I wanted to send a quick update to all our members as we begin preparing for the 2021-22 hockey season.
Thank you Aaron
First off, I want to say thank you to Aaron Dion for serving as president of PMHA for the last 3 years. He has been an extremely dedicated volunteer and has overseen numerous improvements in our association these last few years including increased ice time for players of all ages and levels, a much improved budgeting process, additional coach and player development opportunities, and he helped drive the clean-up of many association policies and our constitution. His hard work and dedication will certainly be missed in our president position, but Aaron will continue his work with PMHA as past president and assist our board in any way he can.
AGM & New Board
Thank you for those that attended the AGM this past Wednesday. For the second year in a row, the AGM was held virtually over Zoom. At the meeting we shared some of the highlights from the abbreviated past year including:
- Providing our kids a place to play for 3 months last year
- Stringent safety policies which led to zero COVID outbreaks or cases in PMHA
- A surplus of just over $1000 for the season & a continued strong financial position in our bank accounts going forward
We also elected a new board for the coming season:
President - Vacant
Vice President - Duane Homick
Secretary - Stacy McMillan
Treasurer - Danielle Morrison
Past President - Aaron Dion
U7 Convenor - Vacant
U9 Convenor - Adam St. Amant
U11 Convenor - Jeff Hamelin
U13 Convenor - Kyle Graham
U15 Convenor - Kevin Blundell
U18 Convenor - Todd Ritchie
At Large - Pauline Benkovszki
At Large - Shane Dupuis
At Large - Trevor Reid
At Large - Carrie-Ann Robillard
The board will meet in the next few weeks and decide on an interim president and will select a member to fill the U7 Convenor spot. If you have a child in the U7 division and would like to join our board, please let a board member know.
Coach Selection
Congratulation to the following coaches on having been selected for the 2021-22 season:
- U11 Rep - Choya Fraser
- U13 Rep - Duane Homick
- U15 Rep - Trevor Ritchie
- U18 Rep - Andy St. Amant
Applications for U9 & below and for all AE and LL teams will be accepted until September at which point the coach selection committee will choose coaches for those teams as well. If you are interested in coaching, please contact our secretary (Stacy McMillan).
Registration
Normally, PMHA runs its returning player registration from the middle of May and ending in early June. However, Hockey Canada has a new registration website that it is launching on June 1st (and they shut down the current site for all of May). Therefore, the PMHA registration period will be moved to mid June at the earliest. This registration will be for returning players only. New player registration which is normally held in person will be determined at a later date.
No decision has yet been made on registration fees for the coming season. This will be determined by the new board as part of the budgeting process for next year. However, there will be increases in our expenses related to higher hourly ice costs next year and a reduction in gate fee revenue (see below).
Gate Fees
The GBMHL and GBTLL have voted to eliminate gate fees for next year and likely beyond (PMHA voted against this change). Gate fees in the past have generated significant revenue for PMHA which have been used to directly cover the cost of referees and timekeepers. Our budget in a normal year would include approximately $25k-$28k in gate fee revenue. Unfortunately, with this change we will require a substantial increase in our registration fees next year as we must charge our membership more upfront than we have in the past. Though the elimination of the gate fee will work itself out (more or less) over the course of a season, we want to be very upfront about this change as it will be reflected in our registration fees when we post them.
Note: This also means you will be able to attend any other center in our area and not have to pay gate fees to watch games.
Season Calendar
The current OMHA calendar has PMHA returning the ice just after Labour Day with development skates. Tryouts would begin the week of September 21st. This is subject to change of course. All divisions can expect a later start than normal to their seasons. Additionally, we do not know what restrictions will be in place come September/October when we are starting our league play and things may not return to "normal" right in September. We will share more information as it becomes available.
Financial Assistance
PMHA understands that the pandemic has financially affected many in our community and in our membership. We never want cost to be a reason that a child does not participate in our programs. We have many sponsors/supporting organizations who can help fund part or all of your child's registration fees for the coming season and PMHA offers deferred payment plans as well. Please talk to our treasurer (Danielle Morrison) for more details.
Thank you for your time and look for an email about registration opening sometime later this month.
Thank you,
Duane Homick
Vice President, PMHA