MAHA postpones all tryouts until further notice

 

By @MichaelCaples –

The Michigan Amateur Hockey Association has announced that all tryouts for all age groups and skill levels are postponed until further notice.

Here is the statement in full:

On Monday, March 23, the Governor of Michigan issued an Executive Order in Response to COVID-19 to, “Stay Home, Stay Safe” until April 13.

This has caused all the rinks in Michigan to temporarily close and suspend all activities. Many rinks in Michigan have temporarily taken their ice out to reduce expenses during this time. They will need time to restore their facilities once the Executive Order is lifted to be able to resume normal operations. Some rinks have stated they may not be putting ice back in until the fall season, which means associations and teams looking for spring / summer ice may need to find other nearby facilities to use.

The MAHA Executive Board met on Tuesday, March 24, to discuss tryouts for spring and fall teams that had been previously scheduled or postponed until April 7, 2020. USA Hockey has given its Affiliates authority to make decisions, based on current events and local circumstances, during the pandemic. 

Therefore, effective immediately, the MAHA Executive Committee is prohibiting any tryouts, formation of teams, offering of contracts, recruiting, etc., for ALL USA Hockey Member programs in the Michigan Affiliate (a.k.a. everyone) until further notice. This includes all levels of Youth and Girls hockey, for which tryouts were originally to take place in either March or April.

MAHA will monitor issues related to the COVID-19 Pandemic and will provide direction on when tryouts and related activities will be able to begin. Once it is clear when these restrictions will be lifted, and when rinks will be able to resume operations, a new date will be set.

We are sure having to pause these activities is difficult for everyone, but, we urge you to continue to follow the advice of our healthcare professionals and stay healthy. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to hockey just as soon as we are able to. We will do our best to stay on top of this ever-changing situation and continue to adjust to meet the healthcare guidelines, and to provide a safe environment for our participants. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in the matter.