Hockey parents fired up over non-checking issue
- Published on November 10th, 2010
- Al MacLeod
Topics : Associations can ice only one A-level checking peewee to midget teams
A number of parents are upset with the decision by the P.E.I. Hockey Association to limit the number of A-level teams this season.
Starting this year, one A team will represent each member minor hockey associations from peewee to midget divisions.
Those players who don’t make the A team are then relegated to a new non-checking league.
In the past associations could apply for additional A teams to account for the number of players in the area.
But that has changed this year.
Greg Lipton, who has been a trainer and a coach in Pownal and has a son in minor hockey, said he has no issue with a non-checking league.
But when a player is faced with either earning a limited spot on the single A team or having to play in a non-checking league, he said the choice has been taken away.
“It’s not fair to the kids and that's the biggest thing. They’ve taken the right away from our kids to play hockey the way they want.”
Lipton said for many players, especially in midget, they have been learning to play with checking for years and all of a sudden they are told to play in a non-checking league.
He said this puts the players down a slippery slope where they may lose the ability to check if they are playing in that environment for a whole season, and when they go to tryouts they will likely get passed over.
“They are doomed to be in a non-checking league from here on in,” he said, adding it also creates situations where the players could get teased at school for playing in a non-physical league.
He said despite a survey issued by the Pownal hockey association where parents voted in favour of giving a choice to play checking or non-checking, a decision was made that resulted in players being forced to play in a non-checking league.
“Hockey P.E.I. has lowered the boom and that's the way it's going to be.”
Julie Allen, another parent with two children in minor hockey in Pownal, agreed.
“Our choice, our right to choose, has been taken away from us because (Hockey P.E.I.) wants to pump up the numbers in the non-checking league,” Allen said.
She said the change was not properly communicated somewhere down the line to the parents before registration and the registration sheet even had the option of selecting either a checking or non-checking league for their children.
“We didn’t know (about the change) until the whole tryout process. You pay your registration and you find out you don't have choice.”
Rob Newson, executive director of Hockey P.E.I., said the process was made clear to parents and players and the move to both incorporate a non-checking league and limit each division to one A team was communicated well in advance.
“We don’t believe we’ve taken away choice,” said Newson. “We were quite clear in early summer this change was happening. People knew before registration.”
He said it was an issue being looked at for a number of years and considering what is known about concussions in hockey and incidents where players were injured, the issue was looked at more closely for this season.
“The process from our standpoint was made clear from day one how it was going to work.”
Newson stressed the issue would be reviewed again and nothing is set in stone.
He added Hockey P.E.I. will take feedback from parents and officials from its 20 member hockey association across the Island when it looks at how year one went with the change as it did before it implemented the changes.
“We knew there would be some small repercussions, but we also knew we would have kids continue to play because of this change.”
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