President Message 2021-22 Season

  Welcome to all new and returning members to the Chebucto Minor Hockey Association (“CMHA”) for the 2021-2022 minor hockey season. We have been very busy over the summer getting things ready and have lot of news to share.

  We have just completed our pre-season development and it was a huge success, many thanks to Ja-red Glazebrook, VP Development for organizing and to Bryan Esbaugh, VP Risk Management & Association Safety Rep for making sure everything adhered to Safety Protocols. I would also like to thank all of the volunteers that screened, monitored dressing rooms and helped on the ice. Without you, these sessions would not happen.

   I am very excited to finally be able to share details for our upcoming season and hope we can make this an enjoyable experience for our players and families. This is a long message but I ask that you read it in its entirety as I want to cover as much information of expected start dates & plans for the upcoming season as possible. More info will follow after Tryouts and the Recreation process.

Season Start Dates & Plans

Ø  Competitive Tryouts (players & goalies U11, U13 and U15): Tryouts will run October 1-October 10 th.  All current details for groupings are now posted under the Competitive Tryouts tab, under each division.

o   Schedule for Phase one is on our website Click Here for details.

Ø   Recreation Hockey (U11, U13 and U15, U18, goalies) info sent in another email, please visit out website for the details.

Ø  U9 : We are looking to begin U9 sessions October 16-17, 2021 (subject to change )with ½ ice games beginning in December. The full process and groupings for the start of our U9 season will be communicated by our VP of U9, Desi Munden. (U9@chebuctominorhockey.com)

Ø  U7: Our projected start date is the weekend of October 16-17, 2021 (subject to change). The groupings and exact times will be sent out by our VP of U7, Matt White.( U7@chebuctominorhockey.com) Lists for each group will be posted on Oct 10^th, on the website. Please answer Matt’s call for volunteers when it comes.

Ø   U21: TBA. Peter Jollimore will provide more information in the near future

U18 AA tryouts TBA

Ø  Junior Coaching Leadership Program is planned to go forward this year, details TBA

Ø  Keepers Club will begin once teams are named, details TBA

Ø  NS-U13 AAA will begin Oct 15^th, 2021. Games and Schedule are ready to go, once team is final, all details will be provided to the Team. The Jordan Boyd will be Oct 15-17 at BMO.

Ø  Competitive Hockey- Central Minor Hockey League will begin approx. Nov 1, 2021

Ø  Recreation Hockey – Metro Minor Hockey league will begin soon after Central Minor TBA

Team Managers only - Jersey pick up:

Competitive

U13- U15 – Oct 9- 6pm-9pm & Oct 10 3pm-6pm at the Lions rink- Susan Beamish will be there to provide jerseys for your teams. U11- TBA

Competitive coaches and Manager meetings:

Coaches meeting: Board Room Lion’s rink Oct 13^th 630-730pm

Manager Meeting:  Board Room- Lions Rink Oct 13^th 730pm-830pm

Recreation (Team Managers or coaches only)

U11-U18 - Oct 17^th -3pm-6pm at the Lions rink- Susan Beamish will be there to provide jerseys for your teams.

Recreation coaches and Manager meetings:

 Coaches meeting: Board Room Lion’s rink Oct 20th 630-730pm

Manager Meeting:  Board Room- Lions Rink Oct 20th 730pm-830pm

 ** Competitive Team Classifications will be communicated upon the completion of the Competitive Tryout Process

**Competitive & Recreation U18 teams will be determined once registrations are finalized. **

Spectator Policy for CMHA and Vaccination policy

  CMHA will not be allowing spectators for the Competitive Tryouts, Recreation & U9 Balancing sessions. U7 information will follow as soon as possible.

  The responsibility of tracking, registering and policing all spectators in arenas is the requirement of the renter, ie. Chebucto Minor Hockey Association. While we have been following this practice and feel confident with it, we now have an added layer with the new Vaccination Policy to consider.( to view policy-click here) We have a good process in place managing the players/coaches , and we will be keeping our focus strictly on the players and the evaluation processes during the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, please note that CMHA will be working with Safety Reps to have a spectator plan in place for the remainder of the season following the tryouts and balancing sessions. We understand this may not be a popular decision but the decision was not taken lightly. The Board voted and unanimously agreed that we are doing this for the players experience, the focus on the tryout/ pre season recreation process and to make sure we have what we need in place for a safe return.

  You may have read the recent email about Vaccination Proof that was sent out. Please read it and provide info to Bryan, VP Risk Management , you can find the info HERE.

  With today’s announcement we are to follow a Modified Phase 5 . Please DO NOT come to the rink if you are sick or have symptoms. Please self assess before coming to the rink. Please click here for screening tool.

What to expect when coming to the Lions Rink:

• Players will check in with the Safety Rep in the lobby 15 min before their session.
•  Players are required to wear a mask to enter and exit the arena, they can remove the mask once in the dressing       room just before putting on their helmet prior to session.
•  Our mask policy will remain the same as it was in Phase 4: On the ice, masks are not required during practices, training sessions, and games. Off the ice, masks will be required. Please note that coaches and instructors who work with more than one group must wear a mask at all times while inside the facility (including while on the ice)
• Players must arrive fully dressed including skates, if they are not able to dress and tie their skates on their own. If a player is able to dress and tie their own skates, then a dressing room will be available 15 min prior to ice time.
• All players must enter through the main doors and exit through the side doors located between the bleachers.
• When in the rink, all players must remain in the dressing room until the Zamboni is done cleaning the ice. This allows the players to leave the ice and limit contact around the exits. All Volunteers – please enforce this rule…this allows less contact among players when exiting the ice surface. This also means you…you must also be in the dressing room, not outside the door.
• Once the ice time is complete, players must leave within 15 minutes

Please visit our website for contact information for all Board Members, if you have a question about a certain division/topic- please reach out to the appropriate Board Member.

This season we have introduced Coordinator positions, please see below for details. These crucial roles will help us with all processes through the tryouts, rec balancing and season tasks…many thanks for volunteering. All contact information is on our new website powered by GrayJay. Visit us HERE

Division Coordinator Positions - Non-Board Members

? U7 - Jennifer Mitchell

? U9 - Chris Keough

? U11 Rec - Vacant

? U11 Comp - Vacant

? U13 Rec - Shawn Birt

? U13 Comp - Alex Allen

? U15 Rec - Suzanne Keith

? U15 Comp - Alec Cranston

? U18 Rec - Vacant

? U 18 Comp - Vacant

? If anyone is interested in filling in for the vacant positions, please reach out to me at president@chebuctominorhockey.com

Hopefully, this information will help you with your planning. Please make sure to work with us to make the initial start a positive experience for all our players. This is a stressful time for the kids, back to school and parents and families navigating through all of the Covid information. We want the process from start to finish to be a positive one. We are all dealing with a lot of changes and different protocols that tend to take over our lives and bring out a negative response…. Let’s change this and keep the focus on our Chebucto Players. We want them to have fun!

More details and updates about our season will be out after Tryouts and Recreation Pre Season.

PS- 50/50 will begin as soon as teams are formed. We will be using Rafflebox, same as last year.

We do not have a subscribe option for our website yet, it is in the works, please share this message with members you think may have missed it, and visit us on Facebook and Twitter

All the best to our Chebucto players as they move into a new season!

I really do appreciate all your patience and understanding as we navigate through all of the Public Health, HNS and Facility updates. We are all working very hard to get this season on the way…. I’m looking forward to a Great 2021-2022 Season!

Go Chebucto Go!

Sara Aucoin, President

Chebucto Minor Hockey Association

Email – president@chebuctominorhockey.com