It's game on for HockeyFest.
With a promise that strict COVID-19 protocols will be in place, organizers of the large travelling street hockey festival have announced the 2021 season will kick off in London on June 25.
The three day tournament will be held at Westmount Shopping Centre, operating under guidelines set out and approved by the Middlesex London Health Unit. In addition, HockeyFest has partnered with PredictMedix Inc. and Juiceworks to set-up so-called "safe entry stations" that use artificial intelligence to identify multiple symptoms of infectious disease. The machines display test results within seconds. All players, staff, and visitors entering the event will be screened upon arrival.
"The artificial intelligence algorithm PredictMedix Inc. and Juiceworks have developed is going to be one of the key components in ensuring the safety of all our players and spectators at each of our events," HockeyFest President Brad Jones said in a statement. "Travelling with the safe entry systems has given us the opportunity to work with each local health unit in a much more diverse way than your standard contract tracing. This will be a game changer in getting back to some sort of normalcy in the sports and entertainment industry.”
Other measures being taken to protect against COVID-19 include setting up rinks 30 feet apart to ensure appropriate space for physical distancing, not allowing more than 100 people at any given time in each rink area, and staggered game times to prevent crowding.
Similar HockeyFest tournaments have also been announced between the end of June and the end of August for seven other cities including Edmonton, Regina, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.
HockeyFest is open to all age groups with teams of nine and seven allowed to enter into the tournament. For more information or to register click here.
