AN UPDATE ON COVID...

Hello Everyone,

The emergence of the Omicron variant and the subsequent rise in COVID-19 cases has created a lot of uncertainty in the world of sports. More recently, we've also seen some governments impose additional COVID-19 restrictions and shut downs of recreational sports.

As the situation evolves in each province/state, we will keep all team reps informed of our plans. As of now, we expect to immediately resume operations as soon as it is allowed. LUG is a small and dedicated team and we are working extremely hard to keep the season's going and to ensure the best possible league experience for our players. These lock downs and shut downs impact us greatly, so please be patient with us as we work through the next steps to get everyone back on the ice.  

We also wanted to take this moment to remind everyone of our plans in the event of lockdowns, closures, or delays due to COVID-19. The FAQ's below should answer most if not all of your questions but if there is anything not covered that you need clarification on, please reach out to let us know and we will update this page.. 

Much of this information was also shared during registration and outlined on our policy page.

DIVISION STATUS  - LAST UPDATED JANUARY 28th, 2022

LUG HOCKEY 2021-22 COVID PLANS & FAQS

Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF I or someone on my team gets covid? 

A: If you or someone on your team tests positive for COVID, please follow your local health guidelines relating to contract tracing and isolating. 

• If you feel sick DO NOT come to the rink. Omicron is very transmissible and you do not want your teammates to get sick. 
• Please wear a mask in the dressing rooms. This can help reduce any accidental spread of COVID within your team and prevent your team from forfeiting future games! 

Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF MY TEAM HAS COVID AND CAN'T PLAY A GAME?

A: If your team is unable to field the minimum # of players to play (6 including goalie), please CONTACT LUG immediately. If possible we will look to replace your team and move your game to another date. However, we cannot guarantee a replacement game and some COVID missed games will count as a forfeit (similar to the IIHF rules). 

Q: What happens if my city goes into lockdown or if hockey games cannot be played? 

A: If there is a closure mandate due to a pandemic health emergency LUG will take the following steps:

• Pause the season. LUG will remain paused until it is no longer possible to schedule teams remaining games. The hard cut off date for games to be played is April 30th, 2022.
• Reschedule games. When we're able to play, LUG will reschedule games including booking on alternative game days/times. This may result in multiple games played each week. This is called "LUG Tournament Mode".
• Refunds & Credits. If we Provide players with pro-rated refunds towards the balance of their season. Please read below for how refunds are calculated.

Q: HOW DO REFUNDS WORK IF THE SEASON DOESN'T RESTART OR IS ONLY PARTIALLY FINISHED?

A: If the season is unable to finish due to COVID-19 closures before the end of season deadline (April 30, 2022), LUG will provide pro-rated refunds according to the following criteria. Please note, this criteria is related to your team's # of games played not your individual # of games played.

• 0 team games played: 100% refund 
• 1-3 team games played: 75% refund 
• 4-10 team games played: Your registration fee - $150 admin fee (jersey, merchandise, insurance, transaction costs) - $30 x # of team games played. 
• 12+ team games played: No refunds. $50 credit towards next season.
• Please note, any merchandise or add-ons purchased during registration are non refundable.

Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF MY SCHOOL GOES ONLINE OR CANCELS IN PERSON CLASSES?

A: If a university of college moves classes online, or delays a return to in person classes, games will still continue as scheduled (provided arena's are open and hockey is permitted in your municipality). Just like the rent for your house/apartment, online classes or a delay in return does not result in pause of rent payments. Unfortunately, LUG is unable to delay returning to games as every available week is needed for games and playoffs to finish on time. We'll do our best to schedule them for when makes the most sense for the most amount of people, but obviously it's impossible to accommodate everyone, in every scenario.

Q: What happens if my city/Health unit imposes team size and/or player capacity limits (Team Bubbles)?

A: If a city requires teams to be in 'team bubbles' or caps the number of players per team, LUG divisions will be realigned into team groupings to accommodate these new rules. If team sizes capacity limits are adjusted by cities (to be less than your current team size make-up), your team must accommodate and only dress the maximum allowed by your city.  This is something LUG has no control over.

If there are team size limits, will we return and play 4 on 4 hockey or 5 on 5

A: We will speak with team captains to determine the best return to play format for each city/league based on team preferences at that time. 

Q: What is LUG Tournament Mode? 

A: Similar to when we were kids playing in an Out of Town Tournament, LUG will book games during additional dates and times to get teams the opportunity to play hockey. This may mean that your team's remaining games in your season are played in a more condensed period of time with possible back to backs, or additional games per week. 

 Q: Can I JUST get a refund RIGHT NOW? 

A: Our refund policy is that after the first week of season no refunds will be processed for player or team withdrawal. Players looking to withdraw from a team should speak with their team about a reasonable solution and/or replacement. At this point in time, no refunds will be processed. In the event the season is not finished before the hard cut off date, we will process pro-rated refunds at that time based on the above calculations. You can read about refunds in our Policy Page. 

We will continue to monitor the status of each city and arena and update this article with details as needed. This article will be updated ongoing. 

Thank you!

LUG Management