Hopes for a second CBR Brave championship have diminished, after this year’s Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) 2020 season was called off this week.
Despite efforts to create a ‘Return to Play’ committee earlier in the year, recent spikes in COVID-19 cases and prolonged border closures forced the disappointing decision.
CBR Brave CEO Dan Amodio said while the decision was unfortunate, the health and safety of players had always been the top priority.
“At the end of the day, the decision came down to safety. Once it became clear that it would be too hard to keep our players, staff and fans healthy, the decision had to be made to cancel,” he said.
“I want to say thank you to the Brave fans who supported us and stuck with us throughout this very trying process.
“We’ve done our best as a team to give you content to engage with during the pandemic and I’m so happy to see that you stayed in touch with us.”
While the original season was set to begin in April this year, the ‘Return to Play’ committee had been in discussions about a round robin style competition beginning in September.
Amodio assured fans that not all hope was lost for ice hockey this year.
“We have already started work on filling the 2020 ice hockey void,” he said.
“We hope to have a very special Brave hockey weekend later this year after the upgrade project at the rink is complete.”
He also promised fans the Brave would be back and better than ever in their 2021 return.
“You can look forward to a massive 2021 season. Everyone involved in the Brave community is heartbroken, so we’ll be back with a vengeance next season,” he said.
“On the business side of things, we will have two seasons’ worth of ideas to put in place so every game will be jam-packed with excitement.”
