The
East Gwillimbury Minor Hockey Association (EGMHA) operates as a separate organization under the guidelines of the
Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA). Within the EGMHA we operate teams at the Rep, Local League and House League levels.
The local league teams all play in the
Simcoe Region Local League (SRLL). This organization is made up of member centres from Beeton, Bradford, EG, Innisfil, LeFroy, NobleKing, Richmond Hill, Schomberg, Thornton and TNT. Each member centre is allowed to place up to 4 teams in each division. These divisions range from Novice to Midget. This season the EGMHA will be placing 3 teams in the Peewee division, 3 teams in the Bantam division, 2 teams in the M/Midget division and at this time 2 teams in the Midget Division.
The SRLL operates under the guidelines of the OMHA. However, the SRLL has its own set of operating policies. One of these policies is the Balancing Rule. This rule applies to each member centre and all teams playing in the SRLL.
BALANCING POLICY:
Member centres with 2 or more teams in a division must ensure that all teams be within .400 winning percentage or each other by December 7th to be considered balanced for playoff eligibility. Member centres whose teams in any division are not balanced on December 7th will have until the end of the season to meet balancing requirements. If a member centre has a division that is out of balance at the end of the season, all of its teams within that division will be suspended from playoff competition.
Fines will be levied to member centres with unbalanced teams within a division as follows:
a) November 15th: $100.00 per unbalanced division
b) December 7th: $150.00 per unbalanced division
c) End of season: Teams are disqualified from playoffs and the member centre forfeits a $300.00 bond.
No player may be moved from their team after November 15th without the permission of the SRLL Board of Executives.
ACTION AND CONCLUSION:
As a result, it is very important that all teams within a division are balanced to allow them to take part in the playoffs. If we are balanced by December 7th we do not have to move players. But if we are unbalanced in late October or early November the EGMHA has to move players in an effort to make all teams within a division balanced.
It is for these reasons that the EGMHA holds evaluation skates and scrimmages prior to selecting the teams. These skates allow us to evaluate every player and place the correct number of more highly skilled players on each team. Once the evaluation skates are completed all head coaches, the convenor and I, sit down and carefully select the teams for each division. The EGMHA tries to fill all requests to have friends play together. However, out of fairness to all players, the first priority must be to create balanced teams. The penalty for having unbalanced teams within a division is serious and impacts all players in that division. After the season starts, I, along with my conveners, will watch games within each division and monitor the standings to see if any movement of players is necessary.
In the last 3 seasons of SRLL hockey our organization has not had to move any players after the selection of the teams. We hope this is the situation again this year. But we as a member centre may have to move players during the season to ensure that teams are balanced. We do not take this movement lightly and understand that this may upset players and parents. It will only be done if it is necessary to ensure our compliance with the rules of the SRLL.
Hopefully this letter will explain the reasons for player movement and why it is important to select the proper players for each team. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Thanks for your time.
Doug Yarenko
VP EGMHA LL