Sackville Minor Hockey would like to share an important opportunity for parents, coaches, and members of our hockey community to learn and engage in meaningful conversation following the recent events involving Truro Minor Hockey. 

The Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, in partnership with colleagues at Saint Mary’s University, is hosting a free webinar titled “Consent Matters: Creating Healthy Sports Environments.” This session has been created in response to concerns raised by parents and coaches across the province who are looking for guidance on how to talk with young athletes about hazing, boundaries, and respect within sport.

The webinar will feature members of SMU’s Athlete Ambassador Program — a program led by varsity athletes who are working to build safer, more supportive sport cultures. The panel will discuss what they are seeing within hockey communities, offer advice on how parents and coaches can approach conversations around consent and boundaries, and share practical strategies for creating healthier team environments.

This is an important opportunity for our community to learn, reflect, and continue working together to ensure our rinks remain safe, respectful, and supportive spaces for all players.

Webinar Details
Consent Matters: Creating Healthy Sports Environments
? March 10, 2026
? 7:00 PM (Halifax time)
? Zoom

Join the meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81532045673

Meeting ID: 815 3204 5673

The session will also be recorded for those who are unable to attend live.

We encourage all Sackville Minor Hockey parents, coaches, and volunteers to attend and share this information with others in our hockey community.

We truly appreciate everything our parents, coaches and volunteers already do to keep our Sackville Minor players safe, but there is always more learning we can do as a community.

Let’s continue to work together to make Sackville Minor a safe place for everyone in our hockey family. 

Thank you, 

SMHA Board & Executive Members 

Planning is underway for the SMHA Year-End Awards & Banquet for the U11, U13 and U15 Divisions, and also Team Awards for the U18 Division. 

This article contains the following points:

• Year-End Awards Banquet Details
• Major Awards Nominations: Deadline - 11:59pm, Sunday March 15, 2026
• Team Awards Details: Deadline - 11:59pm, Sunday March 15, 2026

Year-End Awards Banquet Details

Details are also located on our Year-End Awards Banquet webpage.

• Teams from U6, U7, U9, and U23 Divisions are encouraged to do their own team-level year-end celebrations. 
• Teams from U18 will receive their awards from SMHA, and are also encouraged to do their own team-level year-end celebrations by mid-April. 

This year, the event will span two days at the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre as follows:

• U11: Monday, April 6, 2026 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm: U11 AA Orange, U11 B Black, U11 Leafs, U11 Canadiens
• U11: Monday, April 6, 2026 - 5:30pm - 6:30pm: U11 AA Black, U11 A, U11 B Orange, U11 Bruins, U11 Sharks
• U13: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 - 6:00pm-7:30pm
• U15: Monday, April 6, 2026 - 7:00pm-8:30pm

Dress Code: Smart Casual (Parents/Guardians: Please don't feel you should go buy something new - just avoid sweatpants please!)

The Banquet is limited to the players, Team Manager, Head Coach(es) and Assistant Coaches only. Family members cannot attend the banquet as attendees.

Major Awards Nominations

• The James Sheppard Flyer-of-the-Year Award
• The Bernie Bishop Coach-of-the-Year Award
• The Gord Dwyer Award for Officials
• The Volunteer of the Year Award

We are actively seeking nominations here: SMHA Major Awards Nomination Form. The nomination form closes at 11:59pm on Sunday March 15, 2026. Thank you for your submissions! 

Team Awards Details

Coaches and Bench Staff for each team in the U11, U13, U15, and U18 Divisions have been provided with a link for submissions for Team Awards selections due by 11:59pm on Sunday March 15, 2026 as follows:

Dear Sackville Flyers Members,

In light of recent events announced earlier this week involving another hockey community in our province it is important that we too remind ourselves of the importance of always ensuring a safe, respectful, inclusive, and supportive environment for our athletes to enjoy and grow their love for the game. As communicated last week we cannot stress the importance of the 2 deep rule at all times. This is not limited to just the arenas but in the cases of all team events and settings. As adults, let's always ensure we are setting positive examples for our players as well. I encourage you to take some time to have a conversation with your children on the importance of making the right decisions, and if something is bothering them to always come forward.

Over the past month I have been in collaboration with a group on some workshops covering diversity and inclusion, code of conduct, and being the best teammates and community leaders for our athletes. Stay tuned for more details very soon on this.

I want to thank all our coaches, volunteers, and families for your support of the children, your commitment to always providing a safe and respectful environment for our players and our membership. 

Our thoughts are with those players and families that have been impacted by the recent events.

Sincerely,

Robert Nurnber

President

Sackville Minor Hockey Association www.FlyersHockey.ca

President@FlyersHockey.ca