Parents,
Thank-you for your patience as we work through all the new requirements for vaccines. You may have seen the update today from the Province regarding the vaccine passport requirements and their impact on youth sports. We wanted to share an update so that parents are aware of what is happening.
The province did announce today that youth sports, for ages 18 and under are exempt from the new vaccine passport requirement that comes into effect on September 22nd. However, OMHA still has a requirement (shared on the weekend) that requires all players to be fully vaccinated by October 31st. This means that all players born 2009 or earlier in South Kent must have completed both doses and the 14 day period after, in order to be fully vaccinated by October 31st. To accomplish this, we recommend starting vaccines by September 19th at the latest, with the second dose by Oct. 17. Failure to complete the requirements will result in the participant being suspended from hockey activities until all vaccination requirements are met. For anyone who is coaching, acting as bench staff, officials, time/scorekeeper or volunteer, the above also applies to them for the game/practice that they are involved with.
For any parents or spectators entering the arena, the new passport requirement will start on September 22nd. Only the child that is participating in that practice/game is exempt from the requirements and not anyone else who is there to watch. Anyone born in 2009 or earlier must show proof of vaccination at the door to enter the arena, if they are not directly participating in the practice or game (this includes children who play in South Kent but are not on the ice at that time). Please note that on September 22nd, if you are not fully vaccinated (two weeks after your second dose), you will not be able to enter the arena as a spectator.
To make it easier for tracking, at the first conditioning skates this weekend, please come prepared to have sent in or to show at a minimum, your child's receipt for their first dose or your approved accommodation from OMHA. As a reminder you can send in a copy of the vaccine receipt to
[email protected]
If you have additional questions, please reach out to
[email protected] and we will help to address them the best that we can.
We look forward to continuing to provide a safe and enjoyable hockey season for all our players.
Thank you for reading.
SKMHA BOARD of DIRECTORS