The Northern Ontario Hockey Association is streamlining its protocols to go alongside the northern Ontario provincial health experts.
Volunteer trainers and coaches will now have to be fully vaccinated by October 14, moving the deadline up from October 31.
Also, players 12 and up will need to be fully vaccinated, which was originally only for players 18 and up.
"As we continue to operate through these unprecedented times, please be aware that the NOHA Board of Directors has had multiple discussions since the summer about ways to enable players to continue playing this great game of hockey as safely as possible," said Sue Shepherdson, NOHA President in a media release.
"On September 9, 2021, the NOHA announced a COVID-19 Vaccine Policy that required all Participants born in 2009 or earlier to be fully vaccinated to participate in NOHA-sanctioned Programming.
"The NOHA Board of Directors amended this policy on September 17, 2021. This decision was based on information from the Provincial Government that exempted Players who are between 12 to 17 years of age to be vaccinated."
See related: NOHA creates vaccination policy
Shepherdson says while COVID-19 creates ever-evolving situations, she insists that the health of the participants is priority number one with the NOHA.
"The Executive has continued to review appropriate information and has engaged in communication with legal counsel and various public health authorities, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of Ontario, Dr. Moore and his colleague, Dr. Warshafsky," noted Shepherdson.
See the enclosed letter from Dr. Moore here.
"After carefully considering the evolving public health response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and considering the close contact nature of our game, the NOHA Board of Directors has decided to revert to the NOHA Vaccine Policy dated September 9, 2021, which will require all Players born in 2009 or earlier to be fully vaccinated. The policy has been amended to reflect a new timeline to be fully vaccinated," said Shepherdson.
Click here for the full policy.
"Note that the NOHA policy also references On-Ice Officials, Volunteers, Team Officials, however per the direction of the five (5) Public Health Units in the NOHA Territory, these participants must be fully vaccinated by October 14, 2021 in order to enter the facilities in Northern Ontario.
"While we understand that there may be disappointment in the change to the NOHA policy, we assure you that the decision is being made in the best interest of all participants to provide us with the best opportunity to play a full hockey season, without the stops and starts that we encountered for much of the last season," she continued.
