KIJHL to require players and bench staff to have full COVID-19 vaccination prior to puck drop
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KAMLOOPS — The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) will require all its players, bench staff, and on-ice officials to be fully vaccinated with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine prior to the start of the league’s 2021-22 regular season.
The league’s policy that was announced on Monday (Aug. 16) also requires all players, bench staff members, and on-ice officials to have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine prior to any participation in a KIJHL training camp, or any other on- or off-ice team-based activity, effective immediately.
“The decision to institute a COVID-19 vaccination policy was made with the goal of providing the safest and most healthy environment possible for our players, staff, game officials, and all of our other league stakeholders,” KIJHL Commissioner Jeff Dubois states. “At the outset of the pandemic, we pledged to have that priority guide our decision-making… we take our role as responsible community partners very seriously, and so we want everybody in the places where we live and play to feel confident that their local team is being proactive to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Dubois adds the policy gives the KIJHL the best opportunity to keep their players on the ice through an uninterrupted hockey season. The KIJHL hasn’t awarded a league champion since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
