Minor
Hockey Association Minor
Hockey Association Procedures, Responsibilities and Planning
Guide For A1, A2 and A3 Hockey
Description
of the Procedures and Responsibilities for the "A" Hockey Program
2 - General Overview
3 - Community Club Registration
Process
4 - Tryout
5 - Team Allocation Process
6 - Tryout Camps and Team
Formation
7 - Team Roster Completion
and Registration Fee Payment
8 -
9 - Playoff Issues
S.O.M.H.A. 1st and 3rd Vice
Presidents
Seven
Oaks Minor Hockey Association (S.O.M.H.A.) is responsible for coordinating the
hockey program for our area association, which consists of
This document will concentrate
on the issues involved in organizing and operating the “A” hockey program.
The AAA, AA and female hockey
programs have their own organizations, with S.O.M.H.A. participation as required
by the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association (W.M.H.A.), to manage their affairs.
The 5&6 and 7&8 house leagues are operated by the community clubs, who are
responsible for assigning convenors to coordinate their activities. That leaves
the “A” hockey program, which consists of boys and girls aged 8-17 playing on Al, A2 and A3 teams for
S.O.M.H.A. to
manage directly.
The 8 to 12 A1
to A3
teams play in the Winnipeg East Hockey League against teams from S.O.M.H.A.,
Midlands, North Winnipeg, Lord Selkirk, River East, Transcona
and St. Boniface area associations. There is also a Winnipeg West Hockey League
comprised of
St. Vital,
St. James-Assiniboia,
Each year, at the S.O.M.H.A.
annual meeting in May, a Vice President in charge of the “A” hockey program is
elected. He/she is assisted by the S.O.M.H.A. 3rd Vice President plus Age Convenors
for 8A1 , 9- 10 and 11-12 age groups. This is the S.O.M.H.A.
coordinating group. However, the community club hockey convenors and their coaches
are the key components to establishing and operating a successful hockey program.
This document will describe the process and responsibilities involved in making
the system work.
The community club registration
process is the method by which we determine who will be playing hockey in
our area association. For
the benefit of all players involved, and in order to facilitate a smooth process
of team assignments and team formation, it is essential that the community club
convenors give appropriate care and attention to ensuring that all their players
are registered in a timely manner.
It is strongly suggested
that community club registration should take place in early September, with
final registration being completed by mid-September, since the first tryout
camps will typically be scheduled to start by the third weekend in September.
Some community clubs phone
all of last year’s players prior to registration to inform them of the time
and place where registration will take place. Others wait until after the first
or second registration date to phone all players from the previous year who
have not registered yet. At a minimum, it is strongly recommended that all of
last year’s players be accounted for sometime prior to the final registration
date.
Fees collected during community
club registration vary from club to club and depend
on the player’s age. Every community club has an administration fee (from $5
to $10), some are by family
and some are by calendar year, so each player may not have to pay the administration fee to register
for hockey. However, every player must fill out a community club registration
form in order to be officially registered to play on any team, including AAA,
AA, A or house league. Players registering for 5&6
and 7&8 house league pay their administration fee (if applicable) and full
registration fee at registration time
as well as initiation fee.
Eight year olds trying out
for Novice A1 pay the administration fee applicable plus the 7/8 fee at registration
time, and must pay an additional amount to compensate for extra indoor ice for
league games/playoffs if they are selected for a Novice A1 team.
All 9-1 7 year olds simply
pay the administration fee (if applicable), and pay their registration fees
to the appropriate community club after they have been assigned to a team.
Community clubs must make
every effort to ensure that players register with the correct club. Their permanent
place of residence as of September 15th defines where they must register. You
can often tell by the address, phone number or issues from prior years as to
whether a player belongs in your area. If in doubt, ask, and never knowingly
take a registration from a player known to be outside your area because it will
definitely lead to future grief for the player and the club(s) involved. In virtually all cases it will
be found out and have to be corrected prior to team formation. For players whose parents are
separated or divorced, lie/she must register at the community centre for the
area within which the parent who has custody lives. This will typically be the
home in which the child normally lives. A choice only exists when separated
or divorced parents have been granted joint custody, in which case the child
can register based on
either parent’s
address. However, copies of the legal paperwork granting joint custody must
be presented (particularly if the normal residence is outside of our area association).
In order for C.A.H.A. insurance
to be in place, players must be registered to play hockey with their community
club. It is the prime responsibility of the community centres to ensure that every player is duly registered prior to
attending any tryout camps, practices or playing any games.
During the registration
process, community club convenors must communicate the number of players registered
to the S.O.M.H.A. vice president in charge of “A” hockey on a frequent basis in order
that we know how we are tracking
in relation to last year.
Before a late registration
is accepted, the community club Convenor must advise the S.O.M.H.A. vice president
and Age Convenor immediately in order than any necessary plans can be made or
modified.
Another process, coordinated
by S.O.M.H.A. on behalf of all the community clubs, that occurs at the same
time and place as community club registration, is Tryout Camp Pre-Registration.
The dates and times for the first round of A1 level tryout camps will be available
during the registration process. It is not necessary to attend any tryout camp(s),
however this will result in placement on an A3 level team. All players planning
to attend an A1 or A2 tryout should pre-register
for the camp of their choice by paying the tryout fee.
A major advantage of pre-registering
for tryouts is that the association, community clubs and coaches can plan the
tryout camps in advance with some degree of assurance regarding how many players
will attend. Although community club convenors are primarily responsible for
contacting all of their players to ensure they are aware of A1 and A2 tryout
times, being pre-registered for a tryout ensures that all players interested
in trying out for A1 teams know when to attend the first round of tryout camps,
resulting in a smaller set of players for the community club convenors to
contact, plus
the pre-registered
A2 players can be contacted by the S.O.M.H.A. Age Convenor once the A2 tryout
dates have been confirmed. It also eliminates the long lineups prior to the
first tryout camp for each age group and level.
It is necessary to ensure
that each player is registered with a community club prior to pre-registering
for a tryout camp (for insurance and registration control purposes). A copy
of the community club registration form (if applicable), or registration receipt,
or a confirmation from the appropriate Convenor and/or registration desk must
be presented in order to pre-register for a tryout camp. This will help to ensure
that each player is duly insured and accounted for in our registration numbers
as well, you receive a discount for pre-registering.
Team allocation takes place
immediately after final registration and prior to the start of tryout camps.
S.O.M.H.A.
must register
teams for each age group and level based on a formula documented in the W.M.H.A.
Rules and Regulations handbook.
The formula
can change from year to year, but basically it describes how many teams are
required to be entered based on the total number of players registered in our
area association at a particular age group.
For this reason, it is essential
that our registration numbers are complete and correct prior to the team allocation
process to enable assignment of teams for the various age groups and
levels to community clubs prior to the start of tryout camps.
When more than one team
exists at an age group and level (i.e. two 10A1 teams), S.O.M.H.A. has an obligation to ensure that fair
and equal teams are formed. The objective is to have the teams finish relatively
close to each other in the standings, rather than knowingly stacking one team
to the detriment of the other(s). It is our (and W.M.H.A.’s) preference to form fair
and equal teams by community club alignments, but when this cannot be accomplished,
it is sometimes possible to get a variance to allow a draft to take place. The
S.O.M.H.A. Age Convenor will be involved
in getting the coaches’ consensus regarding the format of the draft which will
lead to fair and equal teams. Variances
can sometimes be obtained when there are valid reasons for forming a number
of teams other than as described by the formula in the handbook. The most typical
reason for getting a variance would be a team’s demonstrated low to medium performance
in prior year(s). A team or teams finishing in the upper
third of
their league would be unlikely
to be granted a variance in future years. The S.O.M.H.A. president must first be
convinced of the need for a variance by a majority of the community club convenors,
after which lie presents the case at the next “A” Council meeting. Since the other area
association presidents will be protecting the best interests of their own teams,
there is no assurance that any variance applied for will be granted.
The assignment of teams
to community centres is the responsibility of the
community club convenors. S.O.M.H.A. participates to help coordinate the
process and mediate any contentious issues. Teams are generally allocated based
on an overall ratio of players registered at a community centre versus total
registration, with further consideration for the number of players at that age
group who may play on a particular team. For example, if Garden City has one
sixth of the total players registered, they would typically have approximately
one sixth of the teams.
Each community club hosting
a team must provide them with at least one set of sweaters, plus pucks, water
bottles and a first aid kit. They should also be prepared to supply goalie equipment
(pads, catching glove, blocker and body armor) in the
event that the goalie does not have his own equipment. It is suggested that one hour of indoor
contract ice per week (possibly shared with other teams) plus regularly scheduled
outdoor ice is also provided to each team to facilitate sufficient practice
time. Along with the Convenor, will select and assign coaches
for all 8Al, 9A1 and 10A1
teams. Although
it is preferred to have non-
parents coaching our top tier teams (i.e. 8 - 10A1, 11 - 17AA), non-parent coaches at the younger age
groups are relatively few and far between. Therefore, it is essential that the
selection committee ensures that children of relatives of coaches have the necessary
skills to be bonifide team members in order to eliminate
any bias and/or ill-advised placements with respect to team selection.
Community clubs are responsible
for selecting/assigning all other coaches, and should typically have some valid
candidates in mind, particularly for any A1 teams, prior to committing to hosting
a team. A2 and
A3 coaching candidates are
usually not assigned (or even available) until after the preceding A1 or A2 teams are formed.
Tryout camps are scheduled
by the S.O.M.H.A. vice president in charge of “A” hockey. They typically
start in
the third week of September
and are over by the second week of October. Camps for the 8-12 year olds start
first, with consideration for the first cuts from AA Stars to be able to attend
the full A1 camps. The last cuts from AA Stars will often join the process part
way through A1 tryouts. Bantam and Midget tryouts start later in order that
they can be synchronized with later-starting AA and High School programs.
If possible, there should
be a couple of days scheduled between the last A1 session and the first A2 session
to give community club convenors time to assign their A2 coaches and prepare
for tryouts. The S.O.M.H.A. Age Convenor
will coordinate tryout camp registration. They will arrive at the rink at least
one hour prior to the first tryout session for each age group and level. Based
on pre-registered players, tryout jerseys will be assigned and blank evaluation
sheets will be prepared with an equal number of players wearing two different
color uniforms. If the coach is interested in uniform assignment, he must
contact the Age Convenor at least one day prior to the start of the first tryout.
Pre-registered players should be given priority upon arrival.
Players who have not pre-registered
must be on a community club registration list (as confirmed by the Age Convenor)
in order that they are properly insured.
A1 tryout camps are scheduled
in sets of three, with first cuts taking place after three sessions. The schedule
for A1 Round Two and the subsequent A2 and Bantam/Midget tryout times are distributed
prior to the end of A1Round One (just in case scheduling changes are required,
as they always seem to be). All players attending A1 tryouts will be directed
to their next tryout session by the coach conducting the tryouts.
The number of players chosen
on a team is based on the total number of players available at that age and
the number of teams to be formed. Coaches cannot decide upon how many players
or goalies to choose without the express approval of the 1st Vice
President. When a variable number of players could be picked for a team (e.g.
the team could consist of 15 or 16 players) then the higher tier team gets the choice. When
more than the minimum number of goalies are involved (e.g. 4 goalies for 3 teams),
the higher tier team(s) get(s) to choose whether to take more than one goalie,
but in the case where there are enough goalies to provide two per team, then
each team will
be required
to take two. In no case
will a team be allowed to take more than one goalie when there are not enough
goalies to be assigned to all teams.
Once the A2 and Bantam/Midget
tryout schedules are distributed, it is each community club convener’s responsibility
to contact every player who did not attend A1 tryouts to advise them of the
appropriate A2 or Bantam, Midget dates and times. The S.O.M.H.A.
Age Convenor will also contact all players who pre-registered for camps as a
double check to ensure everybody knows.
The community club Convenor
to which a team is assigned is responsible for coordinating all tryout camps
associated with the team. He must ensure that the coaching staff and evaluators
are present and that suitable drills have been planned to enable a comprehensive
and equitable tryout. If possible, some evaluators that are not directly associated
with the team should be used in order to eliminate bias and reduce the number
of complaints after team selection has taken place. In order to eliminate confusion
after the first tryout (once initial sweater assignments have been completed),
coaches should post a list of players, jersey colors and jersey numbers on
dressing room doors prior
to each tryout session.
Be assured that there are
always players/parents who will question team selection decisions, and their
concerns should be addressed by way of an explanation, upon request. The coach
must assume ultimate responsibility for team selection, and should be prepared
to provide evaluation information to S.O.M.H.A. upon request.
Team roster sheets must
be completed and forwarded to Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association as part of the
team registration process. The community club Convenor is responsible to ensure
that each coach associated with his club completes the roster form correctly and on time. Each
player's name must be entered in ascending alphabetical order (A-Z), with all information in
all columns completed. Players 10 years old and older must sign the roster sheet.
In recent years, community
clubs have held mass-registration nights at Garden City or Vince Leah (for
Invariably there are some
individuals that are unable to pay their full fees at registration time for
a variety of reasons. Community clubs are under no obligation to register a
player for whom arrangements have not been made with respect to registration
fees. It is ultimately the responsibility of the parents to make arrangements
for payment of fees, but where it is known by a community club Convenor that there
will be an issue, he/she should handle it in advance
with the parents and/or community club for the team on which the player will
be registering.
Some community clubs will
accept time payments, others are willing to wait for KidSport
grants to arrive, sometimes the home club will pay the fees on behalf of a player,
other times the receiving club (of the host team) will waive the fees, or other
combinations of waiving/splitting fees are applied. In any case, registration
night is not the time to work out payment details, so when arrangements are
made for players/parents to attend on registration night, ensure that they are
aware that full payment is expected or other agreed-to suitable arrangements
must be made in advance.
The 1st and/or 3rd Vice
Presidents attend Winnipeg East League meetings each month as representatives
of S.O.M.H.A. to participate in league planning issues. One of the first annual
tasks is to advise the number of 8 to 12A1 to A3 teams that will be participating from our area in order that leagues can be
formed. Coaches names and phone numbers must accompany
team lists.
S.O.M.H.A. must provide
the names of two
representatives
to participate on the East League Suspension Board, which meets as required
to handle suspension issues that cannot be handled by the W.M.H.A. handbook.
Once the number of teams
in each league has been finalized, the first half schedule can be prepared.
This is typically done in mid-October for distribution by the last week of October.
If teams have date conflicts that they wish to be taken into consideration during
scheduling, they must advise their community club Convenor prior to the end
of the second week of October in order that the S.O.M.H.A. scheduler can be
informed. While there can be no assurance that requested date conflicts can
be accommodated (based on the reason, availability of ice and/or constraints of the other teams)
every effort will be made to do so. Game times are allocated based on age,
with older players typically playing at later times. Where possible, games within
our area are assigned to arenas closer to the home teams, particularly when
Maples or
S.O.M.H.A. must provide
two age convenors (e.g. 10A1, 13A3) to keep track of league standings and coordinate
suspensions within their division. They will receive a call from the winning
coach after each league game advising the winning team and score. League standings
must be compiled on a weekly basis and submitted to the league media coordinator
who will arrange for having league standings printed in the local newspapers.
They will also receive copies of game sheets on a periodic basis (typically
after each East League meeting) and review them in order to coordinate any
necessary player/coach suspensions based on the W.M.H.A. handbook. Suspensions
resulting from East League suspension hearings will also be communicated to
the appropriate age Convenor to ensure that suspensions are served.
Age convenors, with the
S.O.M.H.A. representative(s), will also attend the league realignment meeting
near the end of the first half of the season to provide input on the teams in
their division. The S.O.M.H.A. representatives must discuss the potential for
teams moving up or down with the coaches of any of our teams that are at the
top or bottom of
a division
to determine the team’s preference with respect to moving. The East League Age
Convenor from our area should solicit information from the top and bottom teams
of the age group he/she is coordinating. East League representatives vote on the combined input of the age convenors (win/lost
record, goals for/against) and the team’s preferences, and their decision is
final (although protest able if desired).
When new teams enter a division,
league standings for that division are reset to zero for the second half of
the season. First half league standings remain intact when the teams in a division remain unchanged
or team(s) leave a division on without having other team (s) join .
The second half schedule
is prepared just prior to Christmas, and is available prior to the beginning
of January. If scheduling exceptions are required, t e a
m should advise their community club Convenor prior to the end of the second
week of December. An attempt is made to ensure
that a balanced schedule is set, with each team playing all other teams in their
division a relatively equal number of times, but with over 2000 games and team movements
between divisions, this is not always possible.
S.O.M.H.A. representatives
must also participate in hearing and deciding on protests on an occasional basis.
Every team in the Winnipeg
East League makes the playoffs. Direct entry, AAA, AA and female teams typically
have to qualify for playoff positions. The first place team in each division at the end
of the regular season will receive an East League banner commemorating their
achievement.
In 1996/1997,
rather
than having separate East League and West League playoffs as a preliminary elimination
round prior to the City playoff round, it has been decided that all teams will
participate in an interlocking City-wide playoff.
City playoffs are the responsibility
of Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association, although they are hosted in area association
rinks. The S.O.M.H.A. president participates with other area presidents to determine
which teams will be hosted by which areas. Since the costs for ice time and
officials for city playoffs are included in W.M.H.A. registration fees, S.O.M.H.A.
can request as many teams as we have ice for (and can get convenors to coordinate)
since W.M.H.A. reimburses us for all expenses.
In previous years, City champions
received a team banner and player medallions, while finalists (second place)
received medallions.