Socially distanced sport: when just 200 ice hockey fans were allowed rinkside

January 2022 saw a full fixture list, but it was watched by handfuls of spectators rather than packed rinks, and clubs were left to count the cost. Looking back, it was a surreal experience to be at Fife Ice Arena and also Dundee Ice Rink with one entire side of the venue hosting a total of half a dozen guests including media.

The 200 capacity was imposed by the Scottish Government to minimise crowds, but it was a wholly arbitrary number which felt like it was plucked out of thin air - 200 people in a venue that holds, say ,500 is much different to 200 dotted around an ice rink with a capacity of 2000 and 3000.

The 500-limit on outdoor events was lifted rather helpfully just in time for Scotland’s top football teams to return from their winter break, and rugby’s Six Nations championships commencing - but, much further down the chain, minority indoor sports were left dangling as they were ordered to continue playing in front of a maximum of 200 fans until “at least” January 24 - and the “at least” part just left every organisation unable to plan ahead with any degree of certainty or confidence.

The impact of the announcement could be measured in hard cash and lost revenue. Between Scotland’s three teams, a total of 12 games were impacted. The festive schedules had already been lost, and the option of re-scheduling January’s restricted matches was a non starter as the EIHLstarted to run out of time to complete its schedule as planned.

How professional sports teams without the benefit of multi million £ TV deals and mega sponsors pouring in cash were meant to survive under such conditions was a real concern. Tea and sympathy is about all they got as they figured out how to pay their players and backroom staff, rink rental fees had to covered, and a host of on-going operating be met, not to mention the endless hours poured into working out how to compensate season ticket holders whose pre-season commitment is a financial bedrock for every single Scottish club.

Being rinkside was just weird. Both Fife and Dundee could easily have accommodated at least three times as many fans and still adhered to social distancing. Instead, entire sections were left empty, and every seat left upturned and unused was lost revenue. A Fife Flyers-Dundee Stars game was the one of the very first staged under the ‘200 limit.’ Instead of the noise and excitement, there was silence. At times it felt as if we were logging into people’s private conversations which fizzled out before fully reaching the other side of the ice pad.

At Dundee, the soundtrack of cheers and chants, chirps and celebrations turned mute as home fans sat in tiny pockets, separated and socially distanced, while the ‘away’ side of the arena, normally filled by hundreds of travelling Fife fans, was behind barriers and out of bounds. Key moments of the game - a near miss here, a flashpoint there, even two goals in 30 seconds which would have one set of fans yelling with delight and the other half screaming with despair - all withered. For the fans watching the live stream at home, it must have been a very detached, two-dimensional experience.

More than one observer at that Dundee game couldn’t help but note there were fewer people allowed in the stands than there were on the ice pad for public skating sessions, while down south 3000 darts fans were packed tightly into one room for the championship finals.

Flyers won the game 6-3 with five of their goals coming in the second period - two of them inside 30 seconds. They were met with total silence. For the players it was a relief just to play. Coach Todd Dutiaume had so many members testing positive or self isolating that it took until January 1 to stage a full training session. The irony of finally signing new players and the fans not being able to see them play wasn’t lost on him either.

Brandon Magee could not have envisaged netting a fine goal on his debut without a single fan present to see it. He and Tommi Jokinen arrived in the middle of the December mini-shutdown, and had to wait a number of days before they could even meet their new team-mates let alone hit the ice.

The sport prevailed. It had little alternative but to bite the bullet and get through a difficult time. Two years on, it still feels like it was all a strange dream…