Yorkton Minor Hockey (YMH) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Kinsmen Arena recently. YMH president Kelly Maddin says that despite the fact the meeting went some 40 minutes longer than past meetings, there was some good discussion concerning current issues. The discussion was generally all positive, centering on giving Yorkton youngsters a better hockey experience, Maddin adds.
Ice time and its effects on YMH teams was discussed. A third ice surface would ease scheduling pressures. However some creative practises such as shared practices and combined activities might help to ease the strain under current circumstances, Maddin proposes. "It's unfortunate but we might be restricted in some of the programs we can run. Our population is growing. Our hockey membership is growing and the facilities are not growing," he elaborates.
Currently the YMH constitution stipulates each tier 1 peewee, bantam and midget team must carry eight local players on the team. A recommendation was made to increase that number to 10 because Yorkton has some very strong hockey players and YMH wants to develop its programs and teams. New Sask Hockey Association (SHA) rules in the bantam division stipulate that any youngster who lives closer to Yorkton than to Melville now must play tier 1 hockey in Yorkton. The new SHA guideline has redefined who is a local player, so the membership and coaches questioned the current number of local players. After a lot of discussion, it was decided to leave the number at eight for now. "We'll deal with the issue when the time comes," says Maddin.
He's happy that most of the board members decided to continue their terms. "We have a strong executive. We're all looking forward to being committed to these positions and carrying this organization further," Maddin closes.
