The stands were empty for the annual general meeting of the South Dundas Minor Hockey Association held at the Morrisburg Golf Club, last Tuesday, April 07.
“The attendance tonight is not very good, and I’m happy to say it is likely because we have no issues,” said minor hockey president David Lapier.
With just a couple of interested parents joining the eight executive members on hand, the various reports were wrapped up quickly, and the South Dundas Minor Hockey Association executive for the upcoming 2015/16 season was elected.
David Lapier was returned as president and Jeff VanMoorsel remains past president. Mike Domanko remained first vice-president and will also handle the duties of the Head Coach position.
Jamie Smith was returned as second vice, Johanna Kronstal as secretary, Mike Barclay as treasurer and John Connors as equipment manager.
Also returned were Matt McCooeye as Electronics Communication Coordinator, Lisa Swerdtfeger as Referee-in-Chief and Jason Broad as Ice Scheduler.
Cassandra Barry was returned as Rules and Discipline Coordinator and will also fill the Registrar position which she held for many years. Barry is replacing Jennifer Veldhoven-Lyle who is leaving the area.
The new face to the board is that of Kristy Connors who is taking over the position of fundraising coordinator from Joanne Backes, who, after several seasons, is retiring.
“Overall, we had an excellent year,” said Lapier. “We had three league champs, three playoff champs, and the peewee Bs won the whole league. We also had three sportsmanship awards which I am very proud of.”
Inhouse Skating and Coaching Clinics and Goalie in the Net Vouchers were both new this year and both were well-received.
Lapier thanked the executive for their hard work and commitment throughout the season. “If you have good people then all runs well.”
“Jason [Broad] did an excellent job handling the ice scheduling again this year. He has it right down to the minute and everyone is getting equal ice time. We had no issues with our referees, and the IP program is in very good hands. The guys are doing a great job with it. They are very detailed, and it is very well done. We also had minimal parent problems this year.”
New for the association was the purchase of a goaltender net target for practise. This was augmented by the loan of Lapier’s privately owned net. “They were very well received because a lot of our teams only have one goalie, and it’s better to have something there in the net at the practises.”
Also new and successful was a player exchange with the North Dundas Minor Hockey Association. This exchange, which saw two players come to South Dundas and four players go to North Dundas, enabled the Morrisburg Association to ice a Bantam Rep team and North Dundas to ice a Minor Midget team.
“It worked very well,” said Lapier. “We’ll both always maintain our house levels, but our associations don’t have the numbers to make us strong enough to ice rep teams. It was excellent, and hopefully we will be able to build on it, in the future.”
Referee in chief, Lisa Swerdtfeger reported, “a good year. I think it went well. I’ll be contacting everyone to see who will be coming back and will probably look at getting at least three more.”
“I think we have the most consistent quality referees of anywhere,” said Lapier. “I think the South Dundas referees are the best in the area.”
“It is great that we have a level five referee who is willing to be a linesman for a Novice C game,” noted Mike Domanko.
Treasurer Mike Barclay reported the association was down about $6,000 in revenue, mainly because there were fewer players. With all ice and referee bills paid, and only a few banners yet to be purchased, Barclay stated it is likely the association will end the year with a surplus of $3-4,000.
There were 191 minor hockey players this year, down three kids from the year before.
Because of the small surplus and the association’s diligence in keep a good financial safety net, Barclay said it would not be necessary to increase fees for the 2015-16 hockey season.
The Association’s main revenue is from registrations which this year totalled $75, 334. The annual fundraising lottery draw brought in $38,200 and Lions Day raised $1,209. Donations to the minor hockey organization totaled $2,650.
Major expenses were: ice rental at $74,661; Referee pay of $16,092; Insurance for team officials and players $8,914; $8,018 for Lottery prizes and licencing; League Fees $2,090.
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