Column: Playing contact sports during a pandemic is getting less and less sustainable

On Friday, however, I experienced something completely new.

When I got to the rink about 40 minutes before puck drop, I was immediately told to “hang tight” and that the Prince Albert Mintos, Warman Wildcats matchup was on the verge of being cancelled.

Coaches and players from both teams poked their heads out from their respective dressing rooms and awkwardly waited in the uncertainty—which is a perfect metaphor for what we’ve all done in one way or another since March.

At the time when warmups would normally start, a pair of half-dressed Mintos went out to clean up all the loose pucks from the ice as the game was officially cancelled.

Mintos manager Kalen Wright said the league stepped in and cancelled the game due to “precautionary” reasons. In a statement on their website, the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League said the game was postponed “due to the league’s COVID protocols.”

This is already the fourth game the Mintos have had to cancel this season—they’ve only actually played three.

The Mintos were going to start the season on Halloween against the Saskatoon Contacts, but the province wouldn’t let them start before Nov. 1. Then, the major snowstorm wiped out the two-game set against the Tisdale Trojans Nov. 7-8. Friday’s game was the fourth game to be postponed and Sunday’s game against the Wildcats is still in question due to the league’s COVID protocols, and could very well be the fifth cancellation.

The Mintos aren’t the only team.

The weekend set against the Tisdale Trojans and Battlefords Stars was also cancelled, as two individuals involved with the game are awaiting COVID-19 test results, the league said in a release.

Games can get snowed out every year, but only until now can a game be cancelled within 30 minutes of its scheduled start, in an effort to avoid a potentially deadly virus.

Now each time I’m going to be headed to the rink, I’ll have no idea if the game I’m about to watch is going to be cancelled. Friday night proved that we are now in a place where games can be axed at any moment due to the pandemic.

I looked forward to Friday night Minto game all week. I wanted to see the Willick twins buzz around the ice, another bone-crushing hit from Curren Wintonyk-Pilot, another highlight-reel goal from Zach ‘Bardown’ Bansley. I’m sure I would have witnessed all that, and more.

But at what cost?

At the end of the day, I think we have to sit back and ask ourselves, “what are we doing? What is the end game here?”

As of Friday, Saskatchewan has suffered eight COVID-19 deaths and 2,181 positive cases in the past two weeks. Our province also remains the only province in Western Canada without a widespread pause or lockdown on sports.

We have guidelines to restrict our essential outings, like grocery shopping, so we can remain safe among the chaos our lives have been thrown in to. So, it calls into question– how essential is an event involving full-body contact and heavy breathing on other human beings?

I love sports. My job regained purpose with the resurrection of the game.

But with every passing day, sporting during a pandemic seems less and less sustainable.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

by Jeff D'Andrea

Column: Playing contact sports during a pandemic is getting less and less sustainable

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