Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
Last week Collingwood Council supported in principle the idea of developing a ” hockey bubble ” which was submitted by the Blues Hockey Club of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The concept has a target date of November 1st and would see 6 OJHL teams including the Blues participate in a month long tournament centered at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena.
The Blues board was inspired and encouraged by the success of the National Hockey League bubbles that were structured in Toronto and Edmonton to facilitate the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Collingwood bubble would be smaller in scale, but every bit as significant to the the teams and players at that level.
The approval in principle by Council allows the organizers to take the next vital step which is meeting with key service providers, most notably those in the accommodation and food service industry.
The design of the Collingwood Hockey bubble is to ensure all 6 teams, including their staff members, plus the service providers have zero contact with anyone outside of the bubble.
There’s no doubt there are major challenges in front of the proposal; the biggest being what direction COVID 19 takes the world, let alone Collingwood, going forward.
Additionally, I’d assume the over riding cost of housing 5 teams for a month plus educational concerns for some of the younger members of the various squads would be prominent.
Still, you have to applaud the Blues for walking-the-walk, for putting their bubble proposal out there and for taking the next steps in possibly being a pilot or pioneer project as it pertains to conducting elite hockey in the era of a global pandemic.
If Collingwood can do it, and they have every intention of succeeding, then why couldn’t the model be duplicated in other centres for other sports and activities ?
I’m Fred Wallace
