COVID-19 Updates

COVID-19 Preparedness Plan

AHA Hockey's COVID-19 Preparedness Plan



Restrictions Lifted at Most Arenas

May 28, 2021

Most arenas have lifted all COVID-19 guidelines effective May 28. Some arenas, however, still have guidelines to follow so please refer to our COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for updated information. We will update the Preparedness Plan if/when arenas provide updated guidelines.


Return to Normal Soon

May 14, 2021

We are excited that it appears that we will be back to normal very soon, however it may take a few days for arenas and municipalities to update their policies. Please review the current AHA COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and continue to observe all guidelines for upcoming games. As soon as anything changes, we will update this page and notify team Captains right away.


Return to Play

December 28, 2020

Today the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Hockey released their guidelines on returning to play hockey. We are excited to announce that we can resume games on January 14th! Further guidance on game play is forthcoming and we will share it with you as soon as it is announced.

From January 4-13, the state guidelines allow for practice only. As we wait for game play to resume, we are excited to offer instructional clinics. These clinics will be a great opportunity to get back on the ice and brush up on your skills.

We look forward to seeing you back on the ice soon. Below are links to the guidelines that were announced today:
COVID-19 Sports Practice Guidance for Youth and Adults
Minnesota Hockey Return to Play Guidelines - Phase 4


Winter League Season 1 Pause

Updated December 16, 2020

Governor Walz today extended the pause on adult sports until January 4. Winter League games schedule during the pause, through January 3rd have been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.

While this extended pause is disappointing, we are hopeful that the recent downward trend of cases means we can resume games sooner rather than later. We hope you and your families stay safe and have a happy holiday.

November 19, 2020

Minnesota Governor Walz announced new restrictions yesterday to slow the spread of COVID-19. The order indicates that all adult sports activities are on pause during the four weeks from Saturday, Nov 21, 2020 to Friday, Dec 18, 2020.

Winter League games scheduled for tonight (Nov. 19) and Friday (Nov. 20) will be played as scheduled. Games scheduled on and between Nov 21 and Dec 18 will be postponed and scheduled for a later date.

While we are all disappointed with this, we hope you and your families all stay safe. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the ice next month.


Programs Update

June 22, 2020

Real Hockey is Back!


Programs Update

June 12, 2020

We are excited to get back on the ice soon! Registration for our Refresher Clinic opened on Wednesday and all four sessions filled up in 30 minutes so we believe you are just as exhilarated as we are about getting back to playing. We will be adding more clinics so we can get more players back to skating. Watch for details on the new clinics soon.

While we are excited for upcoming clinics, we are all hopeful we will be able to return to Real Hockey soon. Below are our latest updates on current and future programs. We appreciate your patience as all plans are dependent on government and governing body guidelines as well as facility availability in the coming months.
Winter League - It continues to be our intention to complete the 2019-20 Winter League and award playoff champions. We do not have specific dates for you at this point but rest assured we will continue to update you as details progress.
Summer League - We are in the planning stages for the 2020 Summer League. Details are still being finalized, we anticipate it being shifted to later summer and into early fall.
Spring Beginner School - 2020 Spring Beginner School has been cancelled. We plan to start our next 2020-21 Winter Beginner School on time in mid-November.
Tournament Series - Our upcoming Twin Cities and Duluth Classics are still on as planned. Registration for the tournaments will open this summer, watch for more details.


Programs Update

May 22, 2020

As you may be aware, the state recently released guidelines for re-opening of facilities while maintaining social distancing. In this first phase of re-opening, the Minnesota Department of Health guidelines require restricted events at facilities. We are continuing to work with the facilities to create new programs for adult players and will be announcing these programs soon.

The restrictions in this phase of resuming activities unfortunately do not allow for competitive games to be played at this time. This means we do not have a target date for resuming Winter League games as well as other upcoming programs, including Summer League. We are hopeful to get further clarification in the coming weeks on when we will be able to resume regular hockey activities.

We appreciate your patience during this time and we will update you as soon as we have more information.


Winter League Update

May 7, 2020

We want to give you an update on the status of our Winter 2019-2020 season. We know some teams still have regular season game(s) to play and then we intend to hold our playoff tournament for qualifying teams.

As you may know the facilities we depend on have received further delays to reopening. Due to these extended closures AHA will be delaying the resumption of all postponed programs and will not be holding our Winter League playoffs later this month as previously communicated. It is our intention to resume programs as soon as possible and we will get back to you with specifics once we receive updated information from our key facilities.

As for future AHA programs, we are monitoring ice availability and developing programs to put in place once it is safe to do so. We appreciate all of your flexibility and loyalty while we navigate through these times of uncertainty.


Programs Update

March 27, 2020

AHA Hockey Community,

We wanted to take the time to send an update regarding the status of the Winter League and other upcoming programs. We are working to do our part to help minimize the impact of COVID-19 so that we can all get back on the ice as soon as possible. Many of you probably saw from the Governor's address this week, the expected timeline for businesses and facilities to open back up has been pushed out to May 1st.

In light of this new timeline, we have made new tentative plans for AHA Programs. We are also excited to let you know about our new online gaming program providing a competitive hockey opportunity to minimize the withdrawal symptoms many of us are experiencing.

Updated AHA Programs timeline:
Spring League has been cancelled for the 2020 season.
Spring Beginner School start has been pushed back, our targeted start date is now Wednesday, May 6.
Winter League Regular Season will resume in May, we will post updated schedules as soon as possible.
Winter League Playoffs have been rescheduled for May 20-25. Pool play games will be played throughout the week and weekend with semi-final and championship games to be played on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
We also plan to have other opportunities and clinics for players to get back on the ice in May.
Summer League will start in early June as normal. Watch for registration details in the coming weeks.
Fall Programs (league, tournaments, clinics) will run with normal schedules.

The AHA is devoted to providing a safe environment for everyone so we can enjoy the sport we all love. As a result, it is our duty to follow directions from government officials and the CDC. The CDC references citizen and local response as foundational in controlling the spread of Covid-19. We also urge everyone to do their part to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 by following CDC and state officials guidelines for social distancing, frequent hand washing, and self-quarantining as needed.

We appreciate your support of AHA Hockey and look forward to getting back on the ice again soon.


All Activities Postponed Due to COVID-19

March 16, 2020

AHA Hockey Community,

As the battle against the spread of COVID-19 continues, the CDC has been emphasizing the impact of continued social interaction. As a result, a number of facilities have closed operations impacting our current programs. Because of this, effective immediately all AHA activities are postponed until further notice.

Winter League and Beginner School programs will continue once our playing facilities resume operations. We are hopeful that our Winter League Playoff tournament scheduled for the week of April 19th though the 26th will go on as planned. Obviously, this is dependent on a number of factors concerning timing and ice availability. We will provide future updates as they unfold. We appreciate your patience as we address these issues.

It is difficult to predict the full impact this pandemic will have on our community, and when exactly our hockey life will return to normal. At this time, we expect to continue with all future programs as previously planned including Spring Beginner School, Spring League, Summer League, clinics and evaluations sessions.

We appreciate your continued support of AHA Hockey. It is unfortunate that it has become necessary to put a pause on operations. Many of our players have voiced support for continuing to provide a recreational hockey outlet during these difficult times.

Thank you again for your patience and we hope everyone stays safe.

Sincerely,
Dave
Steve
Brian
Pete