Please review the following important updates:

1. NEW: SMHA Player Assistance Fund
2. Pre-Season Meeting for Head Coach Applicants (for U11 and up)
3. Pre-Season Clinics & Camps are Posted Online
4. Registration Deadline: Friday, September 9th

SMHA Player Assistance Fund

We are thrilled to announce the formalization of the SMHA Players Assistance Fund. 

SMHA has funds from outside donations and expired 50/50 credits to assist families with the cost of hockey, who may not otherwise be able to afford it. These funds can be used in addition to awards received from other sources such as KidSport, Jumpstart and the Hockey Canada Assist Fund to reduce the fees incurred for the year.

The full policy document and a link to the online application are posted here on our website, or by going to www.FlyersHockey.ca and looking under Registration for Financial Aid.

If you are submitting an application for Financial Aid to any of the sources noted above, please complete regular season registration before the Friday, Sept 9th Registration Deadline and select EMT as payment type. Then, please forward any financial aid approvals to Finance@FlyersHockey.ca.

Thank you to the newly-formed Finance Committee headed by SMHA Treasurer Tara McFeters for preparing the policy and overseeing the fund's administration. Questions can be directed to Tara at Treasurer@FlyersHockey.ca.

Pre-Season Meeting for Head Coach Applicants (for U11 and up)

SMHA Vice President Rod Sturge and VP Competitive Aaron Hiscock have scheduled a meeting for Head Coach Applicants, for Divisions U11 and up.

• Who: Head Coach Applicants (U11, U13, U15, U18)
• Where: Sackville Arena, Mezzanine
• When: 5:00-6:00pm, Tuesday, September 6th
• What:  A pre-season meeting to present the following topics to potential U11, U13, U15, and U18 Head Coaches
  • Pre Season Camp Guidance
  • Tryout Format for this year
  • Tryout Drill plan
  • Evaluator Requirements
• The meeting is not a Head Coach selection interview - Interviews will be at a later time.

Since booking the meeting, we became aware of the School Curriculum Night for much of the Sackville Flyers area. To make things easier, an option to call in via GoogleMeet will made available to all those who applied to be a Head Coach. Watch for a Google Meet invite sent to the email provided with your Coaching Application. If you do not receive one, reach out to Webmaster@FlyersHockey.ca. 

Pre-Season Clinics & Camps are Posted Online

All Pre-Season Clinics & Camps are listed here on our website, or by going to www.FlyersHockey.ca and look for your player's Division under Clinics, Camps, & Tryouts.

Disclaimer: The ice times posted for the Pre-Season Clinics & Camps are confirmed to the best of our ability but may be subject to change.

Please check back in to the appropriate pages that apply to your player; any changes to ice times will be posted there ASAP and highlighted.

Registration Deadline: Friday, September 9th

Sackville Flyers Hockey Registration closes in one week.

Deadline: 11:59pm on Friday, September 9, 2022.

If a player is not registered by the September 9th deadline, there is no guarantee they can participate in the Competitive Tryout process.

Last-minute requests after September 9th for players to be added manually to the U13 AAA and the U15 AA tryout (which starts Sept 15th) - cannot be accommodated. 

Important Dates

• Friday, Sept 9th: Registration Deadline
• Thursday, Sept 15th: U13 AAA and U15 AA Tryouts Begin
• Friday, Sept 30th: Application Deadline for Sackville Flyers Player Assistance Fund
• Saturday, Oct 1st: Remaining Competitive Tryouts Begin

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This news item covers the following points:

• SMHA Competitive Tryout Policy
• Registration Deadlines
• Coach Applications & Other Volunteer Opportunities
• Communication re: Clinics, Pre-Season Camps & Tryouts

SMHA Competitive Tryout Policy

Work has been underway behind the scenes for several months to develop the a SMHA Competitive Tryout Policy. It can be found under the new "Clinics, Camps, and Tryouts" menu on www.FlyersHockey.ca, as well on our Bylaws Page.

A huge thank you to our VP Competitive Aaron Hiscock, the SMHA Board of Directors, and the Division Coordinators for taking the time to fine tune this policy document.

Questions or Concerns:

• Aaron Hiscock (VPCompetitive@FlyersHockey.ca)
• Melissa Berkvens (Secretary@flyersHockey.ca)
• Division Coordinators
  • Trisha Munroe (U9DivisionCoordinator@FlyersHockey.ca)
  • Morgan Spicer (U11Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
  • Chris Fraser (U13Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
  • Dennis Amirault (U15Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
  • Mike Kennedy (U18Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)

Registration Deadlines

• Deadline is tomorrow - Friday, August 26th - at 11:59pm for SMHA Pre-Season Camps & Clinics. 
• Deadline is in two weeks - Friday, September 9th - at 11:59pm for SMHA Regular Season Registration.
• Click Here for Online Registration

Attention: Families with Players Trying Out for U13 AAA and U15 AA:
SMHA secured some additional ice time to accomodate an early Pre-Season Camp for most players who were already registered for the following:

• U13 AAA Tryouts AND U13 Pre-Season Camp
  • There are still a handful of spaces left in an Early U13 Pre-Season Camp, which is only for those players signed up for U13 AAA Tryouts.
  • The remaining spaces will be confirmed in order of the player's U13 Pre-Season Camp registration timestamp.
  • Players already confirmed in both U13 AAA Tryouts and the Early U13 Pre-Season Camp are posted Here, under the new Clinics, Camps, & Tryouts heading on our website. 
    
    
• U15AA Tryouts AND U15 Pre-Season Camp
  • An Early U15 Pre-Season Camp - only for those players signed up for both U15AA Tryouts AND U15 Pre-Season Camp - is already FULL as of August 23rd.
  • Players registered for both U15AA AND U15 Pre-Season Camp who are not on this list are considered to be on a wait list for the Early U15 Pre-Season Camp.
  • If space becomes available, families will be contacted based on their player's U15 Pre-Season Camp registration timestamp.
  • Players in both U15 AA Tryouts and the Early U15 Pre-Season Camp are posted Here, under the new Clinics, Camps, & Tryouts heading on our website.
    • If your player is on this list and will not be attending the Early U15 Pre-Season Camp, please reach out to Registration@FlyersHockey.ca as there is a wait list.

Questions can be directed to Helen Scammell at Registration@FlyersHockey.ca.

Coach Applications & Other Volunteer Opportunities

Reminder: Coach Application Deadline is tomorrow - Friday, August 26th - at 11:59pm

All potential Coaches must apply by tomorrow evening in order to be consiered for a coaching position this year. Folks will be contacted from this list to help with pre-season camps and evaluations/tryouts. By signing up, you are not committing to anything, but are demonstrating your interest.

We are still seeking self-nominations for other Volunteer Opportunities as well:

• Hockey Pool Administratior
• Metro Minor Hockey League Representative
• Tournament Committee Members

Check in with Melissa Berkvens (Secretary@FlyersHockey.ca) for more info or to put your name forward.

Communication: Clinics, Camps & Tryouts

To simplify communication and keep relevant messages in one place, VP's and Division Coordinators will provide updates in the coming days to be posted under the new Clinics, Camps, & Tryouts menu on our website.

There, you will already find the SMHA Tryout Policy as mentioned above, and pages already started for the U13 and U15 Divisions.

Once the Pre-season Registration closes tomorrow evening, more information will start to be released about groups and schedules.  

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There are two exciting off-ice volunteer opportunties for SMHA members looking to get more involved:

• SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator
• SMHA Tournament Committee 

SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator

On behalf of the entire organization, SMHA Board of Directors thanks Marc Lanthier for his time and dedication to the Hockey Pool over the last three years as the SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator. Many SMHA Families have benefitted from the work Marc put in to running it. Thank you Marc!

The SMHA Board is now seeking a SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator for this season. The SMHA Hockey Pool has been a successful low-cost fundraiser, helping to make Minor Hockey more affordable for many SMHA Families. The coordinator is responsible for liaising with the SMHA Board of Directors, with the 50/50 Coordinator (who maintains the Lottery License), and 30+ Team-level Hockey Pool Representatives. The Coordinator follows up with the team-level representatives to ensure the Hockey Pool Entries have been entered. The busiest time for this role is late October into early November with the Hockey Pool Entry deadline.

The SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator should be very comfortable with technology and be an excellent communicator.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the responsibilities of the SMHA Hockey Pool Coordinator:

• Responsible for managing the position's FlyersHockey.ca email inbox, which is a Google Account; Respond to emails in a timely manner
• Liaise with SMHA Board of Directors; Attend 1-2 SMHA Board Meetings in person or virtually  
• Be familiar with Google Workspace; The incoming Coordinator should be comfortable setting up Google Forms and editing Google Sheets to help with communication
• Be familiar with OfficePools, and support the team-level Hockey Pool reps with OfficePools questions. 
• Work with 30+ team-level Hockey Pool reps to ensure they have access to the platform so that they can enter the 1500-2000 Hockey Pool entries
• Ensure the rules of the Hockey Pool are followed as per our SMHA Lottery License

Please reach out to Melissa Berkvens (Secretary@FlyersHockey.ca) if you are comfortable with the skills outlined above and are interested in taking on this role. 

SMHA Tournament Committee

Our Director of Tournaments Blair Cole (Tournaments@FlyersHockey.ca) is looking to create a committee of volunteers to help pull off four Flyers Tournaments this season. 

The newly-created committee will be working with Blair - and other members of our SMHA Board of Directors - to successfully bring back tournaments to our association. Here are a few examples of items that committee members might help with:

• Long-term and Short-term Planning
• Communication (Assisting in drafting social media posts, website communications on a dedicated Flyers Tournaments website)
• Fundraising, Corporate Sponsorships
• Coordinating on-site volunteers during the tournaments

Please reach out to Blair Cole (Tournaments@FlyersHockey.ca) for more information and to join the committee.

The SMHA Board of Directors has set an August 27, 2022 deadline for the submission of Coaching Applications.

The Coaching Application has been posted for three weeks so far, and will continue to accept responses for two more weeks - until 11:59pm on August 27, 2022. Applications must be submitted by this time in order to be considered for coaching positions this season.

Thank you to the several dozen coaches who have already put their names forward. It is greatly appreciated. Members of the SMHA Executive and the various Division Coordinators will be reaching out in the coming weeks -  looking for help with Pre-Season Camps, Clinics and Competitive Tryouts. Note: Parent Coaches will never evaluate a tryout session for the level they coach.  

Again - this Coaching Application must be submitted by August 27th if you are interested in coaching this season. 

SMHA Gear & Stick Buy-Sell-Trade Event 

The Springfield Lake Recreation Centre is booked for a SMHA Gear & Stick Buy-Sell-Trade Event. 

SMHA Families can bring their pre-owned gear and sticks (and even swag) to sell, trade, or donate.

• When: 7-9pm, Friday September 9, 2022
• Where: Springfield Lake Recreation Centre (266 Lakeview Ave, Middle Sackville)
• Cost: FREE
• There will also be a first-come, first-served donation area. 

For more information, please contact:
Rod Sturge, VicePresident@FlyersHockey.ca
Melissa Berkvens, Secretary@FlyersHockey.ca 

SMHA Event Calendar | www.FyersHockey.ca

Thank you

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