FORT MCMURRAY MINOR HOCKEY
2011-12 REGISTRATION PACKAGE
Contents:
1. The Association 4. Fundraising Policy Procedure
2. Hockey Operations 5. Registration
3. Fee Structure 6. Summer Camps
1. The Association
The Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association (FMMHA) is a not-for profit society governed by a set of by-laws. The FMMHA establishes and enforces policies, procedures and rules governing the operations of all Minor Hockey in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. All participants, including those playing on Rep teams, must be registered and are members of the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association.
The Association is affiliated with the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (Hockey Alberta) and the Canadian Hockey Association (Hockey Canada).
Two others not-for profit societies also support Minor Hockey in Fort McMurray, the Wood Buffalo Competitive Hockey Development Society focuses its activities on the development of coaches and players and the Wood Buffalo Ice Hockey Athletic Club supports the operations of Rep Teams playing in leagues outside of Fort McMurray.
Membership in the FMMHA include parents and guardians of all registered minor hockey players, coaches and other team officials and any members of the community that are 18 years old or older interested in participating in the work of the association.
The Association is governed by executive officers elected annually by the membership at the general meeting. The executive committee also appoints Directors to the Board to help in the operation and administration of the Association. The list of current officers and directors and the by-laws of the Association are available from the Minor Hockey Association web site at www.fmmha.com
2. Hockey Operations
The Association is continuing to build from its pass successes such as the TELUS Wood Buffalo Hockey League (WBHL) that provides most of our participants an exciting and competitive venue to play hockey at minimal cost.
Our program has been very successful and was recognized by Hockey Alberta in 2009 as Minor Hockey Association of the Year for being a model supporting national initiatives such as the development of Grass Root Hockey and mentoring programs.
Changes for 2011/12
At the Annual General Meeting held in May 2011, members were presented with some of the program improvements being put in place for next season.
• TELUS Wood Buffalo Hockey League: Gus Higdon, Vice President (Operations) is the new League Governor (as VP Operations). We will be building on successes from the past season in spreading games out more evenly during the season and leveraging signigicant improvements realized in 2010 on ice allocation efficiencies. Three year division and team sponsorships matured this year and packages for sponsorship renewals and new sponsorship packages have been distributed.
• Respect in Sports: both FMMHA and Hockey Alberta are contemplating making this a mandatory program for coaches and parents, with Calgary Minor Hockey making it mandatory in 2010. More details on Hockey Alberta’s and FMMHA’s decision on this program will be available in the summer on the FMMHA website.
• Pee Wee, Bantam & Midget AA teams: Our three rep teams will continue to play in new leagues that they entered this past season. The Pee Wee AA plays in the 1660 League (www.1660.ab.ca) with its home rink out of Bruderheim. Our Bantam AA team will play in the Edmonton Rural Bantam AA Hockey League (www.erbhl.ca) comprising 31 teams and our Midget AA team will continue to play in the Northern Alberta Midget AA League (www.namhl.ca) comprising 25 teams. Try-outs will take place in early September. Players interested in playing at this level should do a summer conditioning program such as the Summer Performance Training Program available at the Alberta Sports Development Centre or an individual program such as the Oil Barons Junior A training plan available at the FMMHA Office.
• Conditioning & Dry-Land: a floor hockey and conditioning component to be provided at the Syncrude Sports & Wellness Centre (SSWC) will be continued for WBHL players this season. Off-ice training has long been used extensively in Europe to improve conditioning, coordination and the hockey sense of players. The FMMHA is taking advantage of an opportunity for space at the SSWC to add this to the program. More details will be provided at the start of the season.
• Other Provincial Teams: the Association will continue to support other Provincial teams (not playing in out of town leagues) to ensure that players have the opportunity to further their skills to the best of their abilities. Try-outs will take place in early September for the following Provincial teams:
• Atom AA
• Atom Female
• Peewee AA
• Peewee Female
• Bantam Female
• Midget U16
• Midget Female
• Player Development and Program of Excellence: Last year’s player development sessions are being reviewed for improvements by the Board and enhanced player, goalie and coach development opportunities are currently being developed for next season. Details and registration to program of excellence will be announced on the FMMHA Web Site in late early July.
• Volunteer Fee Deposit: like most other minor sports organizations, the FMMHA depends on the assistance of all its members to ensure the delivery of our programs, especially special events such as Minor Hockey Week and other tournaments. All members must now pay a volunteer fee of $150 per family that will be refunded once their volunteer commitment has been completed. This is implemented to ensure fairness to our memberships.
• Jersey Deposit: a $75 jersey deposit was implemented in 2010 to assist in care and return of jerseys by members. The deposit has been very successful and has resulted in much higher jersey returns in better condition. The deposit has been well received by members and they have the option to leave the deposit with FMMHA from season to season upon return of the jersey for a ”one-time” cost or to have their deposit returned at the end of the season.
Player Registration
Hockey Alberta governs competition in amateur hockey in various divisions. Every player competing in sanctioned games must be a member of a Hockey Team registered with HA and shall prior to their first league game be duly registered in the Hockey Canada Registry. All players residing in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo must register with the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association unless they are in the elite stream (Bantam AAA, Midget AAA or Junior).
All players will register in their respective division based on their birth year and will participate in their respective Divisional try-outs/evaluations starting in early September (dates and locations will be published at www.fmmha.com in mid-August).
For Players with
Division birth date in
Initiation 2005, 2006
Novice 2003, 2004
Atom 2001, 2002
Peewee 1999, 2000
Bantam 1997, 1998
Midget 1994, 1995, 1996
Wood Buffalo Hockey League
WBHL – Tier 1
The tier 1 of the WBHL provides the highest level of local competition. Placement of players in the Tier 1 Division is based on skills demonstrated in the divisional try-outs. The ranking for each division will be made by an evaluation committee comprised of the Division Director, coaches of the Division and at least one independent league official or representative.
Participation in Tier 1 level hockey requires a higher level of commitment such as participation in all practices, games and other team activities.
WBHL – Tier 2
The tier 2 division of the WBHL is equally important to the Minor Hockey Program. Greater emphasis is put on the development of individual skills and the recreational aspect of the game. Tier 2 hockey is for those players that still need to improve their basic skills or just want to play hockey in a less competitive environment. Through affiliation with Tier 1 teams, many players will have an opportunity to further enhance their development and play at a higher level.
Midget Division
For the Midget Division (15, 16 & 17 year old), it is expected that we will have sufficient players and coaches to support 4-6 teams in the Midget Division of the WBHL. Changes to the scheduling and operation of the Division will be implemented as detailed above.
Players born in 1996 are eligible to try out for the Midget U16 Development Team. Players will continue playing on WBHL Midget teams but will practice weekly and play exhibition and tournament games during the season.
Rules, Regulations and Procedures
Code of Conduct
Greater emphasis will be made on the code of conduct for players, team officials and parents/spectators. National and provincial programs will continue to be promoted locally to ensure that the sport of hockey remains fun for all. Through education programs and, where necessary, enforcements that could lead to suspension, the FMMHA will ensure better compliance with the code of conducts that are agreed upon by registering for Minor Hockey.
Handling of Complaints
Policies and procedures have been developed to respond and/or investigate complaints made by members. A formal process is in place to resolve and close issues in a timely and efficient manner.
Communication with team officials
We will continue to work on improving communication with team officials (coaches, assistant coaches and managers) with improvement to our web site and the scheduling of compulsory meetings with all Association Coaches before and during the season.
Team Placement and Evaluation Tournament
Based on the ranking of the Divisional try-outs in early September, coaches and division directors will make an initial placement of players on Tier 1 and 2 teams. This will be followed by practices and exhibition games in late September and during the first few weeks of October to assess the strength of teams and placement of players. Player movement will then take place to ensure that the teams are as balanced as possible. Players may also be moved from one tier to another based on their performance during the evaluation tournament.
Team rosters will be finalized in October and the WBHL regular season will begin. There will be no player movement after the final rosters are submitted unless warranted by special circumstances. Such movement will require the approval of the league Governor.
Female Hockey
In the Initiation to Novice Divisions, Female players play on mixed gender teams. For older players, try-outs will be held for the Female Atom team and the continuing Peewee, Bantam and Midget Teams. The female teams will play in the WBHL. Special consideration will be made to allow the teams to play as many exhibition and tournament games against other female teams in the Province. Female teams are provincial teams and will play in the Hockey Alberta Provincials Tournament, commencing with Zone 2 play downs, typically in February.
Rep Program
Players may also try-out for the three Fort McMurray Rep Teams playing in out of town leagues. The three (3) Rep Teams are the Peewee AA (1660 League – Peewee AA Division, the Bantam AA (Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League – AA Division) and the Midget AA (Rural Alberta Midget Hockey League). Try-outs for these teams normally start in late August. Details will be posted at www.fmmha.com by mid-Summer.
Parents of players that are selected for these teams must understand and accept that they will be required to participate in fundraising activities and pay additional fees to cover the additional costs associated with these teams. Playing on a Rep team is a great experience, but also requires a much higher level of commitment from players and their parents.
Underage players – Initiation
The FMMHA accepts registrations for underage players (born in 2007) in the Initiation Division. The following conditions apply:
· the child must participate in the normal activities of the team without disruption;
· no special consideration will be provided because of the age of the player;
· the underage agreement is only valid for one year. It is expected the child will play one additional year in the initiation division. The player will not move up to Novice after two years due to the fact that he/she has started as an underage player in Initiation;
· A written agreement must be signed by the parents agreeing to these conditions.
Underage Players – Novice to Midget
Players are expected to play in the Division corresponding to their respective age group. Research conducted by Hockey Canada and Hockey Alberta clearly demonstrates that it is better for the long-term development of players and that pushing players at higher level too young can be harmful to their development. It is also important to consider that under-age players take away legitimate spots on teams for players trying out in their own age group.
The FMMHA only allows underage players from Initiation to Bantam to be registered for a team in an older Division if the following conditions are met:
· Participate in the Divisional Try-outs of the higher division and is ranked in the top 20%;
· Given similar skills, preference will always be given to an athlete playing in his/her own age group;
· The player possesses the physical, psychological, social and education maturity which matches his/her superior hockey skills;
· A request is made in writing by the parents to place the player in the higher level division.
Affiliation
The Hockey Alberta affiliation rules will be used to the maximum extent to allow for as much development opportunities as possible for players. Players are only permitted to be affiliated to one team. It is important to understand that the affiliation process cannot negatively impact the team on which the player is registered. The affiliation procedures will be discussed with the coaches and Division Directors before the start of the season.
When used appropriately, the affiliation process is a useful tool for coaches to reward players that are trying hard to improve their skills and for players to gain an opportunity to measure their progress and gain more development and ice time. It is important to understand that being affiliated to a team does not guarantee any ice time with the higher level team. Most affiliated players will never be called up or practice with the higher level team as the preference for ice time will also be given to the regular player of the team.
Body checking