Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2020 (1809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
There were far fewer sports stories to write this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic put sports in flux for a large portion of 2020, meaning there aren’t many championships to recount or big wins to reminisce on.
But, the pandemic didn’t halt sports all year. Public health regulations allowed for games like soccer in the summer and hockey for the first couple months of the regular season.
Grade 12 students still got drafted to university teams for next year; sports leagues like the Macdonald Ringette Association still hope to continue their seasons in 2021.
Below is a snapshot of how athletes and organizations pivoted this year.
Hofer’s homecoming
Headingley residents celebrated Team Canada goalie Joel Hofer upon his return home from the 2020 World Junior Championship.
Folks gathered, and Mayor John Mauseth gave a speech, at a community event for Hofer at Headingley Community Centre on Feb. 10.
Hofer protected Canada’s net during the gold medal game of the international championship, held in the Czech Republic, on Jan. 5. Team Canada took home the gold after a 4-3 win to Russia.
Hofer’s jersey now has a place of honour in Phoenix Community Centre’s Hockey Hutch. Hofer used to play hockey at the rink.
Summertime, pandemic-time opening for gymnastics company
A gymnastics organization opened its doors in Headingley in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vision Cheer Company held its grand opening on July 15 at its location at 184 Caron Rd. Leaders of the not-for-profit organization said it was challenging ramping up during such an unpredictable time.
The company offers programs for three-year-olds and beyond — there’s no maximum age. The location is also the official home of the Blue Bomber Cheer Team.
New reality for recreation programming
Yoga, mindfulness and a plethora of video call meet-ups — this was fall programming in the era of COVID-19.
The Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District released their autumn leisure guide on Sept. 15. It was full of online courses, like art classes, Pilates sessions and nutrition workshops. Tips for improving mental health and ads to get help setting up Zoom were interspersed in the booklet.
Before spring, the MHRD hadn’t offered online courses. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the recreation district to pivot and find new ways of offering programming to folks who couldn’t gather together.
In September, the MHRD offered some in-person classes, but the scope was drastically scaled back. Pickleball, yoga and fitness sessions had smaller class sizes and were offered less frequently.
The organization intentionally placed an emphasis on mental health in the fall.
“There was a huge shift over the last couple months in our planning,” said Nicole McDonald, MHRD’s project and program coordinator. “(We’re) looking at mental health awareness and ensuring that people who aren’t well enough to leave their home and aren’t having those interactions … We (can) support them.”
Volleyball served differently
When the Winnipeg metropolitan region became a code orange zone in the fall, volleyball teams were still allowed to go forward with Stage 2 of Volleyball Manitoba’s pandemic-era plans.
Up to nine players and one coach could practice with each other for a maximum of 90 minutes per training session. The phase started on July 27.
Players had to stay two metres apart as much as possible and come dressed to play. There were screening protocols before they entered the court, including a check-in, and they left the venue as soon as practice finished.
Doubles groups’ outdoor volleyball had been ongoing since July 6.
The next level, Stage 3, was in the works of being approved at the end of September. If approved, volleyball players could train in a six-on-six format.
Many schools didn’t offer a volleyball season this year, said John Blacher, the executive director of Volleyball Manitoba.
Terriers move NHL jersey auction online
The Portage Terriers were set to host the Canadian National Junior A Championship in May. It was cancelled due to the pandemic, like most sports events at the time.
However, the Junior A hockey team still had 31 signed NHL jerseys to auction off — they were supposed to do so at the tournament — so organizers put the auction online.
It began in the fall, with the first eight jerseys being sold on Nov. 1. The auction is ongoing, with the final bids coming in on March 1, 2021. Bids start at $200 and go up in $25 increments.
The team and Terriers alumni scored notable players’ jerseys, including those from Blake Wheeler, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. They held a similar auction, albeit in-person, when they held the national championship in 2015.
Fall Classic still a go
The La Salle Fall Classic was still a go this year.
U12 and U14 girls A level fastball teams gathered at Caisse Community Centre from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27 for the annual fundraiser. Money raised from the event went towards La Salle’s initiative to improve their ball diamonds.
Ice sports in limbo
The province enacted code red restrictions on the Winnipeg metropolitan region on Nov. 2, shutting down sports in the area for a minimum of two weeks.
Hockey teams had begun playing games in October; ringette teams were expecting to reach that stage in November.
But once the announcement on Oct. 30 hit, it all came to a halt.
The Macdonald Minor Hockey Association and Macdonald Ringette Association still took their scheduled payments on Nov. 1 in hopes the season would start back up.
Since then, the entire province has entered code red territory. It will last until at least Jan. 8, when health officials will re-evaluate the situation.
Rink operators say a long-lasting shutdown is expensive — maybe too expensive to keep the ice in. All remains in flux while the province’s state of operation continues to shift.
In the meantime, some MRA teams are meeting via video call to keep connected and work out together.
Survivor comes to Starbuck School
Instead of holding dodgeball games and volleyball drills, Starbuck School’s gym housed two Grade 5/6 classes to accommodate social distancing this fall.
So, phys-ed moved outside.
Gym teacher Tim Morison used the situation to transform his students into survivors. He taught survival skills to kids in kindergarten through Grade 8. They built fires, made shelters, and learned how to treat hypothermia, among other things.
After school, Morison would go home and watch shows like Cast Away and old seasons of Survivor for inspiration.
Morison also took his students around the neighbourhood to shovel driveways. He said he hopes to teach his kids golf in the spring. The entirety of gym classes in the 2020-2021 school year will be outside, Morison said.
Headingley soccer player saddles up for Mustangs
There were no training camps, sports games or in-person meet-and-greets. Yet, Lauren Chabot scored a spot on Western University’s women’s soccer team.
In October, the Grade 12 student signed a letter of intent to play with the Mustangs. She lives in Headingley but plans to move to Ontario for school next August, provided the pandemic doesn’t interfere.
Chabot, a full back, juggled three soccer teams while in Grade 11. She played for Oak Park High School’s varsity team, Bonivital Soccer Club, and Valour FC Elite, a pre-university showcase team.
Chabot also played for Bonivital Soccer Club this past summer. She had nearly every game filmed so she could send her best clips to universities.
“I took advantage of that knowing we probably wouldn’t have an indoor season,” she said.
Her older sister Leah plays soccer for Carleton University in Ottawa, Ont., so it’s in the family to travel with the sport.
Chabot is accepted into Western University’s kinesiology program. Afterwards, she plans to go into education or occupational therapy.
There were far fewer sports stories to write this year.
Alyssa Borkofsky pitches for the Manitoba Angels U14 team on Sept. 27. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
The COVID-19 pandemic put sports in flux for a large portion of 2020, meaning there aren’t many championships to recount or big wins to reminisce on.
But, the pandemic didn’t halt sports all year. Public health regulations allowed for games like soccer in the summer and hockey for the first couple months of the regular season.
Grade 12 students still got drafted to university teams for next year; sports leagues like the Macdonald Ringette Association still hope to continue their seasons in 2021.
Below is a snapshot of how athletes and organizations pivoted this year.
Hofer’s homecoming
Headingley residents celebrated Team Canada goalie Joel Hofer upon his return home from the 2020 World Junior Championship.
Folks gathered, and Mayor John Mauseth gave a speech, at a community event for Hofer at Headingley Community Centre on Feb. 10.
Hofer protected Canada’s net during the gold medal game of the international championship, held in the Czech Republic, on Jan. 5. Team Canada took home the gold after a 4-3 win to Russia.
Hofer’s jersey now has a place of honour in Phoenix Community Centre’s Hockey Hutch. Hofer used to play hockey at the rink.
Summertime, pandemic-time opening for gymnastics company
A gymnastics organization opened its doors in Headingley in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vision Cheer Company held its grand opening on July 15 at its location at 184 Caron Rd. Leaders of the not-for-profit organization said it was challenging ramping up during such an unpredictable time.
The company offers programs for three-year-olds and beyond — there’s no maximum age. The location is also the official home of the Blue Bomber Cheer Team.
New reality for recreation programming
Yoga, mindfulness and a plethora of video call meet-ups — this was fall programming in the era of COVID-19.
The Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District released their autumn leisure guide on Sept. 15. It was full of online courses, like art classes, Pilates sessions and nutrition workshops. Tips for improving mental health and ads to get help setting up Zoom were interspersed in the booklet.
Before spring, the MHRD hadn’t offered online courses. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the recreation district to pivot and find new ways of offering programming to folks who couldn’t gather together.
In September, the MHRD offered some in-person classes, but the scope was drastically scaled back. Pickleball, yoga and fitness sessions had smaller class sizes and were offered less frequently.
The organization intentionally placed an emphasis on mental health in the fall.
“There was a huge shift over the last couple months in our planning,” said Nicole McDonald, MHRD’s project and program coordinator. “(We’re) looking at mental health awareness and ensuring that people who aren’t well enough to leave their home and aren’t having those interactions … We (can) support them.”
Volleyball served differently
When the Winnipeg metropolitan region became a code orange zone in the fall, volleyball teams were still allowed to go forward with Stage 2 of Volleyball Manitoba’s pandemic-era plans.
Up to nine players and one coach could practice with each other for a maximum of 90 minutes per training session. The phase started on July 27.
Players had to stay two metres apart as much as possible and come dressed to play. There were screening protocols before they entered the court, including a check-in, and they left the venue as soon as practice finished.
Kennedy Carriere, the catcher for the U12 Manitoba Angels team, gears up for a game against the U12 Eastman Wildcats on Sept. 27. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
Doubles groups’ outdoor volleyball had been ongoing since July 6.
The next level, Stage 3, was in the works of being approved at the end of September. If approved, volleyball players could train in a six-on-six format.
Many schools didn’t offer a volleyball season this year, said John Blacher, the executive director of Volleyball Manitoba.
Terriers move NHL jersey auction online
The Portage Terriers were set to host the Canadian National Junior A Championship in May. It was cancelled due to the pandemic, like most sports events at the time.
However, the Junior A hockey team still had 31 signed NHL jerseys to auction off — they were supposed to do so at the tournament — so organizers put the auction online.
It began in the fall, with the first eight jerseys being sold on Nov. 1. The auction is ongoing, with the final bids coming in on March 1, 2021. Bids start at $200 and go up in $25 increments.
The team and Terriers alumni scored notable players’ jerseys, including those from Blake Wheeler, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. They held a similar auction, albeit in-person, when they held the national championship in 2015.
Fall Classic still a go
The La Salle Fall Classic was still a go this year.
U12 and U14 girls A level fastball teams gathered at Caisse Community Centre from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27 for the annual fundraiser. Money raised from the event went towards La Salle’s initiative to improve their ball diamonds.
Ice sports in limbo
Gym teacher Tim Morison talks to his Grade 7/8 students about frostbite at the beginning of class on Nov. 25. Morison instructs all ages at Starbuck School, so he tries to stay as distant as reasonably possible while teaching. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
The province enacted code red restrictions on the Winnipeg metropolitan region on Nov. 2, shutting down sports in the area for a minimum of two weeks.
Hockey teams had begun playing games in October; ringette teams were expecting to reach that stage in November.But once the announcement on Oct. 30 hit, it all came to a halt.
The Macdonald Minor Hockey Association and Macdonald Ringette Association still took their scheduled payments on Nov. 1 in hopes the season would start back up.
Since then, the entire province has entered code red territory. It will last until at least Jan. 8, when health officials will re-evaluate the situation.
Rink operators say a long-lasting shutdown is expensive — maybe too expensive to keep the ice in. All remains in flux while the province’s state of operation continues to shift.
In the meantime, some MRA teams are meeting via video call to keep connected and work out together.
Survivor comes to Starbuck School
Instead of holding dodgeball games and volleyball drills, Starbuck School’s gym housed two Grade 5/6 classes to accommodate social distancing this fall.
So, phys-ed moved outside.
Gym teacher Tim Morison used the situation to transform his students into survivors. He taught survival skills to kids in kindergarten through Grade 8. They built fires, made shelters, and learned how to treat hypothermia, among other things.
After school, Morison would go home and watch shows like Cast Away and old seasons of Survivor for inspiration.
Morison also took his students around the neighbourhood to shovel driveways. He said he hopes to teach his kids golf in the spring. The entirety of gym classes in the 2020-2021 school year will be outside, Morison said.
Lauren Chabot has been accepted to Western University's women's soccer team. She'll join the squad in 2021. (SUPPLIED)
Headingley soccer player saddles up for Mustangs
There were no training camps, sports games or in-person meet-and-greets. Yet, Lauren Chabot scored a spot on Western University’s women’s soccer team.
In October, the Grade 12 student signed a letter of intent to play with the Mustangs. She lives in Headingley but plans to move to Ontario for school next August, provided the pandemic doesn’t interfere.
Chabot, a full back, juggled three soccer teams while in Grade 11. She played for Oak Park High School’s varsity team, Bonivital Soccer Club, and Valour FC Elite, a pre-university showcase team.
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