MILTON MINOR HOCKEY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Attendees: Chris WebbMac RathwellAndrew LauderLori Brading

Amanda RobinsonDesiree AndradeCraig HarrisonPierre Poitras

Sean RussellMarcello Aquilina

Absent:Bob BarrettLynne FullerTim RaceKen van de Haar

Walter Moser

Call to Order @ 7:32 pmby Chris Webb

Introductory Items – Chris Webb

  • Meetings will be starting on time so please make sure you arrive on time.
  • The meetings will be scheduled well in advance and will not be rescheduled. If you are going to be absent, send in your items for the agenda.

Presentation by the Milton Referee’s Association – Mark Droge(Referee-In-Chief, Milton Referees Association) and Robert Lamouche (Vice Referee-In-Chief, Milton Referees Association)

  • Markand Robert work with OMHA officials; they teach 5,000/year in Ontario.
  • There is a new head contact rule – it is a dramatic change.
  • Last year, 350 of the 6/7/8 yr old age groups were sustained head contact injuries and are no longer playing hockey.
  • The will be attending coach’s meetings with the Rep, Select, and House League coaches to educate them on this new rule; they show videos and then do 15 minute workshops.
  • Definition: head contact is any part of a player’s body or equipment coming into contact with another player’s head, intentionally or accidentally.
  • Accidental head contact results in a minor penalty and a 10 minute misconduct combined; two accidental head contacts equals an intentional, equals a game misconduct.
  • Intentional head contact gets the player a double minor penalty plus a game misconduct.
  • First offence 3 game suspension; second offence 4 game suspension; third offence is addressed by a meeting with the OMHA.
  • This rule is only applicable within the OMHA. Potential issues may arise at tournaments when outside teams playing in Milton are subject to this rule.
  • Issue may also arise between the parents of the penalized players and the referees. Amanda to cover the issue of respect for the referees in her meeting with the parent liaisons.
  • Pierre will disseminate the information to the first 4 teams playing August 16.
  • Mac will send an e-mail immediately to all the coach’s to attend a meeting on Tuesday, August 16th. Every team must send a representative. The next day a message will be broadcast to all parents via e-mail regarding this new rule. Desire to book a large room for the meeting.
  • The new rule will be posted in the arenas, in all dressing rooms.

N.B. The Head Contact Rule has been changed: The penalty for accidental contact under rule 6.5 (a) will be a Minor Penalty with no additional suspension.

The penalty for intentional contact under rule 6.5 (b) will be a Double Minor Penalty with no

additional suspension.

The Major Penalty will remain the same as indicated in NR 11.06 which is a GM72 (game

misconduct: plus three (3) additional games for first offence; plus four (4) additional games for

second offence; and an indefinite suspension for the third offence in the same season).

The Match Penalty will remain the same as indicated in NR 11.06 which is a MP72 (game

misconduct: plus four (4) additional games for the first offence; and an indefinite suspension for

the second offence in the same season).

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes (AGM):

  • The minutes from the AGM and the June 13th BOD meeting were approved and will be posted on the website.

Coach Development – Pierre Poitras:

  • Next CHIP clinic will be on September 10: 20 spots have been taken with 5 or 6 people from outside of Milton.
  • Chalk talks: there will be 6 Chalk Talks for the Rep teams and 4 for the Houseleague teams. For Rep the dates/topics are: September 21 – How to Organize a Practice (Henderson Hockey); October 19th – Def/Offense Strategies (Henderson Hockey); November 16th – Tournament Play/Nutrition during Tournaments (TBD); December 14th – Strategies for Power Play/Box/3-3, 2-2, 1-1 (Henderson Hockey); January 25th – Prepping for Playoffs Play and Playoffs Practices (Henderson Hockey); February TBD – Off-ice/Spring and Summer training (TBD). For Houseleague the dates/topics are: September TBD – How to Organize a Practice (Henderson Hockey); October TBD – Position Hockey – Frills, Skills, and Progression (Henderson Hockey); November TBD – Defense and Offensive Systems (Henderson Hockey); January TBD – Prepping for Tournament Play/Power Play/Box Play (Henderson Hockey). The dates/topics are tentative at this point, but the schedule will be set in August. For Rep, the first Chalk Talk is September 21st and then it will be the 2nd or 3rd Wednesday of the month. For Houseleague, a day of preference still needs to be decided.

Presidents Report – Chris Webb:

  • Tracey’s resignation, which was on Bob’s agenda, was discussed. It was decided at the Executive BOD meeting, that Mac would be appointed interim VP of Rep. It has been changed on the website and the coach’s were advised. The Executive members suggested that at the end of September, the position be opened up for nomination and vote. The Constitution states that the person elected to VP Rep has to have served on the Board for a full year. This was discussed and Chris invited everyone to read the Constitution and come up with any other suggestions that would be acceptable (including rewriting the constitution). Mac volunteered to stay in the position til the end of the term.
  • Dale Waller is coming back in a short-term, paid position, to help with Houseleague.
  • The ice in Rink C has been painted and D is on track as well. Chris asked if anyone had any contacts for someone to make a very large banner with the logo on it and Marcello stated that he thinks Walter has a contact. They will talk later about this.
  • Sports Manager is fully populated for September for all teams – practices and games. The coaches can manage their own teams; everyone can see everything; referees will be getting their calendar from the same place the teams are; e-mails can be sent to certain groups.
  • The new office and conference room will be available the first week of September. It is down the hall, by the pool, near Rink D.
  • Chris has bought a new photocopier, much less expensive for the MMHA, as the last one was being leased at a high price. He has negotiated a reduction in the price in exchange for a Jersey sponsorship (will discuss details later with Marcello).
  • Amanda asked if any team had committed to offer for the training room/update on the training room. Chris advised that there are high jumping bars/rope ladders/balance balls/boards, and a trainer in training. The cost is $60/hr and 1 team had committed for 1 hour and another took ½ an hour.

VP of Houseleague – Mac Rathwell

  • An e-mail was sent out to last year’s coaches and he got a few people to commit. He will get Dale to send out a mass e-e-mail asking for volunteers.

VP of Rep – Mac Rathwell

  • Mac hadn’t heard of any issues from the coach’s, so he sent out an e-mail asking if there were any issues that needed to be addressed and did not receive any replies.
  • Midget AA – practice coming up, so the team should be rostered shortly.
  • May have to have special Board Meeting to approve bench staff and team budgets. He has only received 1 team budget so far. Lori confirms that she did not receive any other budgets. He will add a request for the budgets to the Tuesday Meeting re: New Head Contact Rule.

Treasurer – Walter Moser (Report submitted in his absence)

Account Balance as of Aug. 4, 2011 is $286,655.43

GIC Certificate Value $225,000.00

September Ice Breakdown

Rink A 1,661.88

Rink B28,067.31

Rink C11,448.53

Rink D10,525.25

Memorial19,111.80

Total70,814.77

Turned Back 90 Hours to Milton @185.00 = 16,650.00

Total Committed Ice $ 54,164.77

Please note that during the regular season the Town of Milton requires 2 week’s notice for ice cancellation. We do not want to use funds for ice rental when no one uses ice.

We will be incurring costs for new office furniture and fixtures and will determine how much that will cost and determine if there is room in the budget for this expense.

We need to get rep fees in by Sept. 1 in order to allocate funds for Oct. ice.

AS a point of reference all board members should be aware that the MMHA charges a $50.00 administration fee cancellation of all registration fees.

I will be looking at the detail expenses for 2010/11 against the 2011/12 budget. There could be areas where we could find budgeted funds that can be used for other non- budgeted expenses or activities. With a budgeted surplus of $1,994.00 .It does not leave us with a lot of room in case of lower than expected revenues or unexpected expenses for the 2011/12 season.

  • There were no questions for Walter’s report.

Secretary – Desiree Andrade:

  • Reminded everyone that meeting reminders will be sent out 1 week in advance of the meeting, with a request for Agenda items.
  • There will be a three day cut off for Agenda items. If a person does not submit any items for the Agenda, they will not be given any time to speak at the meeting. No late submissions will be put on the Agenda.
  • The Agenda will be put out 2 days before a meeting.
  • The minutes will be e-mailed out to the Board members 3 – 5 days after a meeting and approved at the next BOD meeting. They will then be put on the website.
  • Winterhawks g-mail account: e-mails will be forwarded to the correct respondent and then it will be considered as having been dealt with and the e-mail will be filed away for future reference. No response has to be made to the Secretary.

Timbit Director – Sean Russell:

  • The IP (Initiation Program) festival for 4 yr olds will be on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Lori helped to book the rooms and organize the event. The OMHA guys are lined up. He needs 8 – 12 volunteers to help out. The equipment fitter from Play It Again Sports will be there. It is a full day event.
  • Sean has e-mailed all of the coach’s from last year and the regular volunteers – pretty much all of the positions for the Timbits program have been filled. There will be a coach’s meeting in early September. He will also e-mail the parents about what to expect this year.
  • They are putting the team rosters together. They are at capacity for 4 yr olds and there are 7-10 on the wait list. Almost at capacity for 5/6 yr olds. There are 220 registered now and they may hit 240. There will be 12 teams with 20 kids/team, plus Mites 1 & 2 (2 teams @ 16 players each = 32 players). So, 240 + 32 = 272 players in the Timbits program this year. Andrew Lauder suggested he send out info about the Mites tryouts.
  • Regarding the 4 yr olds: there are 50 registered and 10 on the waiting list. He would like to offer them all spots as not all the players show up every week and some request refunds after the first week or so. He would like to know if there is a limit on the amount of players. Chris advised there may be a limit due to the insurance; it would have to be checked. He also has to make sure there are enough jerseys.
  • Sean requests Lori send him a schedule for ice time, with the times broken down.

Sponsorship – Marcello Aquilina:

  • Needs the sponsors names for the jerseys; 61 sponsors are needed in total and he still needs 12 more. Chudleighs will be on a few teams, and there is also Pizza Pizza, Timbits, and Dodge Caravan. He may possibly have 6 more by Friday. He should be able to get sponsors for everyone’s jerseys.
  • Boston Pizza will donate 10% of their sales from the team’s year end party towards the team. He needs to get that info out, to put it on the website, but he doesn’t have access right now. Chris advised Marcello to speak to Ken as he is the website administrator. If he can’t resolve the problem, he can escalate the issue to Chris. Chris also mentioned that a monthly newsletter would be put out by Ken in a mass e-mail.
  • Marcello made phone calls to 400 local businesses and only 30 committed. Some people were waiting to see if the kid makes the Select team – another reason the Select tryouts should be moved to the spring.
  • St. Mike’s Majors dates: Friday, October 14; Friday, December 9; Friday, February 10 are not available. Available dates are:
  • Friday, September 30 against Owen Sound Attack @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, October 2 against Kingston Frontenacs @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, October 7 against Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds @ 7:30 pm
  • Wednesday, October 19 against the London Knights @ 7:00 pm
  • Sunday, October 23 against Plymouth Whalers @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, November 4 against Peterborough Petes @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, November 6 against Belleville Bulls @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, November 11 against Barrie Colts @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, November 13 against Sarnia Sting @ 2:00 pm
  • Wednesday, November 23 against Brampton Battalion @ 11:00 am
  • Sunday, November 27 against Guelph Storm @ 2:00 pm
  • Sunday, December 4 against Ottawa 67’s @ 2:00 pm
  • Sunday, December 11 against Kitchener Rangers @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, December 16 against Kingston Frontenacs @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, December 18 against Sudbury Wolves @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, December 30 against Niagara Icedogs @ 7:30 pm
  • Friday, January 6 against Brampton Battalion @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, January 8 against Ottawa 67’s @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, January 20 against Brampton Battalion @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, January 22 against Saginaw Spirit @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, January 27 against Peterborough Petes @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, January 29 against Sudbury Wolves @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, February 3 against Barrie Colts @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, February 12 against Windsor Spitfires @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, February 17 against Brampton Battalion @ 7:30 pm
  • Monday, February 20 against Sudbury Wolves @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, February 24 against Niagara Icedogs @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, February 26 against Erie Otters @ 2:00 pm
  • Friday, March 2 against Belleville Bulls @ 7:30 pm
  • Friday, March 16 against Barrie Colts @ 7:30 pm
  • Sunday, March 18 against Niagara Icedogs @ 2:00 pm

Parent Liaison – Amanda Robinson:

  • Parent Rep Manual has been constructed, using Brampton’s as a guideline. It contains the complaint process.
  • She is also developing a Parent Liaison Handbook which will address how to speak to people, how to listen, what to do, and a ‘fair play’ pledge.
  • Amanda handed out the forms she had completed for the Board to review: Contact Form, which contains contact info and the concern they would like addressed; Conflict Resolution Form, which is for Amanda only, on how the complaint was handled; Inappropriate Behaviour Incident Report; and the Verification of Verbal Warning Form, which was discussed and it was put forward that it may not be a good idea to ask the offender to sign the form as it may be inflammatory to the situation.

Equipment – Craig Harrison:

  • There is a $6K budget for goalie equipment. He has attained 3 quotes for 4 sets of goalie equipment for the Timbits, 8 sets for the Tykes, 8 for Novice. The 4 for Minor Atom could not be accommodated within the budget. The sets include a glove, blocker, chest protector, and pads (goalies must bring their own helmet and we have neck protectors in stock). The first quote was for over $10k, the second quote was for $6,100 plus tax, and the third was for $6,700 plus tax. Mac suggested the sets for the Tykes and the Novice teams be reduced to 6 each and then we could afford the sets for the Minor Atom.
  • Craig advised that the vendor does not guarantee the same style of shirt every year, so ordering a few shirts to match the existing ones is not a viable option. He suggested that every 2 years, the MMHA should buy all new shirts and that way the bid can go out to other vendors. Chris said it is something we can look at, but the MMHA does have the specs for the jerseys, so we should be able to go to any vendor and get the exact same shirts. Also, the MMHA is then asking the parents to purchase jerseys all the time – some people don’t like that.

Select Director – Andrew Lauder:

  • The Halton Skating Club will be doing the player development sessions. He needs to talk to Tim about the cost, how many sessions each team gets, etc…
  • Team budgets have been capped at $15K. Any request to go above that cap for supplementary funds will be considered by the Board, but have never been approved in the past.
  • Ice allotment has been sorted out with Lori. Select is getting the same as Houseleague. They get 4 slots per month for ½ the ice surface for practice and 1 extra time slot per month. Minor Atom and up get 2 ice times paid by the league and 2 they have to pay for – these are for 2 practices and 2 home games per month. Tonelli is the home ice - on Sundays.
  • There are still no coaches for Tyke & Mite 2.
  • A discussion took place about having Mite 1 & 2 practice together. The can use the full ice surface by having the teams integrated for practices, this facilitates mentoring by the coaches, and it frees up a weekend spot for exhibition games. Andrew will discuss this option offline with Lori and Mac.
  • Select tryouts have been scheduled for September.There is a rule that a player must tryout at the level above the one he wants to play for. This is so the player can experience the higher level of play and see what areas of skill they need to develop. The players who tried out for AA and AE paid $60 and won’t have to pay more. Anyone trying out for Select must pay $60 as well. They should have been at the AE tryouts if they want to play Select, and so, should have paid $60. Mites are $20.
  • The Select Coaches’ Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 30.
  • Select tryouts should be moved to the spring.
  • He is working on moving Tyke Select & above into the Brampton Loop for next year to provide more competition to the Select teams.

Registrar/Registration Director – Ken van de Haar (Report submitted in his absence)