The Burns Lake Minor Hockey Association (BLMHA) season is almost here.

Lakes District News spoke to BLMHA president Steven Bayes, who said that the season is set to begin on Sept. 20, though a schedule for practices is still in the works as the official number of players registered is yet to be officially determined.

BLMHA typically has several initiation programs for younger kids getting into sport, along with a U11 atom, U13 Peewee, U15 Bantam, and U18 program.

According to ViaSport B.C.’s return to sport program, all sport activities must follow the B.C. Government’s restart plan. The plan is currently in step three which essentially means that practices, camps and fitness classes are permitted, but no competitive games as was the case last year.

Despite the season being cancelled in 2020, the BLMHA did what they could to allow local kids to continue to play hockey in some capacity. “Even though we had no season last year due to COVID-19, we kept our association going to give what ever child the opportunity to keep skating and to keep fit,” said Bayes.

The criteria for moving into step four is more then 70 per cent of the 18+ population in the province vaccinated with at least one dose, along with low case counts and low COVID-19 hospitalizations. The initial hope was to move into step four by Sept. 7, however that was set as the earliest possible date.

A move into step four would mean a return to normal sport competitions when following communicable disease prevention guidance, along with increased outdoor and indoor spectators.

This would mean BLMHA would once again be able to compete in games against other minor league hockey associations.

According to a recent facebook post by the BLMHA, there are still several coaching positions that need to be filled, including a head coach and assistant coach for the U18 and U15 teams as well as both the initiation programs. Assistant coaches are also needed for the U11 and u13 teams. If you’re interested in coaching, please contact presidentblmh@gmail.com.

Registration for the BLMHA began on June 13 and is ongoing, to register contact Camilla Ericksen at blmhareg@gmail.com

The BLMHA plays at the Lakeside Multiplex in Burns Lake, where the ice is in the process of beingput down in the hockey arena, and will be completed by Sept. 11.

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