NSWHL Members present at the meeting: Kathy Robertson - Shepherds/ Executive Member; Allison Read - Surge; Bev Read - Truro; Nadine Kays - Conrad Crushers / Executive Member
At this meeting we focused on ways to grow the A division of the NSWHL in order to eliminate the need to play the A/B crossover games required this season. We are interested in all ideas to help grow the NSWHL in a fair and positive way for all members, keeping in mind that the "Executive of the NSWHL" must look at each issue and decide what course of action benefits the league as a whole (A, B, and C) not just what benefits one division. We also encourage all league members to get involved and volunteer their time to help our league. All of our executive members have full-time jobs. The more members that get involved the more committees (such as fund raising and communications) we can create to help our league expand. Many discussions/debates have taken place this year and unfortunately not all information filtered down to the individual league members. This caused rumours and assumptions to take hold, and it was disappointing to see the damage that was caused. The members present at the "NSWHL Growth" meeting would like to improve communication channels, starting with the idea of blogging 'points of interest' from all meetings held. We feel this will open the lines of communication and help members gain an understanding of the work being done. Also, we would like members to be able to put forth ideas that will help our executive to run the league, in a manner that represents the majority of members, to the best of their ability.
*We began by discussing Acadia University and the fact that they are interested in returning to play as full members of our league next season. This would require the NSWHL to work around their schedule as Acadia also plays in another regional league. The members at the meeting were of a consensus that the NSWHL needs to do whatever it takes to make this happen.
*We also discussed the fact that a Midget Elite team from Halifax has expressed interested in playing some scheduled Thursday night games against our A teams next season. They would not play a full schedule nor would they participate in our play-offs. These league games would count for all A teams in the standings.
*To offset the fact that the midget team would only have half a schedule we discussed the idea of having an 'Elite B' team. This B team would be made up of interested NSWHL B players that would like the extra challenge and experience of playing A teams. These players would already have to be registered on B teams. We would schedule the Elite B team to play on Sundays when the Midget team is not available to play. Again games would count in the standing for the A teams only. The Elite B team would not participate in A play-offs since all players would already be playing on their B teams in play-offs. The Elite B players would have to pay a small fee in addition to their own team fees to cover the cost of extra ice (insurance and playoff fee would not be necessary so it would only be a fee to cover only the extra games played). If there was enough interest we would have try-outs for this team. There was also an idea to have one or two ice session for interested players before next season.
*We talked about trying to create another A team from 'Scout'. Scout has been successful in creating two of the current A teams, the Explosion and the Rams. We would need to find an interested person or persons to run the team, and a core group of dedicated players to make this a success.
* We are planning to e-mail Athletic directors at the local Universities to get them to assist us in informing ALL University students about the possibilities of playing hockey in the NSWHL. We will also try to spread the word at local high schools about our league. We would be open/upfront about cost and travel as this has been a hurdle we have faced in the past when trying to place University and ex-Midget players.
* We talked about meeting with Hockey Nova Scotia. We feel we should try and make better use of the resources available to us. Two members plan to meet with HNS in March.
* A member who was unable to attend the meeting has suggested recruiting posters and newspaper ads that could be distributed, a tactic that has been successful for other sport leagues.
* We talked about the possibility of having qualified Members of the NSWHL scout the B teams at our play-offs to identify A players playing B. We would then approach these players and offer them the opportunity to play A. We would not force players to change teams but would give them the opportunity to do so of their own free will.
*Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we would also like to make a constitutional change so that in the future A players would not be able to join B or C teams. We propose that if a new player has been registered on a Midget AAA, University, or any Elite Hockey team in the last 5 years they must play in the NSWHL on an A level team.( A fee could be enforced on any B or C team adding a player that fell within these restrictions.)
We are interested in any constructive ideas which would aid in the growth of the A division and not previously covered in this memo. We would also like to hear from any player interested in playing for or trying out for the Elite B team (please indicate which B team you currently play for, if you are interested in starting this season and your position). Contact Nadine Kays at scout@nswhl.ca.
