General Information for Families

General Information for families

Hello!

Thank you for thinking about becoming or for already being a part of the Huntsville Girls Hockey Association! You can find most information needed right here on our website, but should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hgha@hotmail.ca

Our association's House League Teams play in a league called the Simcoe Muskoka Girls Hockey League (SMGHL) The league consists of teams from Huntsville, Orillia, Barrie, Collingwood and Midland.

Our teams from age U9-U18 play 18 games per season. 9 are home games, played in Baysville, and 9 are away games, played in the towns listed above. These U9-U18 teams also have one practice per week in Huntsville, usually on Wednesday or Friday evenings. Our teams travel to one or two away tournaments per year and also participate in our home tournament in January.

We have a U7/FUNdamentals group where girls will learn hockey skills and the love of hockey. This group is open to all ages 5 and up. They will have 1 practice a week in Huntsville (usually on Sundays).

We have a U7 development team, they have a weekly practice in Huntsville (usually on Sundays). This season we are working with the other associations to set up several games. Once we have worked out the logistics we will post them. They are also invited to our home tournament in January. There is opportunity for this team to travel to an away tournament also.

We are lucky enough to have been chosen to run the NHL/NHLPA First Shift program again this year!! The First Shift is open to children ages 6-10*, who have never previously enrolled in minor hockey within Canada or the NHL/NHLPA First Shift program. *To be eligible to participate, children must be born between January 1, 2015 and May 1, 2020. For more information on the First Shift program click HERE. To register, please go to the "First Shift" tab on our web page.

You can find all registration information, such as pricing and different programs available under our registration tab.

Forms:

Once you have registered your daughter, we ask that you complete a few forms to help us keep your player safe and protected through the hockey season.

Health and Safety:

Player medical forms can be found on our website under Sting Families. Please have this filled in and ready to give to your team trainer at your first practice in September. If your player has medical issues that the trainer should know about for August’s practices, please let us know at the arena before going on the ice. All medical information is kept confidential.

In an effort to keep everyone healthy, please do not participate in games or practices this season if your player is not feeling well or has symptoms of a contagious illness. Thank- you!

Media Release:

From time to time, photos and videos of teams, players, games and events held in part with the Huntsville Girls Hockey Association will be taken. These media files may be uploaded to the association’s webpage, social media pages: Facebook, Instagram as well as used in some print advertising throughout the year. We, as an Association, must have your permission to either grant or not grant the publication of these materials. Please fill in the media release form found on our website under Sting Families and give it to your team manager at the first practice in September.

If you are NOT granting us permission to share your daughters photo, please send us the release form by email to hgha@hotmail.ca ASAP. Thank you!

It is important that these forms are submitted as early as possibly in the season and at latest before the first game of the season.

Respect in Sport

All OWHA and STING families are required to complete the Respect in Sports program. Respect in Sports Hockey Canada rules state that one parent from each hockey family must have completed the Respect in Sport for Parents program prior to start of the hockey season. The online program is available by clicking this link: https://owhaparent.respectgroupinc.com/koala_final/.

Once you have completed this course, please go back into your players registration page and sign in to your account. Click on "my family members" on the left side of the page, and then click "edit" under your players name. Here you will find the area to fill in the Respect in Sport certificate number. Alternatively, you can take a picture of your certificate and upload it into the Respect in sports spot. It is every family’s responsibility to have this completed and filled in by the time the first game is played. https://owhaparent.respectgroupinc.com/koala_final/

If you have already completed the course, you can look the certification number up using the above link, or if you completed it through the OMHA, please use this link: https://omha.respectgroupinc.com/koala_final/

Cell phones and Dressing Rooms:

Following Hockey Canada and OWHA regulations, absolutely no cell phones or cameras are to be used or visible in any arena change rooms. This rule is applicable to all players, team managers, parents and coaches. One device may be allowed at the discretion of the team coach or manager to play music, and this will need to be arranged prior to entering the dressing room. Consequences will result in failure to comply with this policy.

Dressing Room Monitors:

There will be minimum 2 dressing room monitors per team. These can be the Manager and Female Trainer and/or moms that have completed the applicable background checks, are registered on RAMP with the HGHA, have their Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders and Gender Identity and Expression Certificate. These monitors will always be inside the room or directly outside the room with the door slightly ajar while the rooms are in use.

For age groups U11 and older only registered/rostered females are permitted in the dressing rooms. Rostered coaches are permitted once all players are fully dressed.

U7 and U9 parents can assist their players in the change rooms.

Schedules:

Our regular weekly practices will begin in September and our games will start the beginning of October. The SMGHL game schedule should be out mid September, and the games will populate to your Ramp Team App. Once our teams are made and rosters are complete (mid to late September) you will receive an invitation via email to join the team app. There is a master schedule on our website where all games and practices can be found: http://huntsvillegha.msa4.rampinteractive.com/mastercalendar

Communication:

Please make sure that anyone that needs to receive correspondence from us this season or would like to be included on the Ramp Team app with the game schedules etc, is included on your daughter’s registration. To add any family members that need to be kept in the loop, please go back into your players registration page and sign in to your account. Click on “my family members” on the left side of the page and then edit under your players name, here you can add any additional email addresses.

Equipment:

There is a lot of information about proper sizing and the equipment needed for the season on our website under Sting Families. Please make sure that your helmets are CSA approved and not expired, and that your player has a water bottle and correctly sized gear for the season. The HGHA is always looking for used gear that we can lend to families, if you have any gear that you would like to donate, please reach out! We also ran for the first time last season, an equipment swap! We had donated equipment that we sold for very cheap. We will be doing this again this season. Watch our website and socials for the date and time. Thanks in advance!

Jerseys:

Each Sting player will receive a jersey for the season with a name bar. These name bars are free for the first year your player is with us. If you lose your name bar between seasons, a $10 replacement fee will be charged. Please reach out to your team manager if you need a new name bar this season.

Volunteering

A huge thank you goes out to all of our HGHA volunteers! The season would not be possible without you. Last Season we had over 65 Insured Bench Staff! And over 20 Uninsured Volunteers!

If you are interested in volunteering on the bench with your daughter’s team, please see information under the coaches tab to put in an application for team staff. Staff will be picked closer to the end of August/beginning of September. To be rostered for Bench Staff you will be required to get a VSC and certain certifications. As always, only registered/rostered insured bench staff are permitted on the ice or bench this season.

If you are interested in volunteering to help with time or score-keeping for your team, you can see some information about the new RAMP gamesheet app process also under the Sting Families tab. Your team manager will be reaching out about this volunteer position as we get closer to game time! You do not have to have a VSC or any certifications to volunteer for this.

As always, please reach out to us at hgha@hotmail.ca at any time with any questions or concerns. We are looking forward to an excellent season and connecting with everyone at the rinks soon!

GO STING!!

HGHA