President’s Message July 7, 2020
Hello Northwest Warrior families!
We are very pleased to be able to open registration on the 2020/2021 Community Hockey program. Despite an abrupt end to the 2019/2020 season, and ongoing Health and Safety challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to providing the best hockey program that we can safely deliver to our young athletes in the coming months. We are working in conjunction with Hockey Calgary and other minor hockey associations to design a program that is suitable to the current Phase 2 restrictions of physical distancing and cohort groups. We will continue to assess options as we get more information about when Phase 3 will occur, and what it will look like. Our primary objective will be to create a safe, healthy, competitive hockey environment that will allow players to continue to develop and grow.
We have set our fees this year with the objective of removing the need for large team cash calls. The practice of kicking off the season with the maximum cash call has become the norm, and can be quite burdensome for some families. Cash calls are typically used to cover tournament fees, and extra ice. In the Phase 2 environment travel permits will not be issued, and tournament play is unlikely. It is our intention to maximize the ice available from our community partners to deliver more ice to each team from within our operations budget. By incorporating this into registration fees, we can provide families the opportunity to apply for one of the many registration assistance programs that are available. For more information about these programs, click here.
We were very pleased with the response to our volunteer recruitment program, and are busy sorting through applications, and bringing people on board to help out. Did you know that Community Minor Hockey programs are run almost exclusively through the efforts of thousands of volunteers? This is the epitome of community engagement, and we are truly grateful for all of the efforts put forward by our coaches, managers, coordinators and board members. We absolutely could not deliver this program without you!
We also could not run this program without the support of our Administrator. We are very sad to be saying goodbye to our long-time Administrator, Fiona MacDiarmid. Fiona has been the backbone of the Northwest Warriors since it’s inception, and of the Crowchild Hockey Association before that. Her commitment to community, and the love of hockey has been an invaluable service to us all. We are fortunate that she will be passing her knowledge on to our new Administrator, Matthew Hunter, over the next couple of months.
Matthew has a dual degree in Exercise Physiology and Psychology, and prior experience with hockey operations, development and administration from his time spent with the Camrose Kodiaks. He is passionate about hockey and providing young athletes and opportunity to success on and off the ice. Please show a warm Northwest Warriors welcome to Matthew when you have an opportunity to cross paths!
More specific information with respect to the program format will be made available as it is solidified. Check the Northwest Warriors website for updates and information. We look forward to dropping the puck again!
Janis Rogers & Bernie DeGroot, NW Warrior Co-Chairs
