Wallet cards make proof of COVID-19 vax easy in Sask.

Wallet card graphic courtesy Saskatchewan Health Authority.

It is really simple to prove you are vaccinated for COVID-19, if you live in Saskatchewan.

All you have to do is show your wallet card.

It seems like a lot of people are spending needless energy freaking out over the fact on Thursday the Government of Saskatchewan put in a public health order that stated on October 1 people will have to show proof they are vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to engage in various entertainment venues or to access some non-essential businesses.

Proof of vaccination will be required at indoor dining at restaurants, nightclubs, bars, taverns and other licensed establishments.

You will also need proof of vaccination to get into event and entertainment venues including conference centres, casinos, movie theatres, concert venues, live-music venues, museums and indoor facilities hosting ticketed events.

Those going to indoor fitness centres and gyms will also have to show proof of being vaccinated for COVID-19.

Proof of a negative COVID-19 test will also allow people to get into the entertainment venues and non-essential businesses that were listed above.

Children under the age of 12 are exempt from the proof of vaccination or negative test requirement.

On Thursday, there was no mention anywhere if the wallet cards issued by the Saskatchewan Health Authority when people got their COVID-19 shots could be used as proof of vaccination. It was foggy if they would be accepted for that purpose.

On Monday, Government of Saskatchewan did clarify that wallet cards with vaccine details will be accepted as proof of vaccination for COVID-19. That likely came to great relief from a lot of people in the senior age group who might not have mobile phones and struggle to get online.

There should have never been any question as to whether the wallet cards issued by the Saskatchewan Health Authority could be used for that purpose.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority spent the money and went through the process of creating those wallet cards. Those cards show if a person is fully vaccinated or not.

While the Government of Saskatchewan wanted to avoid scenarios that required proof of vaccination, issuing the wallet cards was a nice measure to get ahead of the curve, if a proof of vaccination requirement was needed in the province.

Wallet cards allowed people to enter Roughriders games.

At the moment, Saskatchewan residents have used those wallet cards to show proof of vaccination when they visit other provinces and run into situations where proof of vaccination is required.

Wallet cards were also used as proof of vaccination to get into Friday’s CFL regular season game at Mosaic Stadium, where the host Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the Toronto Argonauts 30-16.

On Monday, the Government of Saskatchewan released that new COVID-19 vaccination records with Quick Response codes would be available.

The new documents are available for people with MySaskHealthRecord accounts and will replace the provincial COVID-19 vaccination records launched in August. MySaskHealthRecord accounts and a COVID-19 vaccination certificate with a QR code can be created and accessed online.

The QR code document can be downloaded/saved, printed and viewed on mobile devices.

You can a printed copy of your COVID-19 vaccination records through a local public health office at a cost of $20 per person. The Saskatchewan Health Authority said it may take a few weeks to get those records via that route.

There is no cost going the online route to get those records.

Domestically, it is a big plus to be able to use the wallet cards issued by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. If you have gone through the process to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and have been given that physical card, it is only fitting you use those cards as proof of vaccination, and you don’t have to pressured to stressed to get other documents for that purpose.

Also, the fact Saskatchewan residents have wallet cards will ease up the stress on Saskatchewan Health Authority and Government of Saskatchewan resources with regards to potential surges to get proof of vaccination documents online or in person.

If you are travelling abroad, it is prudent to get the QR code. The new COVID-19 vaccination certificates with the digital QR codes issued by the Government of Saskatchewan supports proof of vaccination at border entry and is aligned with work the federal government is undertaking on a national solution on that front.

It is also prudent if you are traveling abroad to find out what COVID-19 requirements you have to fulfill in the country you are visiting. You might have to supply a negative COVID-19 test or possibly still quarantine even if you are fully vaccinated when you travel to another country.

If you don’t take those steps when traveling abroad, you increase the risk of your trip getting disrupted.

Overall, the proof of vaccination system for COVID-19 is rounding into good shape in Saskatchewan thanks to the fact wallet cards, printed records or downloaded QR codes can be used.

As of Monday, people don’t have to get overly worked up over this development. There should be an avenue that meets the needs of each person.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

“Celebrate good times, come on” – Outdoor sports get go ahead in Saskatchewan

Ethan Campbell fires in a pitch for the Sask Five Giants in 2020.

Outdoor door sporting groups in Saskatchewan got to pop the champagne corks, because they found out they are going to play.

On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced public health orders around outdoor sporting events will be eased as part of Step One of the province’s Re-Opening Roadmap, which is set to commence this coming Sunday.

Originally, outdoor sports were part of Step Two of the Re-Opening Roadmap. The easing of measures for indoor sports remains in Step Two of the Re-Opening Roadmap.

The current public health orders were brought in to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

A Government of Saskatchewan release that was issued on Tuesday stated the change was made with regards to outdoor sports due to the lower risk of transmission of COVID-19 in outdoor settings along with how well the vaccination effort for COVID-19 has progressed in the province.

Starting on Sunday, the Government of Saskatchewan said competition and game play for outdoor sports can proceed as long as competition meets a number of requirements. The requirements are similar to when outdoor sporting events were conducted in Saskatchewan from July through to November of 2020.

Participants may not compete if they are feeling unwell.

Players and coaches are encouraged to screen for COVID-19 symptoms prior to arriving to practice or play. The Government of Saskatchewan encourages the use of its self-assessment tool for COVID-19, which can be found by clicking right here.

Jordan Kulbida fires a pitch for the Saskatoon G Force in 2020.

League play is allowed, but tournaments are not permitted.

There is no interprovincial travel. Teams that compete in interprovincial leagues need to contact the Government of Saskatchewan’s Business Response Team before beginning play.

Capacity must comply with public health orders for public outdoor gatherings for each playing surface or game area. Public outdoor gatherings are set to expand to a limit of 150 people on May 30.

Common areas, such as those where there are multiple playing surfaces, must be in compliance with gathering limits in public health orders.

Individual and protective equipment should not be shared. When equipment is shared like helmets or bats, cleaning and disinfecting must occur between each use.

Commonly touched equipment used for game play like game balls in football must be routinely replaced or disinfected during the course of practice or play.

Coaches, officials and players who are not on the field are not required to wear masks outdoors under the public health orders.

There is to be no hand shaking or high-fives.

Spectators are not required to wear masks outdoors. Spectators must remain in designated areas, and spectators not from the same household should maintain two metres of physical distancing.

Hand sanitizer approved by Health Canada or soap and hand washing water stations should be available to participants and spectators.

Action from the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League in 2020.

There is to be no sharing of water bottles.

Public washrooms, when available, are to be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Contact information of coaches, officials, and player should be recorded by the home team and maintained in order to assist with contact tracing for 30 days in the case of a confirmed COVID-19 case.

As an overall observation over the last 15 months, outdoor sports were able to be held in Saskatchewan with a lot less disruptions compared to indoor sports.

Even when it came to contact sports like tackle football, outdoor sports for the most part played out according to schedule.

Indoor sports seemed to have a bigger problem when it came to dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. That likely had a lot to do with the fact most minor hockey rinks in Saskatchewan have ventilation that is similar to the decommissioned ancient Rutherford Rink, which is on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

The glass system that rings on top of the board system in hockey rinks helps trap air molecules on the ice surface.

A number of gymnasiums and indoor sports facilities are old and have poor ventilation too.

Most indoor sports facilities that have been built in Saskatchewan in the past 15 years actually do have much better ventilation, which helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.

When indoor sports get going, they might provide the true test of how well the vaccination effort for COVID-19 has worked.

Action from the Kinsmen Football League in 2020.

Due to how well the outdoor sports seasons went in Saskatchewan in 2020, it makes sense to get them going first. In golf, Saskatchewan was able to crown provincial champions in 2020.

The Sask Five Giants were able to take the Under-18 AAA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship last year too.

Pretty much everyone involved with outdoor sports in Saskatchewan has to be over the moon happy about Tuesday’s announcement.

Here is hoping the upcoming season that will hit outdoor surfaces across Saskatchewan goes well for all.

Racist comments directed to Bear just sad, other notes

"I'm here to stand up to this behaviour... I'm proud of where I come from. I'm proud to be from Ochapowace First Nation. I'm not just doing this for myself. I'm doing this for all people of colour & for the next generation."

Ethan Bear's statement in response to racist comments. pic.twitter.com/3CK6DENnHC

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 26, 2021

The aftermath of the Edmonton Oilers elimination from the NHL playoffs shows how much work needs to be done to counter the idiots in society.

On Monday night or Tuesday morning depending on where you live in Canada, the Oilers dropped a 4-3 triple overtime heartbreaker to the Jets in Winnipeg in Game 4 of a first round NHL playoff series. Kyle Connor netted the winner in marathon match for the Jets.

With the loss, the Oilers were swept in the best-of-seven series 4-0 and eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

Following that loss, some moronic supposed supporters of the Oilers sent racist comments and messages over social media to Oilers defenceman Ethan Bear. Bear, who is of Cree decent, is from the Ochapowace First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Bear’s girlfriend, Lenasia Ned, brought the comments to light with a social media post of her own on Tuesday. The post erupted into an outpouring of support for Bear.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Oilers general manager Ken Holland condemned the behaviour of those who sent the racist comments to Bear.

On Wednesday evening, Bear and Ned put out a message on Oilers social media lines speaking out against the racism they encountered, while also thanking the overflowing messages of support they’ve received.

Ethan Bear raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup as a WHL champ in 2017.

It is sad and unfortunate that this still happens in society. It shows there is still a long way to go in the journey to combat racism.

Bear has played two full seasons and one partial campaign with the Oilers. The 23-year-old has been a great ambassador for the game and role model.

Before joining the Oilers, Bear played one game as a 15-year-old call up and four full seasons with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. In his storied career with the Thunderbirds, Bear appeared in 264 regular season games posting 66 goals, 126 assists and plus-50 rating in the plus-minus department.

He played a key part in helping the Thunderbirds win the WHL championship in his final season in the major junior ranks in 2016-17, while also being named the WHL’s top defenceman.

During his time in the WHL, it was common for a huge contingent of people from the Ochapowace First Nation follow Bear around the WHL circuit. You could easily spot Bear’s supporters wearing Thunderbirds jerseys with Bear’s name and #25 adorned on the sweater.

While the racism Bear and Ned encountered over the past couple of days was disappointing, it was uplifting to see the support they’ve received. People from all walks of life have rallied around the rearguard and his girlfriend.

With that noted, racism is still a problem in society. Here is hoping we all strive to try and be more responsible on that front.

• On Tuesday, the Kamloops Blazers announced general manager Matt Bardsley has resigned from the hockey club for personal reasons. Bardsley, who grew up in San Jose, Calif., said in the release that he and his wife and their children have been unable to see their family, who live in the United States, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to leave the Blazers is a family move. Bardsley, who is 50-years-old, became the Blazers general manager on June 1, 2018. The Blazers have posted an 87-54-9-3 regular season record in three seasons with Bardsley as general manager. The Blazers finished in the B.C. Division in each of the past two seasons. Bardsley was the executive of the year for the Western Conference in 2019-20.
• On Tuesday in his Taking Note blog, Gregg Drinnan reported Brandon Wheat Kings director of business operations and sales and sponsorship Rick Dillabough has retired. Dillabough has been with the Wheat Kings since 1989 and served in various capacities with the team over the years handling the bulk of the communications and media relations duties. He was one of the hardest working office staffers on the circuit and arguably the most respected and well-liked. Dillabough will be missed a tonne on the WHL circuit, and all those who know him hope he enjoys the next stage of his life.
• On Wednesday, the Calgary Hitmen announced Dallas Thompson would not be returning as the team’s director of player personnel next season. Thompson had been with the Hitmen for six years.
• Tickets are on sale for the May jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• Recently, Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press typed out a story that officials from the National Women’s Hockey League and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association have kept the lines of communication open with each other. With that said, there didn’t seem to be any new enlightenments with regards to professional women’s hockey. The NWHL’s six teams attempted to play a season in a bubble environment in Lake Placid, New York, from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5, but the loose bubble failed as COVID-19 infiltrated teams. The NWHL completed a playoff round March 26 and 27 in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Boston Pride downed the Minnesota Whitecaps 4-3 in the Isobel Cup championship game. The PWHPA is holding a Secret Dream Gap Tour tournament at the moment in Calgary, which started Monday and runs through to this coming Sunday. Spencer’s story about the NWHL interacting with the PWHPA can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, Hockey Canada announced its provincial and territorial BFL Female Coach of the Year award winner. In Saskatchewan, Brandy West-McMaster of Regina was the high performance award winner, and Stephanie Ferguson of Saskatoon was the community coach winner.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Inconsistency only consistency in COVID-19 pandemic

Yours truly with a standard COVID-19 vaccination picture.

“How the (explanative) did you get your shot already?”

That is a familiar refrain you might find in the comments sections on social media post when someone from Saskatchewan posts a picture of having received their COVID-19 vaccination. In Saskatchewan, it is common for people to post pictures on social media after they receive their first COVID-19 vaccination shot along with a circular green sticker.

Saskatchewan residents can receive those stickers at the place they got their vaccine poke from.

As people in younger age groups received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Saskatchewan, comments shows up from time to time from a person in another Canadian province saying they still have to wait a bit before getting their first shot.

That right there shows the many inconsistencies that have shown up during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which has gripped the world.

The first cancellations and restrictions in North America regarding the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold way back on March 11, 2020.

Since the point, it has been the norm to see inconsistencies when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. Going hand in hand with the inconsistencies is people losing their minds with them.

Why can people, who are traveling within Canada, arrive at one province like Saskatchewan and be able to freely visit and then go to another province like Manitoba and have to quarantine for 14 days?

With North America having dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic for over 14 months now, you would think people would get used to the fact there are inconsistencies. Still, people seem to not disappoint in showing how emotional they can be and get worked up over the inconsistencies.

Mosaic Stadium pictured during the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

One of the most glaring recent ones occurred on Friday.

In Ontario, the City of Toronto cancelled all major in person events for a second straight summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That cancellation period runs through to and includes the Sept. 4-6 Labour Day weekend.

The population of the metro area of Toronto is over 6.1-million.

On that same day during a sitting at the Government of Saskatchewan legislature, Premier Scott Moe encouraged the province’s residents to get vaccinated, because if the province accomplishes its vaccination targets, the hint was dropped that the 33,356 seat Mosaic Stadium could be used for events.

“That’s how later this summer we are going to fill that stadium in this town,” said Moe.

Saskatchewan has a population of over 1.1-million.

Moe has talked to the media this week about seeing football fans flock to Mosaic Stadium this summer. Of course, Mosaic Stadium is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, and those hints had some in Rider Nation jumping up and down believing that there is no doubt their team is going to play.

At the moment, the CFL season is scheduled to begin on August 5. The circuit wasn’t able to navigate a way to get on the field in 2020 due to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented with public health orders and travel restrictions.

In reality, the start of the CFL is far from a guaranteed thing. It is conceivable that Saskatchewan as a province could be in position to host something like a CFL game at the end of August, but the rest of Canada won’t be in that position.

Jess Moskaluke performs in 2016.

Judging by mainstream media reports, Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout appears to be very efficient, which is allowing “The Wheat Province” to do a lot better in that department than most of the rest of Canada.

If Saskatchewan gets to that place where it is possible to host events at Mosaic Stadium at full capacity at the end of August, you might likely see a Jess Moskaluke concert but not a Roughriders football game.

Of course, there will likely be a handful of Roughriders diehards that will be planning how the entire nine-team CFL can play out of Saskatchewan using Mosaic Stadium and Saskatoon’s the Griffiths Stadium and Saskatoon Minor Football Field in that scenario.

Griffiths Stadium has been able to hold over 8,000 spectators in its current configuration, while SMF Field can seat a crowd of 5,000.

Actually, Saskatchewan might hit the position where hockey at all levels including the WHL, the junior A SJHL, and the under-18 AAA male and female ranks returns to game action before any other area in Canada does.

That might go for all sorts of sports and entertainment activities.

The Atlantic provinces might get to those things earlier as they have been able to have an “Atlantic Travel Bubble” at times during the pandemic.

Still, a lot of Saskatchewan residents don’t seem to comprehend is that the rest of the world doesn’t unfold like it does in “The Land of the Living Skies.”

There are some that believe Saskatchewan’s vaccine rollout and COVID-19 restrictions are mirrored in the rest of Canada, and that is far from the case.

It seems people can’t grasp the continuing inconsistencies when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.

Unfortunately, you likely have better odds of winning the main jackpot for the Lotto Max lottery than seeing those inconsistencies go away.

The Regina Pats salute a Brandt Centre crowd in 2017.

Like it or not, the inconsistencies are here to stay.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Saskatchewan Hockey Association has plan, ventures into uncertain COVID-19 future

Fingers crossed all goes well for sports body

A picture from the Saskatoon Contacts last game on March 12.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s return to play plan has been green lighted by the Government of Saskatchewan, but the road forward is still not a certain one.

March 12 was the last day meaningful hockey games were played in the province. Hockey Canada cancelled all its sanctioned events on March 13 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

At that time, shutdowns were occurring across all sectors due to the pandemic, and all sports activities in Canada had basically been brought to a stop on March 13 outside of some recreations leagues that are not governed by sports bodies. Those recreation leagues would be halted too in the handful of days following March 13.

Hockey Canada lifted its national ban on sanctioned activities on June 4. That allowed the ball to get rolling for provincial associations to start working towards resuming game play.

In a media conference on Thursday, Dr. Saqib Shahab, who is Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, talked about how important it was to work with organizations that promote physical activity and hockey will be treated like all other organizations that have returned to play with public health measures in place.

He said there have been sporadic cases from people playing hockey just like those that have occurred in schools and work places, but there hasn’t been any widespread transmission associated with sports. He credited everyone involved with sports in the province for following the guidelines and rules in place to help prevent widespread transmission of COVID-19.

The Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Contacts battle on March 12.

After that press conference was held, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association released its return to play plan that has been approved by the Government of Saskatchewan.

The 64-page document is pretty comprehensive, and it is obvious a lot of work was put into creating it.

Only evaluation and training had been allowed by the Saskatchewan Hockey Association until now. Under Phase 2 of the plan, exhibition games within a mini-league have been given a tentative start date of this coming Saturday.

Phase 3 will allow for regular season games to take place in a mini league starting tentatively on November 1. Phase 4 for league games with expanded mini-leagues have been set with a January 18, 2021 tentative start date.

Phase 5 for playoffs and provincial championships are still being determined.

The start dates for the under-11, under-9 and under-7 age categories are a little different. For the under-7 age category, exhibition games will tentatively start on Dec. 1, and regular season league games are slated to tentatively begin on January 1, 2021.

In the under-9 age category, exhibition games are set to tentatively start on Nov. 15, while regular season league contests will tentatively follow on Jan. 1, 2021.

For the under-11 age category, exhibition and league games are tentatively given a Nov. 15 start date.

The Saskatoon Stars and Regina Rebels battle last season.

A face covering policy has been put into place for all members of minor hockey including players, coaches, bench staff, on-ice officials, off-ice officials and parents and spectators until it is deemed safe to remove that policy.

Tournaments and out of province travel will not be allowed for teams this season.

Each team will have a designated safety person who will be responsible for ensuring guidelines and protocols are followed.

At the moment, spectator capacity for minor hockey games has been capped at 150 people provided there is enough room to maintain two-metres of physical distancing between extended household groups.

For junior, senior and under-18 AAA hockey games, assigned seating must be available. If assigned seating is not available, a maximum of 150 spectators are permitted.

Also for junior, senior and under-18 AAA hockey games, spectators are allowed to attend at up to 50 per cent capacity provided there is enough room to maintain two metres of physical distancing between household groups.

The junior A Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League announced in a release on Friday a start date was still being determined for that circuit once protocols and the abilities for arenas to handle fans are satisfactory to the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. The SJHL operates under the Saskatchewan Hockey Association umbrella.

The WHL, which includes five Saskatchewan teams in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos, is targeting to start on Dec. 4.

That circuit is facing the challenge of satisfying four provincial governments and four health authorities in Canada and two state governments and two health authorities in the United States along with issues regarding crossing the border between Canada and the United States.

The Prince Albert Mintos and Saskatoon Contacts go at it.

The WHL, OHL and QMJHL, which are all under the umbrella of the CHL, operate as entity separate from Hockey Canada and Canada’s various minor hockey organizations, but all those bodies do work in partnership with each other.

Looking at the Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s plan, it is a good one to get the sport rolling in a bigger way in the province.

Even with the best thought out and made plans, the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic still hovers over everything.

In Saskatchewan, there was great joy when outdoor sports like auto racing, baseball, golf and softball were able to successfully hold modified seasons this past summer.

There is still trepidation when it comes to indoor sports and the possible transmission of COVID-19. Hockey is the one everyone is watching to see how it operates and handles difficulties.

Most sports bodies take a cue from what is done in hockey.

All it takes is a surge of cases somewhere to get the ball rolling to bring everything to a stop.

On Monday, Saskatchewan recorded a jump of 48 new COVID-19 cases, which is the largest jump seen since July 29 as 50 new cases were reported at that time. As of Monday, there are a total of 215 active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.

The provinces of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick are bringing back in various degrees of shutdowns due to an increase of new COVID-19 cases. The Greater Toronto Hockey League has postponed all sanctioned activities until January 1, 2021.

The Saskatoon Stars celebrate a win from last season.

On Friday, the World Health Organization announced a new daily record high for COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period at 350,766. Over the past week, a number of countries including Canada have set a daily record for COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association has a good plan, but you still have to cross fingers and hope factors outside of the organization’s control will allow it to go forward. There are no guarantees that shutdowns will be avoided.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s ‘Safe Guidelines’ document for a return to hockey will be a fluid one as restrictions are lifted or imposed. The latest version of that document can be found on the Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s return to play page, which can be found by clicking right here.

CJFL franchise explored for Lethbridge, other notes

The Hilltops and Huskies could have a new PFC foe.

Teams in the CJFL’s Prairie Football Conference could have a new rival in the summer of 2022.

On Friday, the PFC announced it had received an application to establish a junior team in Lethbridge, Alta. The Lethbridge Junior Football Club, which is led by Lethbridge area football enthusiast Anthony Parker, will be called the Vipers and will play out of the University of Lethbridge Community Stadium.

The next step in the expansion process will see the Lethbridge Junior Football Club develop a strong business plan, which will address the operations side of the organization, formalization of recruitment strategies and long term player, coach and organizational development plans.

The PFC will ensure that its expectations from all member teams for a high degree of social responsibility and community involvement from players, coaches and organizations can be met through granting a franchise to Lethbridge.

The Lethbridge Organizing Committee will continue to work on the expansion plan through the winter and is slated to give a presentation including a business plan at the PFC’s Annual General Meeting slated for March of 2021.

At that meeting, the membership will vote to accept the franchise, reject the franchise or put out a request for more information deferring a decision to a subsequent meeting.

The Lethbridge Junior Football Club is proceeding with the support of the City of Lethbridge, local MLA Nathan Neudorf and the Lethbridge Sport Council.

The Calgary Colts may play a new nearby rival.

The CJFL hasn’t had teams located in Alberta outside of the cities of Edmonton and Calgary since the Red Deer Packers were in operation from 1969 to 1978 and the Medicine Hat Rattlers existed from 1976 to 1979.

Lethbridge has a population of over 101,000 people and is located in an area of Alberta that has a high level of support for the sport football. The small city has two major post-secondary institutions in the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College.

Lethbridge’s economy is traditionally agricultural based, but it has diversified in recent years getting into businesses related to alternative energy including wind power, solar power and biofuel.

On paper, Lethbridge should be a strong candidate to land a CJFL expansion team.

The last time the PFC expanded was when the Winnipeg Rifles joined the circuit in 2002.

The PFC also includes the storied Saskatoon Hilltops, who have won the last six CJFL championships and 22 CJFL titles overall, Regina Thunder, Edmonton Huskies, Edmonton Wildcats and Calgary Colts. The CJFL as a whole is composed of 18 teams from across Canada.

The CJFL season was cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the circuit is aiming to hit the field in 2021.

• Last Tuesday at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the Seattle Storm down the Las Vegas Aces 92-59 in Game 3 of the WNBA Championship series and swept the best-of-five set 3-0. The win marked the fourth time in team history the Storm captured the WNBA title. This one came playing in a hub facility format.
• On Wednesday night, the Prince Albert Raiders announced at their annual general meeting the team lost $331,895 for the 2019-20 campaign, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic cost the Raiders two home regular season games and home dates what would have come from the 2020 WHL playoffs had they been held. The Raiders lost out in shared revenue from the Memorial Cup that was to be hosted in Kelowna in May but cancelled due to the pandemic and a loss of money from Sportsnet’s CHL contract rights that didn’t come in due to cancelled games. The Raiders losses included their share of a settlement in a CHL-wide class action lawsuit that argued major junior players are employees and not student-athletes and were entitled to employment standard compensation. Lucas Punkari of the Prince Albert Daily Herald had a good breakdown of the story, and it can be found by clicking right here.
• I contributed two pieces to the Howe Happenings blog run by the Gordie Howe Sports Complex that went live on Friday. The entries had a “girl power” theme to them. I put together a piece on track star Michelle Harrison, which can be found by clicking right here. I created a piece on all the media attention Emmarae Dale has received since being added to the roster of the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, and that piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Saturday, the Texas A&M University Aggies drew an announced crowd of 24,079 spectators to Kyle Field at College Station, Texas, to see the hosts down the visiting University of Florida Gators 41-38 in contest in the top tier of NCAA football. The online story from The Dallas Morning News focused on how the crowd noise helped the Aggies win this game played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several photos of the packed student section at Kyle Field circulated on social media. The Dallas Morning News reported A&M athletic director Ross Bjork tweeted a video message about Kyle Field protocols and safety on Friday urging fans to wear face coverings and stay in their assigned seats. There has been speculation over social media the Aggies drew more spectators than the attendance figure they announced.
• On Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 of the NBA Championship series. With the win, the Lakers took the best-of-seven series 4-2. The Lakers have won 17 NBA titles in team history and this was the first captured in a hub centre format. The NBA had no positive COVID-19 tests holding the final bit of its 2019-20 regular season and entire post-season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
• In his Taking Note blog on Saturday, Gregg Drinnan outlined the difficulties the QMJHL was having in its restart with COVID-19, and there are a lot of them. That piece can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Tournament, interprovincial travel ban clamps down Sask. summer sports season

There is no interprovincial travel for minors sports teams in Saskatchewan.

    It will be all about house leagues and city leagues, if competitive sports are played in any form this summer in Saskatchewan.

    After Saskatchewan entered Phase 3 of its reopening plan on Monday, minor sports organizations and teams waited to hear announcements for dates of when the first and second parts of Phase 4 would occur.

    The reopening plan was created to start returning Saskatchewan to action in a world that is in the grip of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    In the first part of Phase 4, sports and recreational activities for children and adults may resume including activities taking place on soccer fields, volleyball and basketball courts, baseball diamonds, lawn bowling greens and football fields.

    The second part of Phase 4 will see indoor pools, indoor rinks, libraries, museums, galleries, movie theatres and casinos and bingo halls open to the public.

    Full contact sports like tackle football, rugby, wrestling, boxing, martial arts and ice, ball and field hockey with checking will not be allowed during any part of Phase 4. Athletes can do conditioning and skills training in those sports, but won’t be able to engage in competitions with the way these plans unfold at the moment.

    During a press conference on Thursday, the Government of Saskatchewan said it plans to announce a date for the first part of Phase 4 early next week.

    At that same press conference, deputy premier and minister of education Gord Wyant said kids’ sports and activities will go ahead this summer. He proceeded to add there would be no tournaments or interprovincial travel for sports teams and no handshakes.

    The big bomb there was the fact tournaments and interprovincial travel for sports teams was nixed. It would be safe to say most sports organizations likely weren’t expecting that to come down the pipe.

    It is safe to say minor sports bodies were hoping to conduct competitions within the province including provincial championships.

    The Government of Saskatchewan did not define the length of this tournament and interprovincial travel ban for sports teams. One has to wonder if it will extend into September, October, November or December, when the weather turns cold and the winter sports season usually starts up.

    On Tuesday, Baseball Sask announced it was cancelling all of its provincial championship tournaments citing it couldn’t wait any longer for a date to be announced for the first part of Phase 4.

    Softball Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Soccer Association haven’t announced what the fate will be of the provincial championship tournaments each of those bodies run.

    The tournament and interprovincial travel ban will likely end the hopes of Saskatchewan Rugby hosting provincial championships as well.

    Golf Saskatchewan annually hosts a pile of provincial championship tournaments in junior, men’s and women’s amateur, men’s and women’s mid-amateur and men’s and women’s senior amateur play. All of those have sizable followings, and all of those events have to be thrown into doubt.

    Since golf is an individual sport, it might be able to get around the tournament and interprovincial travel ban, because groups of players traveling together wouldn’t be considered teams. Still, the Government of Saskatchewan didn’t provide any clarity on this front.

    On the summer hockey front, it is considered a contact sport and there is a tournament and interprovincial travel ban, so it is likely the rinks won’t see any sort of games this summer.

    The announcement of the tournament and interprovincial travel ban was skillfully tucked in with announcements regarding grad ceremonies and places of worship on Thursday.

    Outdoor grad ceremonies can have 30 graduates for class and 150 in attendance overall.

    Places of worship will be allowed to have one-third of the seating capacity of a building or a maximum of 150 people whichever is less.

    Those two announcements drew the bulk of the attention on Thursday. Concerns about graduations or attending places of worship actually far exceed concerns people have about returning to the world of sports.

    As for the provincial sports scene, it is possible that the Government of Saskatchewan and the medical officials could make new decisions making a return to play more of a possibility for even contact sports.

    Still, there are a tonne of questions about the tournament and interprovincial travel ban for sports teams. Hopefully, more details about the travel ban will emerge sooner than later.

Third Saskatoon Black Lives Matter rally draws 1,000

Protesters take a knee at Saturday’s Black Lives Matter rally in Saskatoon.

    Saskatoon seems to have the magic touch when it comes to hosting peaceful anti-racism rallies which have been held across the world to support the Black Live Matter movement.

    The third such rally occurred in downtown Saskatoon on Saturday and around 1,000 people turned out. The rally ran from noon to about 4 p.m.

    The march started at Kiwanis Memorial Park, moved to the police station, cycled down to city hall and finished up back at Kiwanis Memorial Park. The protesters in the march filled the air with chants and a number of people carried signs.

    There were speakers who took centre stage addressing the crowd at each stop of the march. At the police station, the protesters at the rally took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds to remember George Floyd and other minorities who lost their lives unjustly at the hands of police.

    These demonstrations were triggered due to the death of Floyd, who is African-American, on May 25 after he was arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minn.

    Video of the arrest showed Floyd being pinned on the ground with a police officer identified as Derek Chauvin driving his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck.

    Four officers were fired over the incident including Chauvin, and at first, Chauvin, who is Caucasian, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter over Floyd’s death. The charges against Chauvin were increased to second-degree murder on June 3.

    The three other officers - Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao – were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
    The crowd at the Saturday rally in Saskatoon was about 60 per cent between the ages of 18 to 24. The rest of the crowd encompassed various age backgrounds.

    The rally seemed to attract a number of families too. A wide variety of cultures were present as well.

    The rally wasn’t as big as the one held in Saskatoon on June 4, which was called the “Justice for George Rally.”

    It is now estimated the crowd at the June 4 rally contained around 4,000 people. About 95 per cent of the people at that rally were age 18 to 24.

    The one noticeable difference was the presence of the Saskatoon Police Service. At the June 4 rally, members of the Saskatoon Police Service mingled with those at the rally, which include posing for pictures.

    The Saskatoon Police members did a great job of blocking off streets to allow the June 4 march to happen without any hiccups.

    Since that time, a number of other stories have come out in the mainstream media regarding police clashes with minorities and a couple of high profile cases in Canada involving interactions with police and people of First Nations decent.

    Some of the stories include clashes between those attending Black Lives Matter rallies in Montreal and the police service in that centre, where protesters were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed.

    The organizers of Saturday’s rally asked for the Saskatoon Police Service to not have a presence at that rally. The Saskatoon Police members kept their distance and efficiently blocked off streets to allow Saturday’s march to take place.

    There were calls at the Saturday rally to defund the police in order to transfer money into social programs to deal with issues of racism and mental health. The “defund the police” line originated in the United States due to the continuing racial turmoil in that country.

    The people in the Saturday rally in Saskatoon made their voices heard, and everything went off in a peaceful way.

    If the rallies continue to happen in a peaceful way, it will help those organizing the rallies to get their anti-racism message out.

New heights for COVID-19 frustration, other thoughts

People in the COVID-19 pandemic want to get after each other like this.

    One has to wonder if frustration over the COVID-19 pandemic is reaching new heights at least in Saskatchewan.

    Over social media lines, it seems there are a large number of people that want the province to start returning more to normal due to the low number of COVID-19 cases in the province. As of Saturday, there were 23 active cases in Saskatchewan including one person in intensive care in Saskatoon and one receiving in patient care in the northern part of the province.

    Between the four western Canadian provinces in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, there are a total of 67 hospitalizations as of today due to COVID-19 with nine of those cases needing intensive care.

    There are a lot of people on social media lines who want restrictions to be relaxed, and they do not want society to be held down by those low hospital rates. These people want to be out and about and live their lives like normal.

    There are still others who view the COVID-19 pandemic as a serious crisis and believe restrictions are being relaxed too quickly and everything should be locked down. Those people fear leaving their homes.

    There are a handful of people who look at the Worldometer statistics to try and determine how dangerous COVID-19 is. Worldometer seems to be extremely accurate in counting deaths in real time.

    At the time this post went live, Worldometer stated 432,475 deaths due to COVID-19 this year. Worldometer also stated so far this year there have been 3,711,624 deaths by cancer, 2,259,154 deaths caused by smoking, 1,130,291 deaths caused by alcohol, 759,706 deaths by HIV/AIDS, 484,615 deaths by suicide, 443,281 deaths by malaria, 220,187 deaths by seasonal flu and 139,684 deaths from mothers giving birth.

    It should be noted that HIV/AIDS has been a pandemic for decades.

    The Worldometer also stated at the time this post went live there was over $180,792,000,000 spent on illegal in the world so far this year.

    No matter where you sit in belief on how dangerous COVID-19 actually is, it does seem people only look at the situation from their own person perspective. There doesn’t seem to be much empathy for those who see things differently.

    If you have a job in an industry that is keeping you financially sound at the moment, it seems some in that situation don’t care if others slip to poverty due to the fact those others work in an industry that could totally collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    It is almost, “I’m glad that is not me, and tough luck to the other person.”

    It is safe to say chronic stress regarding this situation that has no end date is affecting a lot of people.

    If everyone could find a way to a touch more kind and empathic, that would help.

• Blake Nill, who is the head coach of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds football team, agrees with the cancellations of the fall sports seasons announced by U Sports, the Canada West Conference, Atlantic University Sport and Ontario University Athletics that were announced on Monday. Nill told J.J. Adams of Postmedia for a Tuesday article, “Ultimately, universities have to provide leadership. They have to set an example. And this is absolutely about that.” Adams’s story can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, multiple media reports out of Regina stated late University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team running back Samwel Uko tried to seek help for mental health issues from a Regina hospital twice on May 21, which was the day he died. The 20-year-old died of an apparent suicide by walking into Wascana Lake. Overall, this is just a horrible thing to hear about.
• Gregg Drinnan, who was the best ever when it came to covering the WHL, posted a lengthy column on his Taking Note blog on Friday about the various difficulties the sports world is encountering with the COVID-19 pandemic. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• A year ago today on June 13, 2019, the Toronto Raptors downed the Golden State Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. With the win, the Raptors took the best-of-seven series 4-2 to capture the first NBA title. There were huge watch parties across Canada including in downtown Saskatoon to view that win. Right now, there are likely a lot of people in the country who would want to go back to that moment.
• On the uplifting front, big congratulations go out to Muenster, Sask., product Logan Hofmann. On Thursday, the 20-year-old right-handed pitcher was selected in the fifth round and 138^th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the MLB Draft. Hofmann played this past season with the Northwestern State University Demons baseball team in the NCAA Division I ranks. With the Demons in a shortened season, Hofmann pitched 28 innings without allowing an earned run. He won all four of his starts striking out 38 batters earning second-team all-American honours. Hofmann will turn up from time to time to train at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex here in Saskatoon.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.