Medicine Hat sports organizations collaborating on path out of pandemic

“We are a small community and we have a lot of athletes that participate in more than one event,” said MHSEC manager Kara Brake. “So, the more that our organizations can work together, the better our community is going to be.”

For many of the organizations sharing the stage at the Esplanade on Tuesday, it was their first time truly collaborating on a project outside of their own circles.

Something that Medicine Hat Ringette Association president Jay Pinnell hopes to see change.

“We really haven’t had a lot of connection and maybe that’s the fault of our associations where we haven’t reached out to each other,” said Pinnell. “But, I think it’s been identified that it is a really important thing that we can get to our goals that we want to by talking to each other.”

The threat of a positive COVID-19 case remains a worry for fall sports like hockey and ringette, in the best protocols to stop potential spread and keep their seasons going.

That’s something Robert Cavicchia and the Medicine Hat Soccer Association have already had to deal with over the summer, successfully coordinating a plan to isolate one player with coronavirus.

“It became so real the situation that we’re all in, that any moment it can totally change,” said Cavicchia. “So, for us it was definitely a good learning experience.”

Having another organization in the city to lean on with that experience is something that groups like Medicine Hat Minor Hockey aren’t taking for granted.

“Knowing how other places have actually handled it is going to help us adapt our strategy if and when that time comes,” said operations manager Chad Baron.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, registration has remained fairly consistent for the sports represented on Tuesday.

Minor hockey registration is currently around 900 athletes compared to 1,000 the year prior, while ringette is only down about 18 athletes compared to 2019.

Outdoor soccer saw less than 50 percent participation from previous year’s figures, however that was likely due to only a two-week window from receiving approvals from Alberta Health with fall indoor numbers stabilizing.

Borders have also been expanded for those taking to the ice this year, with AAA-level hockey and top-tier ringette clubs in Medicine Hat able to expand outside of the southeastern Alberta corner.

AAA hockey teams are able to move into pods with teams in Lethbridge, Airdrie and Okotoks to play games, while Medicine Hat Ringette confirmed some teams can now travel to Calgary and Lethbridge.

“We want to play in the regular leagues, we want to be able to travel and things like that,” said Baron. “But if it doesn’t come to that, we have the framework that we can move into something a lot quicker.”

A total re-evaluation of the minor sports landscape is also being done by these organizations, as they’re looking inward at how to improve the experience for young athletes.

“Are we doing this for competition or fun?” said Pinnell. “Are we doing this for sport development or trying to win? I think hearing what we’ve heard, a big thing is we’re supposed to re-focus on that.”

According to Pinnell, re-focusing these connections between associations could help Medicine Hat’s sporting groups weather the storm of COVID-19 through the end of the year and into 2021.

“They provide for a long-term framework of all our associations being able to work together and achieve a goal of keeping kids in sport and attracting more,” he said.

Facility Guide released

Title page of the Medicine Hat Sport & Event Council’s new Facility Guide (Photo courtesy of Medicine Hat Sport & Event Council)

Another highlight of Tuesday’s meeting was the release of the Medicine Hat Sport & Event Council’s ‘Facilities Guide.’

A document a year and a half in the making for the organization, the 112-page guide provides in-depth details for dozens of facilities in the city for groups interested in holding small and large scale events.

“It is going to put us above and beyond what other communities are doing,” said Brake. “So, we’re excited about that opportunity. I’m sure that other communities are going to look at it and say, ‘Hey, that’s a really good idea we should do that too.’”

Along with the facilities listed such as the Canalta Centre, Family Leisure Centre, Esplanade, Athletic Park and Beveridge Building, the document also features schools, hotels, and campgrounds.

The guide has been published online and will be a ‘living document’ as it will be constantly updated with the latest information by the Medicine Hat Sport & Event Council.

Brake added the guide will hopefully give Medicine Hat a leg up when provincial and national events are approved again on the other side of the pandemic.

“Everybody misses hosting events,” she said. “We’ve really seen the importance of hosting events, the economic impact it has on our community. So, I think what this document is going to do is it’s going to put us above and beyond. We’re going to be a little bit more competitive when we are bidding on events and I think we’re going to have a lot more of our local organizations wanting to host events.”

A link to the guide can be found on Tourism Medicine Hat’s website.

by Scott Roblin

Medicine Hat sports organizations collaborating on path out of pandemic

Facility Guide released

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