Photo: Contributed
Summer camps have always a great way to get the kids to drop the video game console, to get active and to give their parents a bit of a break.
The COVID-19 pandemic, as it has with nearly every other facet of life, has changed the summer camps are being conducted. That includes hockey camps, which are able to go ahead in B.C. this summer thanks to the province’s strong work in preventing the virus’ spread.
They will be nothing like they used to be, though.
Paul Crowley, who owns and operates CHE Hockey School, is going ahead with boys’ and girls’ camps over the next two weeks at Kelowna’s Capital News Centre. The kids will be able to get back on the ice, but the situation will be unlike anything they’ve experienced. The kids won’t be going into the corner to fight for the puck, which is their instinct.
“We’re going to keep our camps more on the instructional side and not on the competition side,” Crowley said.
Instead of 30 skaters, two goaltenders and half a dozen instructors on the ice, pandemic measures mean there can be only 12 kids and two instructors on the ice at one time. The youngsters will be required to arrive at CNC in their hockey gear, and their every move inside the building will be monitored to ensure physical distancing. They will get undressed after their on-ice session, head out for an hour of off-ice work and then head straight to their guardians’ vehicles.
It’s better than nothing for Crowley, who is trying to stay in business while getting kids moving as well.
“That’s one part that’s being missed in all this,” Crowley said. “What are the ramification of keeping kids off the field and out of the rinks? What I’m hearing from my daughter and my grandkids is they’re really developing some bad habits. There are extremely active kids that are just basically now couch potatoes, and they’re getting used to it.”
CHE Hockey runs youth and adult hockey tournaments all over North America throughout the year in addition to youth camps. Crowley had to cancel 25 adult tournaments in April, May and June, and he has laid off three of his eight full-time employees.
“How long can (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau and our premiers sit and watch as the subsidy funding money disappears in September? Then what?” Crowley said. “They better be prepared to open up the rinks, get the economy moving and let people get on with it. Hopefully the second wave is not going to be as bad as people think.”
The Kelowna camps will be held July 13 to 17 for boys and girls between the ages of seven and 13. The second one is scheduled for July 20 to 24 for girls between ages seven and 14.
The instructors over the two weeks include Crowley, a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick who had a nine-year pro career, Dallas Stars goaltender consultant Jim Bedard, Canadian women’s team forward Rebecca Johnston and Clarkson University forward Miranda Gaudet.
There are a few spots still available for the camps, and more information can be found here.
All Biz Releases Stories
