Good afternoon to all LMHA current and potential families and players. We are very excited to welcome everyone back to minor hockey for another season. Below I intend to outline what expectations new programs and such will be present this season.
Season Start
This season will officially kick off on September 7th. You will see ice times on the website broken out by age groups which is simply a pre-season welcome back to the ice session. LMHA coaches will be leading the session and I expect you will already have heard from a coach about them.
Bond Policy
We are introducing a new program which is called the LMHA Bond program. The initiative is specifically being enabled to encourage all LMHA families to volunteer for some form of activity in order to help this organization improve and in the long run be able to help reduce costs.
The bond policy requires all LMHA families to provide a check for $500 dated May 1st 2022 per family to one of your children's coaches at their first parent meeting. Every LMHA family is required to perform a minimum of 3 hours worth of qualified volunteer tasks. Should your family meet the 3 hour minimum we void the check and do not cash it. We DO NOT want to cash these checks, we simply want to encourage participation.
Access the following link to review the Bond form and additional information including what volunteer items qualify. https://listowelminorhockey.ca/Libraries/6966/Bond_Form/
Again this program is intended to reduce costs in future seasons with such things as tournaments and operating the food booth.
Arena Protocols
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Masks are to be worn at all times when entering the arena for ALL persons entering.
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COVID Health Checks must be done for all players, officials using the Sportsheadz application. (Information below regarding the application)
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No food or drinks are currently permitted but we expect this to change very shortly in september. Once drinks and food are permitted masks can be lowered to take a drink or bite but put right back every time.
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Hockey spectators are welcome to all events, must adhere to all local Health Unit and Government on Ontario COVID 19 protocols.
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Players can dress in the dressing rooms and showers are also available for use.
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Arrive no more than 30 minutes before scheduled ice time.
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Main entrance will be used by all entering the arena.
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Social distancing of 2-Meters must be maintained at all times.
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With the upcoming Provincial Vaccine mandate expect that all people born after 2009 will have to be fully vaccinated. We are working to confirm and understand the process for checking vaccine passports.
OMHA Mandatory Vaccination Policy
This policy applies to the following Affected Persons, which includes the following persons:
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Players born in 2009 or earlier
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Team Officials (Coaches, Trainers and Managers, etc.)
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Game Officials (referees, linespersons, timekeepers, etc.)
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Association Officials (minor hockey association directors, officers, executive and staff)
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OMHA Officials (directors, officers, executive and staff, including hockey development personnel)
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Volunteers
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Instructors (third parties engaged by Associations or Teams to provide specialized instruction (e.g., power skating, goaltending coaching)
At present, this policy does not apply to hockey players born in 2010 or later, or to hockey spectators.
All Affected Persons are required to be Fully Vaccinated (i.e.: including the 14-day period after receiving their completed dose) by October 31, 2021 or earlier. All Affected Persons must present to their Association designate, as applicable, evidence satisfactory to the OMHA demonstrating that they have received the completed series of an Accepted COVID-19 Vaccine.
For further details reference this link: https://www.omha.net/news_article/show/1179916
LMHA will be preparing a plan for validating Vaccine status and communicating that to all families.
Tryouts
Tryouts will begin on Sept 28th. There will be a cost of $40 to try out which will be collected by the team coaches. Those who wish to try out must attend even if trying out for a higher level in order to qualify.
Season Costs
By now everyone who is registered should have paid their first installment as dictated from the registration form. We will be communicating the remaining costs later this season as we are doing everything we can to break even and provide the best possible season. Cash calendars will be ready for the beginning of the regular season games.
LMHA Board Positions Available
We are aggressively looking for those interested in joining the LMHA board to fill several positions ASAP. We have other positions to fill for next season, so if you are even slightly interested in joining the LMHA board reach out to Claude Leroux [email protected] to inquire.
New Programs
Our executives have been busy preparing a few new items which we hope will eventually help drive costs down. We have assessed which programs would provide the most funding back to LMHA or Fundraising and will only be offering such programs. We are assembling a tournament committee (Bond Hours Eligible) to help organize and operate a few tournaments throughout the season. We are also opening the food booth for specific game nights in order to help raise funds for LMHA and are looking for volunteers to run the program, or simply operate the booth (Bond Hours Eligible). Should anyone be interested in the tournament committee or food booth committee please reach out to Tim Good [email protected] We have already assembled a few local individuals but many more will be needed. These are not LMHA Board roles, simply committees.
Online Portal (Sportsheadz and Social Media)
Sportsheadz Mobile Application
Continuing This Season
We are continuing to use the Sportsheadz Mobile Application. This application gives families a mobile application that shows scheduling, team communications and above all else the ability to electronically perform COVID health checks.
What do we need to do?
First you need to download the Sportsheadz application for your mobile devices app store. Then create an account using the email address you typically use for LMHA communications unless you already have an account. Then once coaches/managers are done populating the teams you will automatically see your team, schedule and check in functionality.
How do Health Checks work?
Simple. Go into the Sportsheadz application, find the event for that day. (which you can check in to no greater than 8 hrs before it starts) and select your player and check in, then go back to the main screen for that event and check yourself in. It is possible for team officials to also check in the players, but we need to work that out with Coaches and Managers before implementing. Each Individual (Parent/Guardian) will have to have their own unique accounts.
Reference: http://support.mbsportsweb.ca/kb/a125/app-login-for-guardians-parents.aspx
LMHA social Media Sources
Twitter: @lmhahockey or https://twitter.com/LMHAHockey
Facebook: https://https://www.facebook.com/lmhahockey
As we pivot from such a challenging 2020-21 season we are all focused on offering the best hockey season for all our members and looking for ways to improve costs in the future as we pivot to more aggressive fund raising programs. We are confident the bond program will help yield some results by the end of this season and definitely into the next.
Thank You from LMHA Association directors
Claude Leroux
President
Listowel Minor Hockey