APPROVED AS AMENDED
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Attendance: Robin Foley, Darren Booth, David Duncan, Chris Wood, George Curry, Reg Rand, Jim Murphy, Cathy Curry, John Curry, Carrie Hemmings, Brian Rhodenizer, Susan Surette-Draper.
Brian called the meeting to order at 7:35.
The agenda was reviewed and a few items added.
Susan read the minutes of our last meeting. Darren moved for adoption and John seconded the motion.
BUSINESS FROM MINUTES
RE: MOVING AGE LEVELS
Brian advised the executive that their decision, taken in the previous meeting, had been reversed. This concerned the child who's parent had requested a move from Atom to Pee Wee.
Much discussion followed where sentiments and facts were shared. Some of the key points were: a) Some of the Pee Wee registered players had dropped down to Atom, thereby creating a space, numerically. b) The child is now in house league where there is no checking. c) This sets a bad precedent, there are others who could request the same special treatment. This could be extremely hard on the association in regards to ice schedules, team numbers, morale, etc. d) The child has vacated a spot on the Atom A team. Teams have been set and another child cannot be added at this late date so the situation has caused another child to miss out on the rep team experience. e) Previous cases have shown that Hockey Nova Scotia has over-ruled our association when we tried to prevent this type of movement from happening. They are only firm on the Bantam to Midget age group.
When he was confronted with the loss of funds for the association and the child's withdrawal from playing hockey, Brian allowed the situation.
John C. proposed a clause to our policy manual which states that any movement out of a player's own age group would have to be approved by the executive and requested in writing. It was agreed that such a clause, in an approved policy document would give us some control in our organization and help us to provide equity for our players.
We set the date for our Policy Manual Review Meeting. It is Jan 14, 2003, 7:30 Port Williams School. It is our intention to leave with a document that is ready to be ratified at our next executive meeting. Participants are expected to provide written amendments/corrections by e-mail to Brian or at the meeting. This will ensure that we can proceed quickly and effectively.
NEW BUSINESS
BUDGET-REP FEES
Brian handed out models for 4 scenarios with costs projections. We discussed a simple formula for rep fees that would be based on ice time.
George made the motion that we adopt a $100.00 fee for teams with 1:30 game times (Midget, Female Hockey, Bantam A and Pee Wee AAA), $70.00 for teams with 1:15 game times (Pee Wee A) and $50.00 for teams with 1 hr game times (Atom A).
Darren seconded the motion. Vote Yes=10, No=0, Abstain=0
Rep fees also cover the cost of extra on-ice officials. Fees must be paid by Dec 31, 2002. Managers will be contacted to collect fees for the association.
Later, it was identified that Bantam B's rep fees would also be $50.00 since they are also a Rep team registered for provincials and have a 1 hr game, similar to the Atom A team.
PEE WEE A-EXTRA PLAYERS
George informed the group that our Pee Wee A coach has made a request to bring 5 players up from house league for practices and also to draw from if players who are picked for the team, drop out, have injuries or are sick for games. He also feels that this gives him the ability to have more efficient practices. George, as Pee Wee Division Head, approved and when the matter was brought up at the Parent Meeting, nobody voiced any concerns.
Now that time has passed, some questions have arisen. These kids are now getting an extra hour of ice time free. The ratio of coach to player has gone from 1-17 to 1-22. There are worries that this will create a larger gap between the top and bottom players on the house team, and can cause insecurity for kids on the team as to whether they will be bumped if they don't perform adequately.
John stated that the house league players, once they are registered as house team, can't play up and that a coach can only use the affiliate rule in dire circumstances such as when there are less than 10 kids left to play a game.
Jim M.left the meeting.
Further discussion clarified that the house kids are having a positive experience, we want to encourage positive hockey experiences, more kids are learning extra skills, this was brought up at the parent meeting with no objections and there was no evidence that this is a concern for a majority of parents of kids on this team. John made the motion that: We will charge the, now 4 house team players, ½ of the rep fee that other players on that team are being charged, that is $35.00. Darren seconded. Vote=Unanimous. This seemed like a fair compromise.
REFUNDS
We discussed a formula for returning registration fees, when applicable. It is: Registration Fee + Rep Fee -Insurance divided by # of weeks of hockey (22), multiplied by how many weeks played. This is the amount payable to the association, the balance is refundable.
PEE WEE AAA
Robin and Brian reported that the team is suffering only marginal losses and are playing competitive games in spite of size differences. No figures were given on the team's record.
Amended section BANTAM HOUSE ICE-PRACTICE TIME
Reg expressed concern over the loss of ice time for Novice, Initiation and Pee Wee teams (67 kids).
Ice time changes caused confusion.
Some discussion took place and it was decided that Brian would contact Frank Spicer to advise that the new ice time schedule should be:
- 4:45-5:45 Initiation 1 & 2 no flood
- 5:45-6:45 Novice House 1 & 2 flood (15 mins)
- 7:00-8:00 Pee Wee A flood
- 8:10-9:00 Bantam House flood
- 9:15 Old Timers
The Bantam House coach will be contacted regarding Bantam ice issues. Brian expressed his concern with the association's overspending on ice. It was decided that since this team is small (13) players, this is a positive teaching ratio. The association is losing money on this team due to lower than optimum numbers. We must host this team due to the non-checking aspect.
50/50 DRAW
Chris gave us a printout of the players and numbers of tickets sold, winners and winning amounts, financial statement as of Nov 24, 2002 showing a profit of $567.38 after yearly expenses and projected financials.
He also advised us that he has authorized the Acadia Women's Hockey Team to sell our 50/50 tickets on campus as a fundraiser. They have lost the 50/50 draw at at Axemen hockey games to the Acadia Rugby team. They get the same profit as our players, .50 per ticket sold. John made a motion to accept this. Dave seconded. Vote: yes: 8, no: 0, abstain:0.
Chris also advised us that the 50/50 draw has been an experience that he was willing to take on but the he will not continue next year. It takes his wife, Margaret, 6 hours on Saturday night to reconcile the tickets for the draw on Sunday. Some teams are doing well, others are not participating. It is a growth year for us and many more volunteer hours are needed to get things set. Parents should be made aware that registration costs will rise and this is a good way to keep a family's costs down.
CANTEEN & STAFFING
Cathy responded to our request of our Sept 25, 2002 meeting, for a plan for the canteen.
She advised that business seems to be better than last year but help is still poor. She called a managers meeting and 8 people showed up. She has advised them that a $25 charge will be billed to parents who miss practice shifts and $50 for game night shifts. Some rinks in our province have teams forfeit ice times if they don't man the canteen as scheduled.
A new cash register is due. This could help to keep inventory control.
Business is good at high school games. There are more games this year than last year.
A nearby parent has volunteered to lock up when Cathy is not there.
Plans for the possibility of paying staff were not presented and dollar amounts on profits or expenses were not provided. The cleanliness issue was not discussed. By the time we reached this point in the agenda, it was getting late. Hopefully we will be able to discuss this issue more fully next time.
CLINICS
Brian advised that there are coaches clinics coming up. The schedule is posted in the canteen.
MAILBOXES/NOTICE BOARD
Brian would like a way to contact coaches and will have mailboxes and bulletin boards made for the canteen for this purpose.
REGISTRATION FOR NEXT YEAR
John expressed his fear that registration will increase next year. This will be reassessed in the spring. Bingo is losing popularity. We have to cover real costs.
AAA TRYOUT BALANCE
Chris advised us that he is relaying a message from Jack Schofield, the coach of our Pee Wee AAA team. Jack calculates that he collected more money than expenses incurred. He would like a refund of the balance. He estimates it to be around $500. His second option is the purchase of socks for the team by the association.
This was an unexpected request and our financial details were not available to substantiate this. We deferred making a decision to our next executive meeting.
NOTE: It was felt that we had decided the AAA team should be self-sufficient but this is not in the notes of past meetings from Aug 26, 2002 to present. Possibly, this could be found in the Meeting notes for May 30, 2002 or Aug 12, 2002, which are still outstanding.
FINANCIALS
Carrie presented our financial statement. She expressed frustration at not being able to forecast because she has not been advised of the cost of Acadia ice. The current balance is 76,606.39.
The meeting adjourned at 11:15.
Submitted by Susan Surette-Draper.