Each season, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League is tasked with ensuring the health and safety of all our student-athletes, coaches, officials, and league staff. As we enter our 12th season, we want to reinforce that health and safety is at the forefront of every decision we make. Working closely with the CSSHL Board of Governors, the league has come up with a gradual, four stage, phased approach to offer safe programming to all student athletes upon their return to school.
CSSHL programs will implement the following framework as the different guidelines allow for it.
Phase 1: First and foremost, emphasis will be put on the education of young student athletes. Students will return to school, resume routine and prioritize academics. On and off-ice training will be integrated in accordance with the local health authority, provincial or regional member and facility guidelines. No game play will be conducted until at least October, when we are given the go-ahead by the provincial and regional health authority.
Phase 2: Details of Phase 2 include the reintroduction of regional exhibition games with MHA or other CSSHL programs in an area as defined by the local health authority or provincial/regional member.
We will conduct games in accordance with the local health authority and provincial or regional member guidelines. Restrictions will be put in place to adhere to these standards. Specific considerations may include, but are not limited to 3 on 3, 4 on 4, or 5 on 5, with the possibility of contact vs. no contact, or cohorts vs. no cohorts.
Phase 3: During Phase 3, league and exhibition games will resume within the province in which they are registered. Travel protocols will be followed as set out by the provincial health authority and the provincial member.
Phase 4: Amid Phase 4, full interprovincial competition will resume. The CSSHL is committed to having a meaningful season and will not put an end date to the season to ensure we have the most amount of time able to get a full season into play.
We are eager and excited for our student athletes to return to school, begin training, and eventually regular season games over the course of the 2020-21 school year.