SMRA President's Update

June 18, 2020

Dear Ringette Families,

I hope you are all well and safe.  This is definitely not the type of mass mailout I had envisioned for my first role of new President of the St Marys Ringette Association.  For starters, it is way too long and I apologize.   However, as we all know, these are not normal times and we must all roll along with the ever changing developments!

Two weeks ago on June 5, 2020, when I posted our update on our website and Ringette Ontario made their announcement to suspend all league play and tournaments till January 2021, with no group activity till Sept 2020, I was really hoping that my next message to you would provide greater clarity in these uncertain times based on informed decisions and recommendations.  Unfortunately, I cannot provide any clarity at this time as quite frankly, there is none. The clearest answer I can provide, is it is still unclear!  But here is what I know.

As mentioned, we met with WRRA, we attended the Ringette Ontario Town Hall, had a conference with the GLRL and WRRL, and had our first Executive meeting of the season.   Regrettably, there are still far too many factors at play and until we have finite information, we can only speculate and hope for the best.

I will attempt to highlight the challenges below:

Return to Ice

• The hope is to return to the ice (in some form) in September.  However, this will only occur when it is safe to do so.  That decision is going to be based on what the Provincial Government says, what the Town says, and also what the Health Unit says.  What will that return look like?  What numbers will be allowed on the ice?  Will fans be allowed in the arena?  Practice only or exhibition games?  No one knows!  There are numerous scenarios being discussed and as you know, everyone has an opinion.  Unfortunately, for me to prematurely speculate on what a return may look like would be irresponsible.    

Provincial Program

• Will there be tryouts?  When will those tryouts occur?  Where will they happen?  Will travel be allowed?  How many games?  Again, no decisions made at this point.  The same decision makers as listed above will determine our next steps

As you can see, we are at the mercy of other decision makers.  I have reached out to the Health Unit, the Town, and St Marys Minor Hockey so that when the time is right, we can collaboratively come up with a solution that is safe for all. 

I am sorry that I cannot provide further clarity or information.  When I do receive concrete, factual information, I will convey it to you.  In the meantime please continue to monitor our website for updates.  

Registration

• Also, moving forward, it is very tough for us to plan if we do not know how many players to plan for.  On that note, I ask that you please register before July 1 so when we discuss our return to ice with the Town and the Health Unit, we will have a better understanding of what policies and procedures will need to be implemented based on our numbers.  Thank you to everyone who has already registered.  If you have not, please do so on our website, www.stmarysginette.ca

• There are however, still many questions about what the cost will be.  We have formed a subcommittee of the Executive to work on this.  Unfortunately, yet again, until we know when we can return to ice, we do not have enough information to determine costs.  The committee is looking at all options moving forward from prorating the fees to potential refunds.  But in order for this to occur, we really need you to register.  No funds are required at this point, really just a commitment to play ringette.  It is my understanding that those who paid by credit card, the funds have not been processed and will not be until a plan is in place.  However, that is beyond my scope of expertise, so if you have any credit card questions, please reach out to our Treasurer, Erin Thomson at sniperstreasurer@gmail.com

We ask that you be patient as we work through this process

Equipment Return

• A letter has been drafted by our Equipment Manager, Burton Pickel and will be sent out to coaches re. the return of Jerseys and equipment.  They will be in contact with you about how to return these items in a safe manner

I thank all of you for your patience and understanding as we move forward.  I always say moving forward, as this is new for all of us, and we are all journeying together.

Please, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to me.  I am more than happy to discuss them with you.  I can be reached at presidentsnipersringette@gmail.com

Again, I sincerely apologize for the length of this email and I would like to promise I will never send another one so long, but as we know, these times, they are a changin!

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the rink soon.  Take care everyone and stay safe!

Michael

Michael Lynch, President

St Marys Ringette Association

PS, sorry, just saw this come out today.  Ringette Ontario has sent out a FAQ sheet, the link https://ringetteontario.com/home-page/about-us/rtp-faq/ will be posted on our website and social media.   I encourage all of you to sign up for Ringette Ontario newsletters and updates.