Windermere Valley Minor Hockey
COVID‐19 Vaccine Passport Plan

The document is intended to be in compliance with the guidelines set out by viaSport BC, Interior Health, BC Hockey, and the arenas in which we operate. This document is subject to change.

Masks
All participants, spectators over 12, officials, volunteers, and coaches will be required to wear masks to enter the arena. Players, coaches, volunteers and officials will be required to wear masks while in the dressing rooms. Players, coaches, and officials may remove their masks when they go onto the ice for practices or games. Masks must be worn when returning to the dressing rooms.

Spectators
Spectators will be limited to 50 people any time current Interior Health Authority restrictions on gathering sizes is limited to 50 people. When there are less than 50 spectators, vaccine passport screening will not be required.
Volunteers, officials, and coaches (on the bench), will be deemed necessary for hockey games to be completed. This group will not be considered spectators, and will be considered part of the field of play. (Subject to clarification from BC Hockey and viaSport BC).
Volunteers deemed essential to the operation of games will include: timekeepers, scorekeepers, penalty box operators, and qualified safety persons. (Subject to clarification from BC Hockey and viaSport BC). This group of volunteers must wear masks while in the field of play.
During practices, only the coaches on the ice and the participants will be considered part of the field of play. All other non-participants in the building will be considered spectators.

Limited Spectators for Practices
Practices – no more than 50 spectators will be allowed in the arena during practices. These spectators must remain in the lobby area of the arena. Only participants, coaches, and at the younger levels, 2-3 designated parent helpers, will be allowed in the dressing rooms or the dressing room hallways.
All spectators must enter the arena through the main doors and exit by the back door by the candy machines. Spectators are expected to leave after each practice. Each team will have a designated spectator supervisor to ensure the limit of 50 spectators is not breached. The main doors will remain locked during practices. There will be no vaccine passport screening requirements for practices as long as spectators are not more than 50. A general rule will be parents should not plan on watching other teams’ practices to ensure no more than 50 spectators are in attendance.
All participants, parent helpers, and coaches must enter and exit the arena through the main players’ entrance. Once parent helpers have completed their tasks, they must leave through the players’ entrance and come back in the main arena entrance if they would like to watch the practice.
The dressing rooms and dressing room hallways will be considered part of the field of play. There will be absolutely no passage from the bleachers or the lobby of the arena to the dressing rooms or dressing room hallways or from the dressing rooms to the lobby or bleachers. There will be a table set up by the coaches’ room blocking access to the hallways.

Spectators for Games
Games - more than 50 spectators will be allowed in the arena during games, but not more than 250. These spectators must remain in the lobby area of the arena or the bleachers. Only participants, coaches, and at the younger levels, 2-3 designated parent helpers, volunteers, and officials, will be allowed in the dressing rooms or the dressing room hallways.
All spectators must enter the arena through the main doors and exit through the back door by the candy machines to avoid congestion. Each team will have a designated spectator supervisor who will screen all spectators over the age of 12 for vaccination passports. Spectators over 18 will have to show valid government ID and their vaccine passport. Spectators under 12 will only need to show their vaccine passport.
All participants, parent helpers, volunteers, officials, and coaches must enter and exit the arena through the main player’s entrance. This group will not be required to show their vaccine passports. Once parent helpers have completed their tasks, they must leave through the players’ entrance and come back in the main arena entrance if they would like to watch the game.
The dressing rooms, officials’ room, dressing room hallways, and timekeeper’s booth will all be considered part of the field of play. Only those deemed essential to the operation of games will be permitted in these areas without being required to show their vaccine passports.
There will be absolutely no passage from the bleachers or the lobby of the arena to the dressing rooms or dressing room hallways, or from the dressing room areas to the lobby or bleachers.

Vaccine Passport Compliance
WVMHA will be operating under the premise that youth recreation activities that have 50 or less spectators will not be subject to vaccine passport screening requirements. This will apply to our practices.
WVMHA will be operating under the premise that youth recreation activities that 50 or more spectators will be subject to vaccine passport screening. This will apply to all of all our games.
Passports screening for games will require all spectators aged 12 or older to show proof of at least partial vaccination up until October 23rd, and full vaccination on October 24th until the Provincial Health Order has been lifted. Government vaccination cards showing dates of vaccination, or vaccination passports will both be acceptable. Government ID will also be required for anyone over the age of 18.
Each team will have a designated spectator supervisor for practices and games that will stay by the main entrance. The spectator supervisor will be required to ask each spectator to show their government ID and proof of vaccination for games and to limit spectators to less than 50 for practices.
The spectator supervisor will keep a list of the names of all those in attendance for each game. This information will be kept with the team manager to be provided the RDEK upon request.
If the spectator supervisor is unable to attend a practice or game or perform their duties, they may designate another parent to perform their role. All spectator supervisors must be fully vaccinated.
Teams that fail to uphold the WVMHA Vaccine Passport rules may lose their ice times for the season.
Spectators who refuse to show their ID and proof of vaccination, or have invalid vaccine status, will not be permitted to enter the arena for games. In the event of a spectator rudely, or forcefully, entering the arena without showing their ID and proof of vaccination, the designated spectator supervisor is to immediately go to the timekeepers booth and ask them to stop the game until the spectator who improperly entered the arena leaves.

Still looking for anyone who would like to become an official for next year.  Fun opportunity for anyone interested.