Northern Alberta Interlock. Four Leagues/One Solution

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Sibyl Cross
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1 Northern Alberta Interlock Four Leagues/One Solution

2 Preface The 1660 Hockey League s President, Randy Mak, has had conversations with major leagues in Northern Alberta to work together to create an interlock. Leagues involved in the conversations: Sturgeon Pembina Hockey League North Eastern Alberta Hockey League North Central Minor Hockey Association 1660 Hockey League

3 Meetings are being held to work out the details of the interlock partnership, but all leagues have a common goal Children of all levels to be able to enjoy the game of hockey Fair play for all teams in all leagues Reduced travel times for all families involved Increased competitiveness at all levels Try to grow the game of hockey and keep it affordable Work towards standardized regulations and tiers across Alberta, which leads to teams have a better experience at tournaments where they know that they will be tiered properly

4 What is an Interlock? The idea of an interlock is where teams play teams from other leagues in a select amount of games during the regular season This increases exposure to other teams and creates new competitiveness It cuts down on teams having to play each other 4 or 5 times due to small tier groupings in any league Interlock games will not constitute more than 40% of a team s total schedule. Most games will still be within your own league Provides teams in higher tiers (Tier 1 and 2) with the opportunity to play against teams that are closer in calibre to their own

5 Objective: Reduce travel for all teams A larger variety of competitive teams Standardize the divisions of play 1660 Sturgeon Pembina North Central North East East to West kms kms kms kms. North to South kms kms kms kms. Team Travel Over 2 hours Over 500 kms. Over 300 kms. Over 270 kms.

7 Constraints Teams need to be 100% committed to the success of the project Not every team in every division will benefit. Some teams may not interlock if their travel increases or savings is minimal (unless requested and then they must fulfill their commitment) The leagues need to develop a common set of regulations to avoid confusion Discipline needs to follow Hockey Alberta regulations in order to have consistent discipline for players, teams, and associations Schedules need to be a bit flexible to allow teams to make minimal changes. Interlock needs to be played throughout the season Schedules need to be the same same for all teams in any given division (ie. all PeeWee teams play 22 games) Playoffs will likely revert back to playing in your own league for the first year. If interlock is very successful, changes in second year may allow fully integrated playoffs Schedules need to be handled by one central focal point only

8 Successes So Far The 1660 Hockey League and the Sturgeon Pembina Hockey League scheduled interlock games for their top Bantam and Midget teams this past season and was very well received. Both leagues have very few teams at the higher levels. Sturgeon Pembina teams registered with the 1660 Hockey League 1660 scheduled their games 1660 regulations and discipline were used Long distance travel incorporated 2 games over 2 days, some in same location, some along the travel route Playoffs were fully inclusive - there was a 1660 Champion, Sturgeon Pembina Champion, and an Interleague Champion Black out dates for interlock games - eg. prior to Christmas and after New Year, etc.

9 Timelines Conference calls began March 16, 2016 Three more monthly calls scheduled Leagues will go to their AGM s to propose interlock beginning with the 2016/17 season Feedback on acceptance at the May 4, 2016 conference call Interlock can be successful with as few as 2 leagues participating This does not require Hockey Alberta approval so their AGM is not relevant If accepted and approved, tiering will begin in early October, then there will need to be a 1 weekend break to allow for re-tiering and final scheduling An executive committee of up to 3 people, discipline co-ordinators, and administrators will be appointed during this Summer Fall registration meetings for all participating leagues may have to happen a week or 2 earlier to allow for organization and scheduling

10 Interlock Scenario

11 Interlock Scenario

NORTH CENTRAL MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

NORTH CENTRAL MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Season Plan 2016-2017 NOTE: DRAFT VERSION REGULATION CHANGES NOT YET APPROVED; TO BE PRESENTED AT APRIL 2016 AGM 1 TIERING North Central Minor Hockey Association