The Richardson Pioneer Red Wings have begun a new fundraiser, “Gathering Grains”, to assist the Junior A hockey club in their operations as they gear up for a new hockey season that is as yet uncertain.
Any farmer who delivers grain to any of the three terminals in the Weyburn area can ask for a portion or a certain number of bushels to go to the Red Wings hockey club, said team president Brent Stephanson.
The fundraiser is open from now until Dec. 31, 2020, and is available at the Richardson Pioneer, Viterra or Parrish and Heimbecker terminals.
“They all jumped on board right away,” said Stephanson. “The farming community has always been a good supporter of the Weyburn Red Wings. We appreciate the farming community for their ongoing support.”
Meantime, the Red Wings office is taking registrations of names for the annual meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27, to determine if they can do it in person or go online with Zoom.
The deadline to register is Friday, Aug. 21, and once the registration numbers are tallied, they will figure how to proceed with the AGM, said Stephanson, noting their limit is 30 people for an in-person meeting, even if it’s held outdoors.
He said office staff had had a meeting with the province’s chief medical officer, and they were not budging on that 30-person limit.
The City will be putting the ice in to the arenas in early September, and the team will be able to practice (again with a 30-person limit on-ice), but no games or tournaments are being allowed until the province gives the go-ahead.
The Red Wings were supposed to have their first games on Sept. 25 versus Estevan, but that has been pushed back to October — but there is still no green light for any games at this point.
In regard to COVID, the players are to be tested before coming, and will be tested again upon arrival, and will be put up in a hotel until they have been cleared to be with their billet families, said Stephanson.
“We want to do our due diligence with that,” he said, noting the team will ensure that the community is kept safe.
“Everything will be sanitized, and we look will look after the dressing room,” he added, noting that all the protocols are in place for when the team arrives.
