FORT FRANCES—Hockey Northwestern Ontario hosted the first of six summits scheduled to take place throughout the region at the Memorial Sports Centre here Saturday afternoon.
The summit—attended by more than a dozen local residents—was held to help determine the state of minor hockey in Northwestern Ontario and identify any areas that might need improvement.
HNO general manager John Pucci was pleased with how the inaugural meeting went—despite the relatively small turnout.
“You always want more numbers but the feedback was good because we, as a branch, and especially myself being new to the area, we don’t always know what the people dealing at the grassroots want,” he said.
“Once we do another five [summits] and get the comparative results, that’ll help,” he added.
“It’ll be very interesting to move forward from here now after this one is done,” Pucci continued. “That’s what interests me, comparing all the results.”
Over the course of the three-and-a-half hour meeting, the participants discussed a wide variety of issues surrounding the game, including;
•whether the programs currently being offered by Hockey Canada via HNO are effective at teaching and promoting the game;
•the declining number of volunteers;
•costs involved with the sport; and
•the declining activity levels of children in North America.
Of all the topics discussed, however, two issues generated the most discussion amongst the participants—parental behaviour at the rink and officiating.
Several of the participants—be they coaches or administrators of minor hockey leagues in the district—identified the unruly behaviour of some parents as the biggest obstacle to having fun at the rink.
One possible solution that arose from the discussion involved the implementation of a mandatory education program for all parents involved in minor hockey at the start of each season.
The seminars would closely resemble the “Speak Out” program—designed to address the issues of abuse and harassment—that everyone involved with a minor hockey team currently is required to complete.
“A lot of people talked about a parent education program,” Pucci said.
“We kind of expected it [this issue] and this kind of reinforced that, so it’ll be interesting to move forward and see how we can curtail it or improve it,” he added.
Referees also have been a hot topic of discussion at local rinks this season due to the crackdown on penalties.
Many of the participants at Saturday’s summit here expressed frustration at the lack of consistency with which the new rules are being enforced—and their belief that the referees no longer are approachable during games.
They called for better communication between the officials and coaches in the hopes that open discussion would result in fewer instances of confrontation.
After the meeting, local participants were glad to have had the opportunity to express their opinions.
“It’s nice to see everyone come together, and that a lot of people have the same types of concerns and issues,” minor hockey coach Brent Tookenay said.
“I think it was a good way to look at the game and where we’re at, what concerns we have.
“Some concerns in rural areas like Fort Frances, Dryden, and Kenora are different from ones in Thunder Bay and Ottawa,” he added.
“If they [HNO] can keep doing things like this, I think it’ll help hockey.”
Brad Badiuk, a member of the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association’s board of directors, agreed.
“I thought the meeting went well,” he said. “I think it opened up a few people’s eyes on the issue of the parents in the crowd.”
“I don’t think that some people thought that was a problem but it is a pretty big issue.
“That and the refereeing. Those are the two big issues going on right now.”
HNO will hold its next summit Dec. 16 in Thunder Bay and another there Feb. 26. Summits also are being held in Schreiber (Jan. 13), (Jan. 20), and Dryden (Feb. 17).
Once the information derived from the summits has been compiled, HNO will present the findings to Hockey Canada.
The report is expected to be completed by this coming May.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
