Dust Off Your
Skates!
What you need to know:
STMHA is working to get our athletes back on the ice
SAFELY, while following the OHF Framework, and working with the OMHA, Alliance,
The City of St. Thomas and Southwestern Public Health.
Our plan for the different segments of our association can be found below. Each segment has its own specific needs based on age, ability and a lot of other factors. STMHA has formulated the following plan acknowledging it may not be optimal for all individuals but will get us back on the ice enjoying the game of hockey quickly but safely.
House League/Local League (Novice to Bantam)
Anticipated Start: September 28th
Teams: will have 9 players and 1 Goalie a Coach and a Trainer
Ice Time: Planning for 2 Ice times a week 1 game and 1 Practice
Development: Once a month practice will be run by professional development organization
Duration: Sept – Mar
Cost: $625
House League/Local League (IP)
Anticipated Start: September 28th
Teams: will have 20 players, 4 Coaches and a Trainer
Ice Time: Planning for 2 practice Ice times a week
Development: After the first 2 skates the practices will be run by professional development organization once a month
Duration: Sept – Mar
Cost: $625
House League/Local League (Midget)
Anticipated Start: September 28th
Teams: will have 9 players and 1 Goalie a Coach and a Trainer
Ice Time: Planning for 1 Ice times a week 1 game
Development: All development will be driven by coaching staff
Duration: Sept – Mar
Cost: $500
Travel/Representative Hockey (Novice-Midget)
Anticipated Start: September 8th
Teams: will have 8 players and 1 Goalie, 2 coaches and a Trainer
Ice Time: Planning for 2 Ice times a week - 2 Practices
Development: 1 of the weekly practices will be run by professional development with the 2nd being run by the coaching staff
Duration: Sept – Mar
Cost: $900
**PLEASE NOTE: IF TRAVEL REP HOCKEY DOES GET THE GREEN LIGHT TO RESUME THAN TRAVEL TEAM FEES WILL BE CALCULATED
FAQ
Will there be Local League or just House League?
We are working with the Shamrock LL to play teams in our Southwestern Health Region as directed by the OMHA. In absence of a viable Local League we will play “in house”.
Will Rep Teams play games?
The travel restrictions make it very difficult to play any games as there are no A/AA centres in the Southwestern Health Region. This creates an interesting opportunity to concentrate on Development. Since implementing a Development Plan at the board level 7 years ago we have noticed a big improvement in the competitiveness of STMHA rep hockey. We plan to take this unique opportunity and really concentrating on development for the next 3 months and see where that takes us. Coaches will be free to schedule a limited number of games (# to be determined) when approved by governing bodies either inner squad or with nearby centres.
Who is able to participate in the Travel/Representative Program?
The Travel/Representative Program will consist of players that were rostered to the Major, Minor and AE teams from the 2019-2020 season as well as any Affiliate players required to fill out the rosters.
What if things “Open Up”?
Understand this is a very fluid situation with many factors and organizations coming into play. If we are OK’d to travel outside our Health Region we would have to hold Representative Teams tryouts and move forward from there depending on what rules must be followed.
What is in planned for January to March?
Nothing thus far. Obviously, we would love to continue the hockey programming into March however the uncertainty of what we will and will not be able to do at that time makes it impossible to put anything concrete together.
Can I change organizations?
OHMA Rules state that for the beginning of this season you must register in either your home centre or the centre in which you played hockey last year. This is an OMHA rule that is subject to change if things open up but for the time being must be followed. If you register in the incorrect centre you will be directed to choose from the aforementioned choices.
Why are we paying the same amount as last year for 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 hockey?
Good question. First, with the current restrictions we are only allowed to have approx. half as many players on the ice at one time as we did last year. Therefore, our ice costs have essentially doubled. Also, the STMHA Board runs 3 travel hockey tournaments a year that create revenue of between 20-30 thousand dollars. This money is used to subsidize costs in our organization and because we will not be able to run those tournaments this year costs have increased.