discuss the matter with Public Health, the coach can still contact Public Health to try to obtain general advice.

The coach should also discuss the matter with the relevant hockey association or Member (not revealing the participant’s name if they are aware of who has tested positive) to decide on a course of action with regard to future team activities.

 

 

SECTION 6

Certificate of Insurance

The following validation process will be put in place to ensure that each group or individual operating meets OHF standards that focuses on athlete safety.

This certificate is issued to Junior Teams, Local Hockey Associations and Hockey Canada Licensed Development Specialists under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Hockey Federation. The approved bearer of this certificate is compliant with both the OHF Return to Hockey Framework and the Hockey Canada Safety Guidelines.

Facilities will be able to verify OHF programming based on the Certificate of Insurance.

Certification of Insurance: Each organization will be required to have a valid Certificate of Insurance present with them for any hockey activities.

 

                              

SECTION 7 Chief Medical Officer

Mandate:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey is responsible for providing the Provincial Sport Organizations (being the

Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO), Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) and Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) hereinafter referred to as the PSOs), Boards and staff with medical advice and comprehension regarding decisions and the impact of those decisions due to COVID-19 and the direction from the Ontario Government and Public Health Authorities.

Key Duties:

•         Act as the medical consultant for the PSOs in respect of COVID-19 with the mandate to abide by the Ontario Government and Public Health.

•         Act as the medical consultant for the individual PSOs in respect of COVID-19 if the Ontario Government opens regionally.

•         Maintain professional status and be in good standing with their respective licensing College.

•         Be the medical spokesperson for the PSOs.

•         Advise the PSOs on risk management issues especially with respect to medical issues.

•         Advise the PSOs on research projects and issues especially with respect to medical issues.

•         Advise the PSOs on event sanctioning.

•         Act as a consultant for international tournaments held in the PSOs jurisdiction.

•         Act as a liaison with the Hockey Canada Chief Medical Officer concerning medical issues.

•         Such additional duties as may be delegated to the Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey by the PSOs from time to time

Authority:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey, will exercise their authority as set out by any Hockey Canada or PSO regulation or in accordance with this job description.

Appointment:

For the role of Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey there will be a short canvasing period of the PSO’s Boards and OHF Members Boards for potential candidates. Based on the potential candidates the Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey shall be appointed by the PSOs Chairs of the Board, in consultation with the CEO/EDs, for a one-year term that is renewable. The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey has no voting rights.

Meetings:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey will attend meetings in person and via conference call, via invitation from any of the PSO’s Chair of the Boards. The PSO’s members must obtain the approval of their respective PSO Chair of the Board before making any such invitations.

Resources:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey will receive the necessary resources from the PSOs, to the extent approved in the annual budget, to fulfill their mandate. They will also receive the necessary administrative support from the PSOs office.

Reporting:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey will report to the PSO’s Board as required and to the CEO/ED.

Requirements:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey will be licensed to practice as a Physician in the Province of Ontario. Experience as a Sport Medicine Physician and membership in CASEM will be considered an asset.

Renumeration:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey is a volunteer role with no remuneration except for expenses related to the attendance of meetings for the purpose of this role and other expenses as determined by the PSOs.

Insurance Coverage:

The Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey will fall within the Hockey Canada Insurance program including the Directors and Officers Insurance for the activities of the Chief Medical Officer Ontario Hockey related to this specific role.

REGIONAL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

If it is determined that we require Regional Chief Medical Officers to support implementation as we continue to proceed through the OHF Return to Hockey Framework, they will be appointed at that time.