Alberta is preparing to host a third tournament of the International Ice Hockey Federation (FIHG) in the midst of a pandemic with the experience of the first two, but the ice is still moving under its feet.
The 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship kicks off Sunday in Edmonton and Red Deer, and it faces the same challenges as last year in the Alberta capital: how to bring together hundreds of people for a sporting event without becoming a vehicle for spread of COVID-19?
Vaccines, rapid test advances, knowledge and data collected after the 2021 tournament in Edmonton and the World Women’s Hockey Championship in Calgary are tools that Hockey Canada now has that it did not have. not a year ago.
However, the virus continues to disrupt the sport, as the NHL has extended its Christmas break by a day due to the high number of players and staff in COVID-19 protocols. Before the break, the Calgary Flames had 20 players and 13 staff on the roster.
The preparatory match scheduled for Thursday between the Czech Republic and the Swiss, in Red Deer, has also been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
“We are confident in what we have in place to be able to organize the event, but we are not immune to what we see from the Flames, other NHL teams or other leagues. professionals in North America, said Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of events. We don’t want to go through it, we don’t anticipate it, but in return, we know it’s a possibility anytime. ”
The number of active COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and the number of people in intensive care in Alberta are lower than a year ago, when the World Juniors were held in front of empty bleachers at Rogers Place.
The Omicron variant and the authorization to welcome supporters in the stands at this tournament, however, brought new variables in the holding of this event involving 10 nations.
About 90% of tickets for the 2022 tournament had already been sold when Alberta followed other Canadian provinces in reducing the capacity of venues that host sporting events to 50%.
Fans who purchased tickets will need to provide full proof of vaccination – a negative test won’t be enough – to enter Rogers Place and Peavey Mart Centrium.
The movement and management of players, coaches, team staff and officials within the tournament will function similarly to the 2021 tournament, which adopted the protected environment model as the NHL did for its playoffs. , in 2020.
Not all of these people will be in contact with the public and will be confined to the hotel, ground transportation and event level at each site, McIntosh added.
PCR testing along with rapid testing, mask wear, and wearable bracelet technology for close contact tracing are also part of the protocols in place, McIntosh said.
Two FIHG doctors are on site and each host city will have a chief doctor. University of Calgary infectious disease expert John Lam is a consultant for the tournament, McIntosh said.
Players and coaches who arrived in Canada under the federal government’s international single sporting event exemption were tested for three consecutive days and quarantined for two days upon arrival last week.
According to McIntosh, the majority of them are vaccinated.
“Those who participate in the event fall under the international exemption,” he explained. We know the status of all of these people and how they test themselves, but not all are fully vaccinated to Canadian standards. I would say that by Canadian standards, over 90% of those involved are fully vaccinated. ”
On Friday, the FIHG canceled six tournaments scheduled for January due to concerns over COVID-19, including the World Women’s Under-18 Championship for a second consecutive year.
Junior Team Canada opens its tournament Sunday at Rogers Place, against the Czech Republic. Finland, Germany and Austria are also part of Group A.
The defending tournament champions USA, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland form Group B in Red Deer.
The quarter-finals of the event will take place on January 2, the semi-finals will take place on January 4 and the final will be held the next day in Edmonton.