Red Deer Pond Hockey Parent Meeting Notes
Red Deer Pond Hockey was founded in 2002 by Brian Ennis. His son Alex was diagnosed with Hemophilia and he could no longer play contact hockey. It started with 30 players, playing shiny hockey and has grown to 500 players.
FEES AND FUNDRAISING:
Red Deer Pond Hockey strives to keep fees low and affordable for families, this is part of our mandate, we have been successful in keeping fees the same for the past several years. We anticipate fees will go up next season due to the replacement of the ice plant at the Kinsmen Arena.
FUDRAISING- Red Deer Pond Hockey has only one fundraiser per year, and this event is the majority of our annual funds and the reason we are able to keep fees low. Skate-A-Rama. Every year in partnership with the Red Deer Kinsmen we host this event. Players have a pledge form to collect pledges from friends and family members for which they will skate 100 laps. This is an extremely fun event for the kids and is a huge success every year. It allows teams to bond outside of their games and ice times. We need your help to continue this success. Information will follow on event date and details.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURE AND RULES OF PLAY:
We are sanctioned by Hockey Alberta and as such we are required to follow all of their policies and procedures in addition to our own policies which can not change Hockey Alberta rules, and can only enhance them. We are a NO CONTACT league, and we have players of all skill levels and abilities. We are a supportive and inclusive league and there are children on the ice that are at an incredibly high skill level and children that this is their first time putting on skates. And this is at every division level. Our policies and procedures are as per Hockey Alberta and Hockey Canada guidelines.
Some very important rules and information: Hockey Alberta introduced a Maltreatment, Harassment and Bullying policy that we are mandated to adhere to. We encourage you to go to their website and read this policy. Maltreatment, Bullying & Harassment | Hockey Alberta
This policy aligns with our values and the structure of our league. We have a zero tolerance policy and we will enforce it, we rely on the support of our parents to make sure the children understand our league is different in our rules of play. We have noticed an alarming increase in aggression both on and off ice, and increase in contact penalties, we will have zero tolerance and will hand out disciplinary action when necessary. Again, we ask parents to communicate our values with your children so they understand the conduct that is expected by our league. This zero tolerance applies to spectators and parents as well. Last season saw an alarming amount of parents having fights in the stands, harassing of referees and coaches ON THEIR OWN TEAMS!
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING FACILITY RECORDING FOOTAGE PLEASE READ!!- All facilities are now equipped with cameras and microphones in the play area. All facilities have signs posted advising of this. This means that the rinks are being recorded both by video and microphones recording the benches, on ice and in the stands. We will have the ability to access this footage when necessary.
Hockey Alberta also introduced a dressing room policy last year. It requires all players in every division to arrive at the arena in their base layer of clothing. If they do not arrive in their base layer, they must change into it in a bathroom stall. Essentially there is no skin to be showing in the change rooms. Red Deer Pond Hockey has 40-50 female players and this policy allows for girls to be in the same change room as the boys and also protects our coaches as well. Should girls prefer to change in a separate change room, all arenas have this option available, however the same dressing room policy applies.
3 goal rule and score keeping - We have a 3 goal maximum rule, this means that any one player is only allowed to score a maximum of 3 goals in a game, the score keeper will advise the referee after the 3rd goal, who will then advise the coach who will instruct the player. We view this as a great opportunity for those advanced players to help and support their teammates to assist them to score their own goals. If a player that has 3 goals scores another goal, they will serve a penalty and the goal will not count. If a plyer repeatedly continues to score more goals in a game, may face disciplinary action.
3 goal differential. The score board will never show a larger gap than 3 goal difference, the score keeper will not bank goals. The score book will always reflect the true number of goals and this score will be logged in RAMP.
VOLUNTEERING:
Red Deer Pond Hockey is 100% volunteer ran organization, from the board to the coaches, to the score keepers and team managers.
WE STILL NEED COACHES in some divisions, the coordinators will send an email in a division where coaches are needed. If you are interested but unsure, please reach out to our coach liaison for more information. You will be paired with an experience coach who will help and support you.
We can not operate without volunteers, this includes the board of directors, which we need people to step up and help. And also includes the coaches, score keepers etc.
The volunteer bond is not intended to be a money maker for us, we apply it as an incentive to get families to help out, to volunteer as jersey parents, score keepers, managers, photo parents etc. So please we need everyone to step up and help out your teams, please do not leave all the responsibility to fall onto your coaches and managers. When you do volunteer there is a good form to be completed, your coaches or managers will help you with instructions on how to fill them out to ensure you get your volunteer bond returned. Refunds for volunteer bonds will occur by the end of May following the end of season.
TEAM BUILDING:
Division Coordinators spend countless hours building teams, we do not have tryouts and our only reference for skill level is the level indicated by parents when registering and by coaches evaluations. They do their best to make sure teams are built fairly and equitably based on the limited knowledge they have of all players. We ask that you be kind and understanding. Friend requests, coach requests and exemption requests ARE NOT GUARANTEED. We do our best to accommodate the requests however may be unable to do so, in keeping with the spirit of ensuring teams are fair and equitable. We ask that you do not flood inboxes with angry requests of why your child is not playing with their friend. We do our best to accommodate, but this may not always be possible.
SCHEDULE AND ARENA UPDATE:
The Red Deer Kinsmen arena is not operable, this has impacted ALL user groups within our City, as such this has caused some disruption to our schedule. Our scheduler has worked extremely hard to ensure as little impact as possible, however this may mean some early ice times, some week night ice times and some alternate arenas will be used. The hope is that the arena will be up and running in December, but this is not guaranteed. As such the schedule will only be released til December.
DIVISION 5 - There are 5 teams in division 5 this season, this was due to the number of registrations, the option was to either have 17-18 players on a team which is too large and allows very little ice time for players, or we have an uneven amount of teams. We decided to choose the later option. This means that some weekends some teams may have a double header and then will have a weekend where they won’t play at all.
TEAM RELEASE - Teams will be released on to RAMP by October 13th at 6:00pm. First ice times begin October 17th. Again we remind you not to flood email boxes about why you didn’t get all of your requests, we do our best to accommodate requests, however this is not always feasible. Coaches will reach out once they receive their team roster to introduce themselves and to let you know when your first games will be.
FIRST WEEKS OF PLAY: For Division 1/2/3/4 the first 2 weeks of play are intended as practice times. You will be sharing the ice with the other teams but WILL NOT be playing a game. These are intended as an opportunity for YOU THE PARENTS to meet your coaches (we encourage you to have a team meeting for all parents to attend on one of these two weekends) and for the coaches to meet and get to know your children, assess skill levels and for team building for the children to get to know each other. This is also when the coaches will ask for volunteers to sign up as Team Managers, and to fill the various roles such as score keeping, jersey parents, picture parents etc. ALL TEAMS MUST HAVE A TEAM MANAGER IN PLACE BY THE SECOND WEEK. Anyone interested in in the Team Manager role, but have questions we encourage you to reach out to your division coordinator.
RAMP APP - A reminder that RDPH pays for our members to be able to use the RAMP app, this will connect your player to their team and will show your schedule and allow you to communicate with your team. If you already have the app, you may need to log out and log back in again once teams are released.
PLAY STRUCTURE:
DIVISION 1 AGES - 5/6/7; DIVISION 2 AGES - 8/9; DIVISION 3 AGES - 10/11; DIVISION 4 AGES -12/13; DIVISION 5 AGES - 14/15; DIVISION 6 AGES - 16-17. ALL AGES ARE BASED ON THE AGE OF THE PLAYER BEFORE DECEMEBER 31ST OF THE YEAR OF REGISTRATION.
Division 1 is ½ ice play, no referees, the focus is on player development. ½ the time will be skill development and ½ is game.
Division 2 - Full ice play, first half of season is refereed by coaches, working on skill development, teaching about off sides and line changes etc. 2 minute timer for shift changes. The second half of the season the games have referees. These are new referees working on their skill development and they are there to help develop themselves and the players to prepare them for division 3 full regular play.
Division 1/2/3 parents are allowed in the changerooms to assist with dressing tying skates etc. Coaches are not allowed to be in the changerooms alone with players there must be 2 coaches in the room at all times.
Division 4/5/6 - Regular play rules, with 3 - 15 minute straight run time, periods. Parents are NOT allowed in changerooms, this is a Hockey Alberta ruling. We encourage you to ensure your players are able to dress themselves and tie their own skates. We understand there are circumstances where this is not possible, all arenas have the ability for children to come out of the change room to have their skates tied. And coaches are always happy to help the kids with their skates as well.
ALL COACHES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD WITH VULNERABLE SECTOR CHECKS PRIOR TO THE FIRST ICE TIMES.
REFEREES, PENALTIES, AND DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS:
Red Deer Pond Hockey fully supports their referees. They have been advised to make the calls as they seem them. This includes enforcement of the Maltreatment, Harassment and Bullying policy set forth by Hockey Alberta and that we are MANDATED to follow. We strongly encourage you to go to the Hockey Alberta website and read this policy, so you understand its implications. In addition to this policy, the penalty matrix is mandated by Hockey Alberta and we MUST follow their rules and procedures. Any penalty, suspension and the subsequent disciplinary action is not optional for Red Deer Pond Hockey to follow, it is mandatory and is not negotiable. Any abuse of the referees, including but not limited to; swearing, harassment, threats of any nature, will result in swift and immediate disciplinary action.
PRACTICES, ICE TIMES ETC:
Coaches and teams are not permitted to schedule or book ice times for their own practices. This is strictly forbidden and is not sanctioned by Red Deer Pond Hockey and our insurance will not respond to any injuries or losses that may occur.
Our practices happen on the various Out Door Rinks( ODR’s) in the City of Red Deer. Once the City opens the ODR and grants us permission to use them a schedule will be sent to all coaches of the available rinks and times available. The chosen time and day will be your schedule time each week. While we are allowed use of the ODR’s we do not have sole use of the rinks, we MUST share the ice with any members of the public who wish to skate on the ice surfaces. At locations where we are allowed access to the ice shacks, we ask you to be respectful and clean up after yourselves. This is a privilege for us to have access and it is not promised. There may be instances where the shacks will not open as they are also ran by volunteers of the various community leagues. We do not have any control over the shacks and if they are or are not open.
PRACTICE GUIDELINES - Practices will be cancelled if the temperature is below -20 with the windchill, coaches will advised if practices are cancelled due to weather or if the ice conditions are unsafe. Please remember we do not control or manage these facilities and as such have no control over their operation.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
Helmet with cage, Neck guard, base layer, cup, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, hockey pants, shin guards and skates and hockey socks. We recommend you purchase black socks.
JERSEYS- All players are supplied with a jersey, these jerseys are to be returned at the end of ever season. The exception is in Division 3 we have secured sponsorship from McDonalds through their AtoMc program, they supply jerseys and socks for all players which are to be kept at the end of each season. In Division 1&2, we are sponsored by Tim Hortons coaches will advise you when you are able to keep your jersey at the end of the season as they are used for 2 seasons. You may or may not be supplied with socks, so we recommend you have a spare pair to ensure you have a set in your bag. Players are not allowed on ice without socks. All other divisions will return their jersey at the end of season and MUST supply their own socks.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
SKATE-A-RAMA- We ask all families to participate in this event. Date and time to follow.
PICTURE DAY- Schedule will be sent out in the next few weeks for team photos. Our amazing photographer Jenn Donnelly Photography provides every player with a team photo, and packages will be available for purchase.
POND HOCKEY APPAREL STORE - Our amazing Partner, North Star Sports in Red Deer, creates a special online Pond Hockey Apparel store for our families. This store will be open for a limited time for orders to arrive prior to Christmas. Details will follow in the next few weeks.
SPONSORSHIP- Red Deer Pond Hockey can not operate without our generous sponsors. We encourage you to support our sponsors and if you are interested in sponsoring or know anyone who might be interested, please have them reach out to us for details.
A huge thank you to all that came to the meeting and that take the time to read and understand this information. Without the support of our families, Red Deer Pond Hockey could not be the amazing supportive place it is for our kids to play the sport they love.
Again, we are volunteers and without volunteers there is no league, so if you’re interested in helping your team, joining our board or sponsoring, please reach out to any of us. We are happy to spread the word about this wonderful organization.
-Your Red Deer Pond Hockey Board.
Our Valued Sponsors
