This is in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper:
Tournament arranged for BCHL’s Island teams
Cleve Dheensaw / Times Colonist
AUGUST 13, 2020
Sports leagues and teams have to be creative and flexible in this time, and the Island Division teams in the B.C. Hockey League are proving just that.
The Island Cup will feature the Victoria Grizzlies, Cowichan Valley Capitals, Nanaimo Clippers, Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Powell River Kings in a round-robin beginning Oct. 2.
Each club will play 12 round-robin games. The semifinals and finals will be held at the Q Centre in Colwood on dates to be announced.
The tournament will adhere to current B.C. guidelines and a maximum of 50 people — including players, coaches and scorekeepers — will be in the rinks for the games.
“This is all dependent on the health authorities,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon. “If it can’t happen, then we will continue practising and training until the start of the regular season.”
The BCHL regular season is targeted to begin Dec. 1. The Grizzlies will open training camp on Sept. 15 with Didmon expecting to have 30 players on hand.
Current B.C. guidelines allow for training in small groups, so teams in various sports have been breaking up practice sessions into allowable units and staggering ice, field or court times.
“That’s just the way it is and you have to accept it because this is an unusual time,” said Didmon. “The BCHL has done a good job of managing its way through this situation.”
The league is a leading producer of hockey talent for U.S. collegiate NCAA Div. 1 teams.
The ice is in at Kal Tire Place and ready for hockey, Im sure the Interior teams will be doing something similar.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bobby for the news on the ice installed at Kal Tire Place. Normally within the next few days Vipers training camp would be getting under way. I read online a few weeks back that teams are being given the option to start training camp in September, and divisional exhibition games will be able to start once the province moves to Phase 3. With this new Island Cup tournament in Victoria, maybe will see something similar in the Interior or at least just some exhibition games with no fans. With September a few short weeks away, it will be interesting to see what happens.
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