Dear Editor:
I want to clarify a misconception that appears to be prevalent among some of the parents in New Westminster Minor Hockey - just because your child played hockey last season he or she is not guaranteed a spot to play.
At present, more than 100 players we expected to return have not registered. Players registered before May 31 are guaranteed a spot within the NWMHA next season. However, those who choose to wait to register are putting their child at risk of not having a place to play next year.
NWMHA negotiates ice times for the following season based on the number of players registered by the end of May, not on the number of players we have had in the previous year. If those 100 players do not register, we will not negotiate ice on their behalf. We will not put the association at financial risk by entering into a contract with costs that we cannot support.
Please help us to avoid the wait-lists that were created last year when over 20 players registered after the ice time negotiations with the city had already concluded. These players were told to wait and see if ice became available. The message appears to have gotten through to age groups where the wait lists occurred last year. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case for many of our younger teams, H3, H4, Atom and Peewee divisions.
If you have a child in one of these age groups, please register now. If you have registration questions, please contact our registrar at [email protected].
Robert Nasato, President, NWMHA
