Amherst, NY (WBEN) An Amherst hockey mom is organizing a rally to convince New York to allow games to resume at rinks. Scrimmages and games are prohibited under the state's New York Forward guidelines.
Sarah McGuire says it's time for hockey to happen. "There have been other sports that have opened back up. They've found ways to do so. I think it's time to take it up a notch and give parents some hope. Let's set dates and guidelines. There's enough in place to allow practices, so the next step is to allow games," says McGuire.
She's holding a rally Sunday in the Maple Road section of Amherst. "I just want answers. I know it's a challenging time, but we want our kids playing hockey games again. It's important for them, and they need it," says McGuire. "It's going to be a peaceful rally with kids in their hockey jerseys. Whoever in the hockey community wants to come out is invited." The exact location of the Let Them Play rally has yet to be determined.
For rink owners, spotting potential violations is not always easy. Eric Guzdek at Northtown Center says he looks for what could be defined as a scrimmage. "There are obvious signs: scoreboards, referees, coaches acting like referees, whistles, players jumping off the bench. Anything that looks like a game situation, that's what we're looking for," says Guzdek.
Guzdek says he's worked with organizations who use the rinks. "We tell them to please police your organizations because the last thing we want is to not be able to keep the kids on the ice," says Guzdek. "We were down from March to June. We don't want to go into that period again." He says high school kids want to play, amateur kids want to play and the Northtown Center is set to host a national championship this year, which he notes is an economic boost to the community.
Guzdek says he has come up to coaches when he thinks they're getting close to breaking rules. "I take the NY Forward guidelines to the coaches. I don't want to stop activity, but if I can call the coach over when I'm walking through and I can tell him this is getting close to competitive play, it's not allowed, I can," says Guzdek. He tells coaches to do skills and drills and just don't do competitive situations. He notes cooperation has been great.
At the Town of Tonawanda's rinks, skate and shoots, while permitted aren't done there says Mark Campanella of Youth, Parks and Recreation. "A skate and shoot is where you may have two people show up alone, where they skate with a puck and shoot if they wish," says Campanella.
Campanella says a scrimmage is where you're not keeping score, and you're warming up into what could be a game type of mode, something that's not allowed either.
Campanella compares his enforcement to a one strike baseball game. "If you strike out on the first pitch, your game is over. If you're told about the policies and you don't follow them, there is no second chance," notes Campanella. He says he has not had to enforce that on coaches yet.
McGuire's rally takes place Sunday at 11am.
