Veteran members of the junior A Chilliwack Chiefs and junior B Chilliwack Jets will be able to join their younger teammates on the ice following changes to viaSport’s province-wide COVID restrictions.
Prior to Christmas, players 18 years of age and older were classified as ‘adults’ and prohibited from practicing with their teams.
But viaSport’s revised guidelines change the age threshold to 22, and provides clear separation between youth/varsity/high performance sports and ‘group sport,’ which continues to be severely restricted.
“We’re obviously relieved and excited by the revised guidelines,” said Chiefs hockey boss Brian Maloney. “We respect the process and remain optimistic for the start of our season. This is another step in the right direction.”
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According to the viaSport website, “group sport is only permitted in groups of up to two people (e.g. singles tennis or an athlete and a coach training session). Outdoor group sport is only permitted in groups of up to four people (e.g. four individuals may run together or four individuals could run soccer drills). All participants must maintain a distance of three metres from one another while participating in the sport activity. While this order provides clarity, it is important to remember the intent is to limit group gathering. For example, individuals should not be playing a sport with four people and then switching teams to another group of four during the same time slot.”
The latest changes will remain in place until Jan. 8.
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