Sep 21, 2020 | Rick Stevens | 2256 views
President's Message
Hello everyone,
Today, Monday September 21, 2020, some of our players start hitting the ice for the first time this season. Orangeville Minor Hockey has a few updates & rules that we must follow to get back into the facilities and onto the ice.
The Town of Orangeville has ice ready in the Alder Red and Green pads. Ice times are limited at this point but if all goes well, we will see ice built in the Tony Rose arena.
Registration is OPEN!!
Orangeville Minor Hockey (OMH) will have the registration open until September 30, 2020. Anyone wishing to register after September 30, 2020 will have to call the Hockey Office (519)941-2260 and go on a waiting list. The Board will then utilize the list on a first come basis filling team rosters. Once we are at capacity for each division, registration will close. I know some parent are asking what are our fees paying for, the short answer is everything. We run year to year, now that we will be having smaller teams, it actually increases ice times by almost double. We also have lost a lot of sponsorship revenue as well this season, businesses just don't have the funds to support our program. We can share a budget at anytime if you wish to see one.
Refunds!!
We know members are questioning what happens to our money if hockey stops. We are all in this together, we all have kids playing hockey and we will all be faced with a few challenges if hockey gets stopped this year. If hockey is stopped, the OMH has to pay some bills upfront and none of us will be able to collect those types of fees. We have to pay our insurance upfront, it's approximately $50.00 which is paid directly to the OMHA. We also have approximately $50 administration fees to pay upfront. This administration fee covers expenses such as Insurance for coaches, & Board members, office expenses etc. We would also have to pay the Town of any ice time that was used.
The refunds would then be prorated and paid out or credited to each members account. We are not here to hold your money ransom, we just have to be realistic and make sure we cover the costs prior to giving those refunds to you.
Hockey programs!!
Our traditional game of hockey will not be played at this point moving through the Pandemic. OMH will be offering two hockey programs. Competitive and non-Competitive.
Competitive - will be made up of last years teams of AA, A and AE. Any player returning from another centre or an AAA team will be placed on a team based upon skill and availability. The start date for competitive program is September 21, 2020. Game play is scheduled to start October 17, 2020 (approximately) as long as we move into the next phase determined by Hockey Canada and the Health Unit.
Non-Competitive - will be made up of last years teams from HL. The start date for these teams will be October 3, 2020. Game play will be November 7, 2020 as long as we move into the phase determined by Hockey Canada and the Health Unit.
During this phase, we ask that team requests not be asked for. Our goal is to get these players back on the ice and we are extremely busy preparing that first.
Non Sanctioned Hockey Programs!!
There are leagues that have been started by individuals or groups that do not play within the Hockey Canada boundaries and are refereed to as outlaw leagues. If you play on one of those teams after September 30, 2020, you will not be entitled to play hockey in OMHA. This is a Hockey Canada rule and subject to immediate removal of Orangeville Minor Hockey and you will not receive a refund. There are many of these leagues around including the Erin Shamrocks and a Pond Hockey league playing out of Teen Ranch.
Facility Rules!!
The following are the rules our players, coaches and parents must follow to enter the Orangeville facilities.
Everyone must wear a face mask.
Everyone is screened and asked several questions prior to entering the facility.
One parent per player will be aloud entry into the facility.
At this time, as per the Town of Orangeville, we can have a maximum of 30 on the ice at any one time and a maximum of 50 people in a rink at any one time.
I want to thank everyone for their patients and understanding regarding our hockey programs. It is certainly the hardest time of my Presidency of the Orangeville Minor Hockey Association. Our goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy and to promote hockey for our kids to play. Please try to understand when entering the arena that we are the volunteers working to make hockey alive in Orangeville and we are doing our best trying to follow the daily changes made by the leaders of the community.
All the best,
Rick Stevens
President
Orangeville Minor Hockey
(519)278-0927