The Pan American Hockey Federation continues promoting the #HockeyForAll Project.

You are invited to the presentation of the program on November 27, 2020 at 5pm (Pacific Time) – 8 pm Miami.

The Webinar will last an hour.

We look forward to your participation

Sign Up Now: https://panamhockey.wufoo.com/forms/hockey-for-all-i-seminar-field-hockey-inclusive/

Back to UVIC this weekend! To be able to continue to play our sport, we must follow the requirements set out by FHBC, ViaSport, VILFHA and UVic:

Before the game

• Do a health check – are you exhibiting any symptoms of illness? If so, STAY HOME.
• Bring only what you absolutely need – stick, mouthguard, water bottle. Minimize bags and gear and keep yours apart from others’ belongings.
• Stay 2 metres apart when not playing It does not matter if you are in the same cohort as someone else in another situation (i.e. school).
• Enter the field through the farthest gate from the road.
• Wear a mask onto the field. You can take it off for warm-up and play
• Use hand sanitizer as you enter the field.
• Bring your completed attestation form. Updated forms are available here. All forms will be shredded after 30 days.
• Do not touch any equipment with your hands, including balls and the goal. If a goal needs to be moved players should use the sanitizer spray bottle provided to disinfect the surfaces before and after moving the goal.

During the scrimmage

• Spectators are not allowed.
• No cheering before the scrimmage.
• No high fives after goal scoring.
• No cheering at the end the scrimmage.

After the scrimmage

• Put your mask back on.
• Maintain your 2 m distance from others.
• Exit through the closest gate to the road.
• Sanitize and wash your hands.

Important notes:
- Travel outside of your home community is not permitted – anyone coming from outside of Victoria should not come.
- Please do not feel you have to participate. We completely understand that different people have different risk requirements, assessments and some have more exposure to more vulnerable people. This is a fun, scrimmage season – with no obligations.
- Let’s run around, play good hockey, have fun and support each other – as safely as possible.

We’ve got you covered – see you at the field!

The VILFHA Safety Plan outlines the measures that will be followed to keep coaches, athletes,  volunteers, and visitors safe. The plan will align with guidelines and orders provided by  public health authorities, ViaSport, Field Hockey BC (FHBC), and Field Hockey Canada (FHC). 

The primary objective of the Safety Plan is to prevent the  transmission of Covid-19. The secondary objective is to ensure the ability to track all possible  transmission in the case of an outbreak. 

We will continue to adapt measures in response to public health guidance as  our current environment is continually evolving. This plan is fluid and will be updated as needed. 

VILFHA is adopting a Program Cohort model which limits Cohorts to maximum 42 athletes, 3 Coach/Leaders and 2 Safety officers with 2 Umpires. There can be no more than 49 participants based on Public Health order limiting gathering size.
Spectators are discouraged from attending. Any spectator must be off the field and outside the fenced area. They are requested to maintain 2 m physical distancing at a minimum.

Roles & Responsibilities
All participants:
• Stay up-to-date on current public health recommendations. 
• Complete self-assessment (screening) before coming to the field hockey pitch. Do NOT  come if you respond YES to any of the screening questions. STAY HOME if you are  feeling unwell. Self assessment tools are available at https://bc.thrive.health/
• Follow public health guidelines on personal hygiene and physical distancing.
• Wear appropriate training clothing and bring only your water bottle(s) and stick. 
• Maintain 2 m distance at all times when off the field of play (outside the white lines)
• Do not share water bottles, personal gear, food etc. 
 
Communication
Up to date guidelines for Return to Play are posted on Field Hockey BC https://fieldhockeybc.com/and ViaSport  https://www.viasport.ca/

Relevant  adjustments to safety measures will be made and participants will be alerted by email and update to VILFHA web page https://vilfha.teampages.com/

Coaches, players and volunteers will be trained on facility and equipment cleaning  protocols.  

Public Health Awareness
Public health advice on COVID-19, including symptoms and measures to reduce  transmission, will be posted on signs
Athletes, coaches and staff are asked to review and agree to safety measures

Screening 
All players and volunteers are required to complete a COVID attestation form prior to entering the turf area.
Anyone who is feeling unwell MUST stay home. 
Coaches, Safety Officers and Umpires have the ability to deny entry to anyone who answers yes to any of the  screening questions or whose disregard for safety measures puts other at risk. 

Facility Access & Flow
Cowichan Sportsplex
enter through the gate and provide COVID attestation form to Safety Officer,
maintaining 2 meter distance from others participants then go to their designated  space to drop off their personal belongings. 

Players not involved in a scrimmage may train in the ‘warm-up area’ near the gate when other members of their cohort are scrimmaging

Only participants within a cohort may be admitted onto the field – this includes the warm-up area (ie Div 1/2 may not use the warm-up area when Div 2/3 is playing

Cleaning, Hygiene & Sanitation
Clean and/or disinfect high touch surfaces at the beginning and end of each training session.
Each cohort will be provided with cleaning and sanitizing supplies
Balls will be washed with soap and water following use
Cohorts will keep their balls and Safety Officer pinnies separate for duration of the season – ie cohorts will not share balls or pinnies

Medical and Public Health Response Plan and Management of New and  Suspected Cases
Anyone who complains of feeling ill while at the field during training will be asked to  leave immediately and complete self-assessment or further assessment/medical attention as warranted Island Health’s COVID-19 Call Centre: 1-888-268-4319 https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn about-health/covid-19 

Anyone onsite will be asked to  wash their hands and all equipment and surfaces touched by the individual will be cleaned  and disinfected immediately.  ).  

Information for contact tracing will be provided to public health officials by the VILFHA president or other executive as requested for contact tracing. Contact information is maintained and names of participants will be stored for 1 year.
Insurance 
Participants must be registered with Field Hockey BC

Equipment Cleaning Protocols 
Training Equipment 
• Clean balls with soapy water and rinse. 
High Touch Points
• Entry and exit gates – clean with disinfectant wipes
Personal Hygiene 
The virus that causes COVID-19 is spread through droplets when you cough, sneeze, talk or  when you touch an infected surface and then touch your mucus membranes (eyes, nose,  mouth). 
• Practice physical distancing. 
• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds often. 
• Avoid touching your face. 
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow. 
• Keep water bottle in backpack or zip-lock bag (along with hand sanitizer) • Do not spit or clear nasal passages. 

http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/self-isolation – Self
BC Government Link 
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19- provincial-support/bc-restart-plan 
ViaSport Links 
https://www.viasport.ca/news/return-sport-guidelines-help-bc-sport-organizations-plan-reopening https://www.viasport.ca/news/province-takes-action-support-return-sport
BC COVID 19 App & Self-Assessment Tool: https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en

The details below and the document attached does not replace all of the details of requirements and checklists in the full Sept. 29 FHBC Stage 2 Return to Play plan (see link at bottom). It is specifically geared for the Field Hockey Victoria general participant and parent audience.

Stage 2 Definition
The FHBC second stage responsible return to play is defined as a progressive game play
return – permitting the creation of ‘cohorts’ (participant bubbles or pods) allowing for
greater participant interaction within the field of play only (field of play defined as
inside the playing perimeter white lines).

Attestation forms
Participants (all players, coaches, safety officers, officials) need to sign a COVID-19 participant attestation form prior to each activity session (even if that is multiple sessions in the same day).

• This can be done electronically or on paper but must be properly tracked, organized and able to be provided upon request

Liability & Insurance
While we are all doing our part to limit transmission of COVID-19, the Return to Play framework is also built to cover liability and insurance. As with any session, all players, coaches and officials must have valid FHBC membership so they have their player insurance. In addition, all organized sport activity on any field or venue must follow the appropriate FHBC return to play guidelines for liability purposes which for liability reasons must include:

• Insured participants (valid FHBC memberships)
• Contact tracing for each session of each participant
• Organizing group has an Emergency Action Plan

Contact Tracing
For contact tracing purposes, the organized sport group of the activity must collect the first and last names and telephone number or email address of all activity participants. Please ensure cohort record keeping is up to date and able to be provided upon request.

Physical Distancing
Regardless of whether your session is in Stage 1 or Stage 2, outside the playing perimeter white lines stage one physical distancing protocols apply requiring all participants to maintain a physical distance of 2 meters.

Participants must commit to a single cohort
All members participating in Stage 2 Return to Play are limited to a single cohort (except those in a FHC or FHBC high performance program).

Coaches and Officials may be counted outside the total cohort number if they are able to
maintain physical distancing at all times.

Stage 1 training sessions are not cohorts as there are coach to athlete ratios and physical distancing at all times. Therefore, participants could play in a Stage 1 training session and one Stage 2 cohort. It is recommended that coaches, officials and players consider the number of people they are exposed to regardless of if physical distancing is in place or not.

Example scenarios:

• A player training in Stage 2 club practice cannot participate in men’s or women’s league
• A player competing in the women’s or men’s league can participate in a Stage 1 club practice (physical distancing and coach:athlete ratios at all times)
• A player participating in a FHBC Regional program can participate in men’s or women’s league (note: those athletes are limited to 2 cohorts)
• Two different cohorts playing in opposite ends of the same field are not permitted

A team within a cohort
In stage 2, you can have up to 4 teams within a single cohort. This cohort includes:

• Max 4 teams per cohort (max 2 teams per field at a time)
• Max 24 individuals per team made up of max 20 athletes, 1 required coach 1 required safety officer, 1 optional umpire, 1 optional TD for a total maximum of 24 people
• If you don’t have an umpire or TD, you cannot add players. The maximum number of players is 20.
• Players must remain on their designated team within a cohort. Movement between teams is not permitted.
• While 4 teams make up a cohort, only 1 or 2 of the teams can be inside the facility at a time. i.e. if Team 1 and 2 are playing a game, Team 3 and 4 cannot warm up on the side of the field. They cannot enter the pitch until Team 1 and 2 have cleared the field.

Cohorts should remain together for an extended period of time. If looking to change cohorts, implement a two-week break between activities.

Umpires

• Players who are also umpires may only umpire in their playing cohort. This also applies to coach-umpires.
• Non-playing umpires may umpire in a maximum of 2 cohorts, in either league, provided they can maintain physical distancing at all times.
• Non-player umpires will need to declare which cohort(s) they will umpire in

Venue and Equipment setup

• Ensure ‘Athlete Equipment’ areas are set up and marked. Each athlete is assigned a spot, 2 meters or more from each other.
• All equipment to be placed from a safe distance away from all sidelines to ensure umpires safety during competition
• No sharing of personal equipment – Water bottles, Sticks, gloves, shin pads, mouthguard, clothing, including all Penalty Corner Equipment.
• Cleaning/Sanitizing protocols for team bench and technical areas are in place that may require additional to allow for the effective changeover of field activity user/group.

Types of Stage 2 Return to Play:

• 1. Modified formats of play such as 7v7, 5v5, 8v8 (even on shared fields)
• 2. Standardized play (11v11 games like normal)
• 3. Standardized training environment (practice that includes scrimmages, 2v1s, etc.)

Local Sport Organizations
Field Hockey Victoria
VILFHA (ladies league)
VIFHA (mens league)
VFHUA (umpires association)
Cowichan Field Hockey Association

Read full FHBC Stage 2 Return to Play framework here: https://www.viasport.ca/sites/default/files/2020%20Second%20Stage%20Responsible%20Return%20to%20Play%20Framework%20-%20Field%20Hockey%20BC%20COVID-19%20Response%20-%20September%2029%202020%20%28Updated%20and%20Appr.pdf