Sarnia city staff are working on a plan to allow a limited number of spectators at the city's rinks this winter.
According to revised provincial pandemic protocols, as long as the ice surfaces are separated, each would be able to have up to 50 people inside. That includes a maximum of 20 skaters and five coaches or on ice helpers per booking.
General Manager of Community Services Stacey Forfar said each rink would have its own area for spectators, subject to physical distancing guidelines, and there would be increased sanitization put in place.
She said they're working to address safety issues with back-to-back bookings.
"As you can imagine, we've got 50 folks in the arena and we have 50 new ones showing up at the same time. There's always that startup time and end period. That's what we've been working through to mitigate."
Forfar said the city is exploring the possibility of allowing one spectator per on-ice participant. They're hoping to have further information in the next two weeks, subject to a review of operating standards by Lambton Public Health and the Arena Advisory Committee.
"We are working through our user groups," she said. "Remember, a lot of this actually came from our user groups initially in terms of the way that we could manage appropriately back-to-back programming so that people wouldn't be impacted in terms of the time and the cost to rent these facilities. We continue to work with those user groups."
Progressive Auto Sales Arena Rink 2 is the only one currently open in Sarnia.
Since it reopened on August 4, over 35 ice users have been able to re-start their skills and development training, reconnect with friends, teammates and coaches, and return to the enjoyment of on-ice activities.
The main pad at PASA and both surfaces at Clearwater Arena are scheduled to reopen on September 14, while Sarnia Arena is slated for a September 21 opening.
