“Amalgamation will be more effective at promoting hockey across the entire county,” said John Coffin.
Hockey Nova Scotia recently advised PCMHA that all of its member divisions must consolidate into one organization for the 2016-2017 season. What this means is that New Glasgow, Stellarton, Westville, Pictou, Trenton, Rep and Thorburn will become a single organization overseeing hockey in Pictou County, rather than each division of PCMHA having its own executive. Female hockey is not included in this reorganization because HNS is taking it in a separate direction.
Coffin said PCMHA currently has a different structure than every other minor hockey association in the province, and HNS would like them to be more uniform. “Right now we’re the odd duck – no one across the province has a set-up like we do.”
As a result of the HNS directive, a structural committee has been formed to begin the preliminary work of offering options for discussion to the current divisions of PCMHA.
The committee will recommend a possible organizational structure for a new executive and will also present a budget to the executive council in order to determine registration costs for the new season.
Coffin said some of the big fears for a lot of people is not knowing what’s going on and wondering whether registration costs will change. “Early financial projections indicate that registration will be basically the same or lower due to the economies of an amalgamation.”
He said fundraising is now used to offset registration costs, and that will continue and be improved with a united fundraising strategy, including such things as tournaments and 50-50 draws.
Coffin said under the new system every player will see better development opportunities and costs should be reduced over time. “Hopefully that will keep them playing hockey longer – there’ll be a team for everyone. Under the new system, we don’t have to go looking for a place to play because we’ll be all one. At the end of the day, rep players won’t see much difference, but C and B levels will see some changes.”
For the rinks, he said it’s too soon to tell how they’ll be impacted, but the hope is that by developing a new and better product, it will reduce costs and more players will sign up. “If we increase players starting the game, if we’re successful at that, it’s the best thing we can do for the rinks.”
The structural committee believes that by making hockey more affordable and accessible, more players will be encouraged to participate in the sport, therefore increasing the need for ice time at all the local rinks. Minor hockey is typically the largest tenant of all the county rinks, so developing growth rather than watching a decline of hockey registration is key to the sustainability of the rinks, said communications vice-president Gary Fraser.
If things remain the same, in the near future, less ice would be rented because of dwindling numbers of hockey players.
As far as travel goes, Coffin doesn’t anticipate any real changes. “One other piece people will be concerned about is if I live in Pictou is my kid going to have to go all the way to Thorburn to play hockey?”
Coffin said this would be unlikely. “We’re trying to be sensitive to where people live – but that hasn’t been worked out. We recognize that we don’t want to make a Pictou kid play in Thorburn.”
He said for B and C levels of hockey, they still have to be part of a league, which is dictated by the teams available and where they’re located.
“Additionally, the new organization can work collectively to improve the promotion of hockey to younger children. Such a promotion plan will improve accessibility as the association does its best to ensure that the young players participate in hockey at rinks close to home,” said Fraser.
Other benefits include improved hockey development at all levels under a united development program. “Young children must develop, but at the same time have fun in order to continue wanting to play the game. As one strong association, development strategies can be put in place so that all players have a common shared experience which will hopefully, encourage them to return to hockey year after year,” he said.
