The problem with this change in course, is that SCAHA voters took it upon themselves to step outside of their area of expertise and meddle in matters that are entirely outside of their charter. The fact that some rinks are closed and there is uncertainty around their reopening is not SCAHA's problem, but they've used this as an excuse to further delay the organization of teams for the upcoming season, when that is not their job.
I don't think that it is likely that municipally owned rinks will open anytime soon, or open at all this year, considering the priorities of local city governments. Did this even cross their minds when they decided to scuttle the already late-to-the-game team tryout schedule in the name of "fairness"? What certainty will exist in October, that doesn't exist now? And while we are at it, when was SCAHA ever concerned with leveling the playing field beyond the protectionism of PDR? Sounds like bullshit rationalization to me.
As is the case every season, most veteran coaches have already identified at least 90% of their roster. Sure there's a little bit of suspense as to whether a few kids might upgrade or downgrade a letter, or switch clubs, but these clubs would all benefit from signing rosters, which then allows free agents to find a landing spot they didn't expect, or move on to other clubs, and so on down the line.
The August dates were never great, given the proximity to what for many kids will now be the start of "virtual school" but to take away any chance for team boot camps and practices in August, and the traditional pre-season practices, scrimmages and tournaments, is about as tone deaf a response to what most people are looking for as I can recall, and that's saying something.
With so much uncertainty around travel outside the state, the least they could have done is provided a platform for teams to figure out what the new normal will look like this season, when realistically, there's not much else for people to do other than hunker down in their homes. It as if the SCAHA board are more interested in finding ways to scuttle SoCal hockey this season than they are in supporting the clubs and rinks as they figure out how to make things work.