Aberdeen Hockey Association

Volunteer Policy

This document outlines Aberdeen Hockey Association’s (AHA) Volunteer policy covering all members of AHA. The purpose of this policy is to clarify the expectations and requirements of the members of the Aberdeen Hockey Association. The AHA relies upon volunteers from its membership to manage the facility and events that are held within the facility as well as events that are held outside the facility, such as fundraisers. Volunteer hours help to allow AHA to keep the cost to play hockey at the minimal levels.

SEASON: 2015-2016 Season and Beyond

VOLUNTEER POLICY REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Varsity/ Girls U19, Junior Varsity, Bantam/ Girls U15, Pee Wee, Girls U12, and Squirt Players: Each player/family at these levels is required to sign up and work the following volunteer hours. NOTE: The out of season requirement is waived for first year players, but families are encouraged to participate where possible.
  2. 25 in season hours and
  3. 10 out of season hours
  4. Mite/Termite Players: Each player/family at these levels is required to sign up and work the following volunteer hours. NOTE: The out of season requirement is waived for first year players, but families are encouraged to participate where possible.
  5. 10 in season hours and
  6. 5 out of season hours
  7. Exempt Positions: There are positions that are exempt from all volunteer hour’s commitment, because with their role, they already provide much more than the required hours. These positions include members of the Board of directors, Coaches, Coordinators, Registrar, Rink Manager, Ice Scheduler, and HDC Director.
  8. Position Credit: There are positions that entitle you to a 10hour credit toward the requirements. These positions include but are not limited to: webmaster, rink committee members, communications committee members, marketing committee members, and equipment manager. The board member or board liaison for each of these committees will confirm who shall receive credit for their services.
  9. Family Maximum: There will be a family maximum in place for the volunteer hour requirements. The family maximum will be determined by combining the requirements of the 2 oldest members of the family participating in hockey for the current season.
  10. In Season Hours Clarification : In Season Hours are any hours that are volunteered while the ice is in the facility, such as working the games hosted in the rink, penalty box workers, timekeepers, scorekeepers, announcers, gate workers, etc.
  11. Out of Season Hours Clarification: Out of Season Hours are any hours that are signed up for while the ice is not in the facility, such as putting in the ice rinks, taking out the ice rinks, working off season functions such as the club house during the Brown County Fair, other events, etc. The last day to complete hours for a given season will be each year on April 30th unless modified by the Board of Directors.
  1. Signing up for Volunteer Hours:
  2. All shifts available for volunteer hours will be available via under the DIBS section. This will be the sole location for signing up for volunteer times.
  3. AHA, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to schedule members for their volunteer hours.
  4. Periodically there will be work times scheduled where people can show up and help (rink setup, rink teardown, etc.) without signing up via DIBS. It is the responsibility of the volunteer to either sign up on a designated sign-up sheet or report their efforts to the person in charge so their hours can be documented. It is encouraged that members monitor their account on DIBS to ensure they receive credit within DIBS.
  5. Reporting of Hours: All hours must be reported through the DIBS program through the website. Simply stated if the hours are not tracked in DIBS, AHA has no record of them when tabulating hours completed at the end of the year.
  6. Deposit Checks: Each family is required to provide AHA with a deposit check at the beginning of the season equal to the number of hours required times $15. For example, a Mite player is required 15 total hours, so their deposit check would be for $225.
  7. Deposit checks are held throughout the season.
  8. Deposit checks will be shredded/returned if volunteer requirements have been met.
  9. Deposit checks will be cashed if requirements have not been met.
  10. Deposit refunds will be issued if partial requirements have been met.
  11. Not Showing for Shift Taken in DIBS: If you have signed up for or have been assigned a shift and you fail to work that shift for any reason, 1) you will not receive any credit for the missed shift in your volunteer hours worked and 1) a 1 hour penalty will be added to your total required hours (example: the family of a Mite Player is required to fulfill 15 hours. They sign up for a shift but fail to show. A penalty of 1 hour will be assessed now requiring 16 hours to be completed) Violations during Off Season Hours shifts increase the off season hour requirement. Violations during In Season Hours shifts increase the in season hour requirement.
  12. Buy Out Option: This option is available for families that are not able to or refuse to work their required volunteer hours. AHA will require volunteer hoursbuy-out for the amounts below.
  13. Mite/Termite Level: $325
  14. All Other Levels: $625
  15. Diversity of Hours: It takes more than 5,000 volunteer hours to run the program. All hours are important, but some are more time sensitive than others, and others are dependent on others being completed.
  16. It is estimated 500 hours are required to setup and take down the 2 rinks, in addition to supervision and parks and rec time.
  17. It is estimated more than 1500 hours are required to for the Wings games, which is a primary source of funding used to reduce the cost of hockey to AHA members.
  18. It is estimated more than 2,000 hours are required to manage the AHA program.
  19. These are only accounting for the hours that are listed through DIBS, so you can estimate that it takes another 30-50% of hours to make everything work.
  20. Conduct during Volunteer Hours:The volunteers are one of the many faces of the Aberdeen Hockey Association. The conduct, appearance, and communication of the volunteers should always be professional and appropriate. The volunteers should always possess a positive attitude and protect the interests of the AHA. If the conduct of a volunteer is found to be inappropriate, the situation will be reported to the AHA Board of Directors who may take appropriate action.
  21. Consumption of Alcohol while Volunteering: Beginning 7/15/2015, the consumption of alcohol while serving a Volunteer Shift for AHA is strictly prohibited. No Exceptions! NOTE:THIS IS A CHANGE FROM PRIOR PRACTICES OR POLICY.
  22. This change in policy results from requirement set by the Insurance Company with whom AHA has its insurance coverage with. If AHA were to allow the consumption of alcohol, we would not be able to secure the necessary insurance coverage required to maintain our appropriate Beverage License and to meet our contract with Brown County.
  23. The sale of alcohol at various events covers over 25% of the total cost of hockey incurred by AHA. If we would not be able to generate this revenue through the sale of alcohol, the additional cost per skater that would have to be replaced is approximately $325.
  24. Penalty for Violation. The AHA Board of Directors is setting a strict penalty for anyone found to be consuming alcohol while serving a volunteer shift. The penalties for a first violation are as follows:
  25. No credit of volunteer hours will be given for the shift that was signed up for.
  26. The volunteer will be removed from their responsibilities for the remainder of the shift.
  27. A penalty will be added to the total required hours equal to the length of shift during which the violation occurred. (Example: During a 4 hour shift selling alcohol a volunteer is found to be consuming. A penalty of 4 hours will be assessed now increasing their total required hours by an additional 4 hours.) Violations during Off Season Hours shifts increase the off season hour requirement. Violations during In Season Hours shifts increase the in season hour requirement.
  28. The penalties for subsequent violations will be determined by the Board of Directors after a hearing with the Board of Directors. Penalties could be up to and including suspension from AHA and restriction from any on ice activities for any member of the family.
  29. AHA will allow one complementary beverage to the volunteer once the volunteer shift is over and/or AHA is no longer offering alcohol for sale.
  30. Alcohol Sales and Minors, Children, or anyone under the age of 21.
  31. AHA strictly prohibits the sale or serving of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21,
  32. AHA strictly prohibits minors, children, or anyone under the age of 21 to be within the non public area where alcohol is sold. This includes at a minimum the following areas: Inside the Door of the Beer Stand during Wings Games, Behind any bar in the clubhouse during the Brown County Fair, and behind any table or counter where alcohol is being sold.
  33. The penalty for either of these violations will be the same penalties as if a member were found to be consuming alcohol during their shift. These penalties can be found above in Item 15, Section iii, numbers 1 through 4.

This policy shall remain in effect until either 1) the AHA Board of Directors votes to remove the policy or 2) this policy is revised or amended by a vote of the AHA Board of Directors.

--Adopted 06/30/2015 by the Aberdeen Hockey Association Board of Directors--