Orono Amateur Athletic Association

Just a reminder to log into FlipGive before you do your online Christmas shopping!!!

This weekend, an event is being held at the Orono Fairgrounds. The event runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings and will be potentially bringing large crowds to the fairgrounds and to Orono itself. Please note that the arena staff will be blocking off the entrance to the arena parking lot to prevent non-arena users from using our lot. You are of course allowed to enter the parking lot and park during our OAAA programming. Please prepare for extra traffic in town and plan your arrival time at the arena accordingly so everyone gets inside the arena together as is required.

The practice schedule for all OAAA teams is now up on our website calendar. The schedule is up to date until the first week of January. We are hopeful that Durham Region will re-enter the Orange Zone/Level and we can restart games in January.

Level Orange & OAAA Hockey Effective Monday November 16th, Durham Region has entered the Orange level in relation to the Province's COVD response. The OAAA and the Orono Arena are following the guidelines as laid out by the Provincial government and the Durham Region Health Department.... At this time, not much has changed for us. Please note the following rules which will strictly be enforced: One parent per player will be allowed in the arena. This rule will be strictly enforced regardless of the total number of people in the arena at that time. We ask that you do not give the arena staff a hard time about this rule - it is not their rule and they cannot bend it for you. Players and parents enter the arena together at approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of their ice time. This may be delayed if the programs are running late. Once the doors are closed, latecomers will not be allowed into the arena. Please make sure you are on time or early. Players must not spit either on or off the ice. There continues to be no use of washrooms for parents. Parents must enter and go directly through the lobby to the cold area. Parents must not re-enter the lobby area at any time. Parents exit through the east doors inside the cold area. For games, the home team will now have access to two dressing rooms with a maximum of five kids in each room. The visiting team will continue to use the chairs in the cold area. Players must still come mostly dressed and vacate the arena immediately after their ice time ends so that proper sanitizing can be done and the next group can start their ice time on schedule. A member of the OAAA board will be at the arena for all home games to assist in ensuring all protocols are followed. If you have any questions please ask the OAAA board member on-site. Please remember that these rules are in place for the safety of our players, coaches, parents and arena staff but also so we can continue to provide a hockey program for the kids.

Hello Hockey Families, As you know, as of Monday we are going into the red zone. This effectively will end games until at least January for us. For U11 and up all games from Monday forward will be removed from the website schedule and will be replaced with single-team full ice practices. For U7, U8 & U9 this means the start of games will be delayed until at least January.... Starting Monday, every team will have a minimum of 1 hour of full ice practice per week. Most teams will have 2 hours. All current games and practice ice times will be split to try and have the most teams getting 2 hours per week for development. Please note that your usual practice time up until now may not be your practice time moving forward. Check the website for the most up to date times and days for your team. Our new Red Zone rules are below....please remember these are not OAAA rules, we don't like them as much as you don't like them but unfortunately, we cannot change them and have to learn to live within them. Please remember that November payments are still due as your players are still on the ice. Refusal to pay will be seen as a removal from the program and your player will not be allowed back on the ice until next season. The next scheduled payment will be January 15th. If any ice time is lost, we will work to balance it out for each family. We are working to keep the children on the ice safely and thank you for your ongoing patience in this unprecedented season. Yours in Hockey, OAAA Executive Control Red Please be advised, Durham Region will be moving into Stage Control Red as of 12:01 am on Monday, November 23, 2020. What does that mean for our teams? Changes from current guidelines include: Each ice pad is limited to 10 people total, including players and coaches The capacity of the facility has changed from 50 per component to 50 total in all spaces 1 parent/guardian can be permitted per player under 18 years of age if required Game play and scrimmages are not allowed, only technical skills and training What remains the same: Everyone must continue to fill out the Orono Arena COVID online form prior to entering the facility. All players, coaches and parents must enter the facility at the same time Players must be mostly dressed when entering the facility, with the exception of skates and goalie pads Dressing rooms are closed

Due to a mechanical issue at the arena, all OAAA practices have been canceled for tonight Thursday November 12th. This affects U13 (Peewee) Tier 2 - Teams 2 & 4, U15 (Bantam) Tier 1 and U18 (Midget) Team 1. We apologize for this and the missed practices will be rescheduled.

Level Red & The OAAA The Provincial Government announced this afternoon that Durham Region will be entering Level Red on Monday morning. As a result, the capacity for arenas in Durham Region including the Orono Arena will be lowered to 10 people on the ice at one time which includes a coach. All scheduled games after Sunday will now be postponed until at least January.... The OAAA is committed to keeping our kids active and on the ice. We are currently working on a plan to keep practices going for skills development. We will update our website calendar as soon as possible. All scheduled games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be going ahead as scheduled. The new Level Red restrictions will begin Monday morning. Please watch our website and social media feeds for updated information as it becomes available.

First games played last night! Even though the play looked a little different it was great to see! U13 Peewee tier 1.

Please help Orono reach our fundraising goal. It's easy to sign up and use for all the online holiday shopping you need to do! Check your email for more details.

We want all players to be safe getting to and from the arena!

WE HAVE ROOM FOR HOCKEY PLAYERS! Were you thinking about playing hockey this season? We have room available in almost all our age groups for additional hockey players! The season just got started this past weekend so if you are sitting on the fence....come on out and play!... Please email our registration folks at [email protected] to ensure you are eligible to play in Orono and there is room in your age group!

AWAY GAME HEALTH SCREENING As we approach the beginning of games for U11 (Atom) and older, please note that for away games you will need to fill out the OAAA Away Game Health Screening form. The form is located on our website under the Players & Parents tab and also can be accessed through this link: ... https://oaaa.ca/Forms/1327/OAAA_Away_Game_Health_Screening/

U11 & Older - Games Starting Soon! After almost a month of practices and skill development, our U11 and older divisions will be starting their games in November. The schedules have started to be loaded to our website. All games against the Newcastle Stars or the Durham Crusaders have now been loaded. Some Orono vs Orono games have yet to be loaded but will be done soon. ... Please subscribe to your team through the website so you can keep track of your games and practices. For away games, please note the arena: Newcastle games will all be played at the Newcastle Arena Durham Crusader games may be at several different arenas: IPSC - Iroquois Park Arena - 500 Victoria Street West, Whitby McKinney - McKinney Arena - 222 McKinney Drive, Whitby Delpark Homes - Delpark Homes Arena (Formerly Legends Centre) - 1661 Harmony Road North, Oshawa Harmon Park - Harmon Park Arena - 829 Douglas Street, Oshawa Please note that for away games at Durham Crusaders, the pad being used is in parenthesis ie. Pad 3 at Delpark would be shown as Delpark (3). We will post arena protocols for all the away game arenas shortly....stay tuned!

Our MPP David Piccini is hosting a pumpkin giveaway on Saturday October 10th in support of Clarington East Food Bank. MPP Piccini is a big supporter of our arena and community. Let’s show him some support back!

Let’s show our support!!! Get voting Orono.

We now have an approved Return to Hockey plan and we have received our insurance certificate so we are almost ready to return the kids to the ice. We need three very important things before we can step on the ice: 1. All players who have not done so already need to complete the Confirmation Form sent to your email earlier this month and make the initial $150 registration fee payment.... 2. If you have decided not to play this season, PLEASE let us know! 3. We still need coaches for U7 (Initiation), U8 (Minor Novice), U9 (Major Novice), U13 (Peewee) and U15 (Bantam). We cannot put team on the ice without a Head Coach. If you were thinking about coaching, this is the year to do it. For registration inquiries please email [email protected] For hockey inquiries please email [email protected] Be assured, we want to be on the ice ASAP! Watch our website and social media feeds for the latest information including arena and safety protocols which will be communicated prior to any kids first ice time.

ARE YOU READY TO PLAY? Please check the website www.oaaa.ca for important information regarding return to play.

Don’t forget to check your email!

We Need Coaches! As the 2020-2021 hockey season is quickly approaching.....we still NEED coaches! If you're thinking about coaching....this is the season to start. All Coach 1 and Coach 2 courses are online only this year and the OAAA will pay for half of the cost of the course!... We need head coaches for the following divisions: U7 (Initiation) - Need 3 U9 (Major Novice) - Need 1 U11 (Atom) - Need 1 U13 (Peewee) - Need 3 U15 (Bantam) - Need 2 U18 (Midget) - Need 1 Please remember that we cannot put a team on the ice without a Head Coach! If you are interested in coaching, please fill out the online form at oaaa.ca under the Coach's Corner tab. You can email [email protected] if you have any questions about coaching.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!! Check you email for the payment and confirmation details. See you at the arena soon!

With the ice almost ready at our arena, The OAAA is happy to pass on more information about what the hockey season will look like. PLEASE NOTE: we are still in need of Head Coaches and Trainers for all divisions! Remember we cannot put a team on the ice without those positions filled. PLEASE visit www.oaaa.ca for full hockey updates.

Don’t forget to vote!!!

We need you!!! We are in need of coaches this year more than ever with the changes to hockey due to COVID-19 and the player cap. Please visit www.oaaa.ca for details and to fill out an application. ... Volunteers help make this organization great!!

JERSEY REMINDER!!! If you still have your jersey from last year that needs to be returned please get in contact with Sherry at [email protected] to arrange a time. THANK YOU!!!

The OMHA has released the 2020-21 coaching requirements. Any questions about qualifications can be directed to our OMHA Rep Mark Foster at [email protected] Please visit our website www.oaaa.ca for the complete list of qualifications. If you are interested in coaching (and we need a lot of coaches this season), please submit an application under the Coach's Corner tab of our website.

Attention coaches!! OMHA has released a new free course that will be mandatory for return to hockey this season. Please follow the link to complete the course.