Dear Club Members,
As you are likely well aware, the provincial government has mandated a 28-day lockdown for all southern Ontario regions starting December 26th. Under this lockdown, recreational facilities are closed. The City of Woodstock has informed us that the Community Complex will be closed from December 26th to January 22nd.
All sessions that were to begin the week of January 3rd are postponed, not cancelled. Any e-transfers that were sent have not been accepted and are the responsibility of the family if they wish to cancel the e-transfer at this time.
Once we receive directions from public health, the City of Woodstock and Skate Ontario we will share it with our members.
Thanks for your continual support this year. Stay safe during this holiday season and we hope to see you back on the ice in the New Year.
The Woodstock Skating Club
Registration for our next 6 week session is open, and the club is hoping to proceed with the session as planned. However, we are aware that COVID precautions in our region may change For this reason, we are asking children (and a parent, if you are joining a parent and child session) to register for your session but NOT send payment until you receive an email that sessions will start as planned. This is in an effort to save our volunteer treasurer and skating families the inconvenience of issuing refunds if COVID precautions prevent our next session from starting as planned.
Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in surrounding regions, Southwestern Public Health, the government of Ontario and Skate Ontario are discouraging travel to and from high transmission regions (Grey and Red Zones). The City of Woodstock has also mandated that their facilities do not rent ice to groups not located in our SWPH region. In this manner, we ask that only residents from SWPH region register for our programming at this time as a step to ensure the safety of our skaters and surrounding community.
Effective December 14th, 2020, Dr. Lock recommends the following measures:
- Get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms, even if they are mild.
- Self-isolate at home while you wait to receive your COVID-19 test results. Do not go to work or school outside of the home, attend child care, or run errands in the community until your test results rule out COVID-19.
- Self-isolate if you live with a symptomatic individual waiting for test results.
- If negative, discontinue self-isolation; if positive, continue isolated as directed by public health.
- If an individual is sick but chooses not to get tested, all household members are advised to self-isolate for at least 14 days.
New 6 Week Session Format!
We are implementing a 6 week session format for our Parent & Child, CanSkate Stages 1-4, CanSkate Stages 5/6 & Intro Star and Adult Programs. We understand that long-term commitment to recreational programs may be more challenging for families this year. To align with COVID-19 protocols, we must also limit our capacity on the ice for each session, therefore space is limited. It is our hope that if we offer multiple 6 week sessions throughout the year, more families will be able to participate throughout our season. The 6 week session format also lends well to a progressing skater (i.e. If a new skater progresses well in the Parent & Child session, they can potentially sign up for the CanSkate Stages 1-4 session in the next 6 week session block).
Note: Our Intermediate & Senior session is split up into Fall Season (late September-December) and Winter Season
(January-March)
No Family Bond Fee This Year:
Since we are offering such short 6 week sessions, we are waiving our family bond fee/volunteer requirements for this year only. If you enjoyed participating in one of our fundraisers in the past, fundraising opportunities will be available and all profits will go towards covering club operations.
New Parent & Child Session!
Currently, Skate Ontario is prohibiting hands-on assistance between coaches/volunteers and skaters. Since our traditional Pre-CanSkate session often relies on physically assisting new and/or young skaters, we cannot safely run this program at this time. Instead, we are offering Skate Ontario’s Parent & Child session. The Parent & Child session is designed for skaters who require hands-on assistance getting up and maneuvering on the ice. The term “Parent” can include a members of the skater’s household or a member of their social circle. If the member of the household or social circle is between the age of 12-18 please contact the club before registering. All participants (BOTH parent and child) on a Parent & Child session must be registered with Skate Canada (for safety, insurance and liability purposes). The parent must have a sufficient skating level to be able to support their skater. Parents will be responsible for assisting their skater directly on the ice. Parents must be able to effectively skate on their own and support their skater if necessary. Parents must wear a CSA approved helmet (NO bicycle Helmets Permitted) if their own skating level is below Stage 5 or equivalent. CanSkate Stage 5 Skills include: skating forwards and backwards with ease, stopping from a higher speed, forwards and backwards crosscuts, ability to transfer from inside/outside edges on one foot)
Registration for the Parent & Child session is a TWO STEP process. Please make sure to complete each step.
CanSkate Stages 1-4:
This program is designed for skaters who are able to get up and off the ice and maneuver independently (no hands-on assistance) at all times. If you are unsure whether your child belongs in the Parent & Child session or CanSkate Stages 1-4 session, please email us. Pre-assessments on the ice may be arranged to have a coach assess which session is best suited for your skater.
Have Questions?
Please consult our website for information re: Programs, Registration, Skater’s Guide, COVID-19 FAQs, etc. If you
have further questions, please email us at: woodskater@execulink.com. A volunteer board member will respond
to emails within 48 hours.
