Richmond Old Timers Hockey
ROTHC
Post-season Meeting of League Executive
August 8, 2024 – 7:30pm

MINUTES

Expected attendance:

Don Taylor – Greyhawks
Graham Amano, Ken Whitehead  – Avalanche
Brian Newman, Dave Hutton - Rusty Blades
Fred Brome – Shogun Shooters
Gord Gouthro – Evaders
Rene Holt – Roadrunners
Rob Lang (Vice President) – Island Sun
Doug Collins (President) - Cowboys

 

1)     Season Review

a)      Officiating

i)       Under the direction of Rob Lang, the officials were very accommodating to our schedule, and generally been responsible for their own replacement when necessary. There were a few games with a solo referee, but it did not seem to pose a great problem in those circumstances. The Tuesday over 65 games were intentionally scheduled with a single referee, alternating between Gary Fabris and Todd. This worked well.

We have a small pool of referees that cooperate well together, making Rob’s job much easier. Near the end of the season the scheduling took a bit of a turn when Lolly became less available. However, she did make sure her games were covered by introducing a couple new faces wearing the stripes. For the most part, this was not a problem, except the replacement refs were often not fully aware of our rules. Whether or not this pattern of scheduling should continue will be a topic of discuss at our Preseason Referee meeting.

An issue did arise later in the season and in Playoffs. Lolly has become discourage but the amount of disagreeable chatter after the whistle and indicated that she was considering quitting. That is likely the reason for the new referees showing up on the scene. During the Playoffs she refused to do games between the Cowboys and Blackhawks, which created a bit of a scheduling problem.

Overall, the officiating was satisfactory and caused little concern.

b)      League Transformation

i)       The introduction of the over 65 division obviously effected the structure of the league. It provided a place for older players to continue in our league and also brought a new team into the picture. Not to be confused with our Rusty Blades, another team also called the Rusty Blades (referred to as just the Blades to avoid confusion) partnered up with our old guys and offered a Monday night ice time to round out our schedule. The arrangement helped us and probably save the Blades from otherwise folding.

While there was a problem of parity in the division, the venture was successful and will likely continue this season.

ii)      The League expansion also changed the face of the over 53 division. The Island Sun left the division to join the over 65 and many of the older Cowboys moved on to form a second team for that division. This made room for new players on the Cowboys, who had already improved their roster the previous season, moving the team from the bottom of the league to the top. The Avalanche, also managed to split their team putting a team in both divisions. However, the results were different. With not enough new players to bolster the ranks of the over 53 team, they had a great deal of trouble competing in that division. They did do well in the over 65 division and enjoyed the competition at that level. It is expected that they will start the new season with just one team and will drop out of the over 53 division.

iii)     Playoffs were reintroduced to the league last season for the over 53 division. There were some struggles with the format, but it seemed to work out okay in the end. We will review the plan for Playoffs in the coming season.

iv)     The Guns were also a new addition to our organization, but not in an official league capacity. They sublet our Wednesday 9:30pm ice time and invited any teams to participate in an exhibition schedule, offering each team a skate in the week they otherwise would have a bye. This did not go as well as hoped. Most of the teams gave it a try, but the Guns proved to be too strong in some match ups. Only the Rusty Blades, Cowboys and Roadrunners completed their schedule with them, with the other teams choosing a week off over getting seriously out scored. It is unclear what the future of this arrangement will be.

 

In all it was a successful season with some well-matched games, but with the league division some adjustments will be necessary for the coming season.

c)      Issues or Concerns

Our league is intended to provide a fun and safe place for aging hockey player to continue to play in a moderately competitive environment. For the most part this is what takes place, but there is the occasional dust up. This is to be expected in the game of hockey, but a review of the record of Disciplinary Action reveals a continuing area of concern.

Since the Record of Disciplinary Action was started in 2022, there have been 7 Disciplinary Hearing on record. The Evaders were involved in 7 of those hearings. As a result of one incident the Disciplinary Committee took the extreme action of excusing one Evader’s player from the League and harshly suspended a Shogun player for 5 games.

Taking harsh action against offending players may be the best way to clean things up, but hearing are time consuming and we need to find a way to reduce or eliminate the necessity.

 

2)     Financial Report

a)      Presentation of the Financial Statements

i)       The ROTHC realized a significant loss in the past season, ending the fiscal year $6065.63 in the red. However, it should be noted that due to a profitable previous season our contingency balance at the beginning of the season was higher than normal at $11,334.46. The 22-23 preseason budget was planned to set league fees lower, targeting a balance nearer to $8000. Unfortunately we missed the mark by about $2300, reducing our current balance to $5679.83

There were a few factors contributing to the loss:

·        The cost of Playoffs was not adequately factored in, adding $3008 to ice cost.

·        An approved rebate to all teams reduced revenue from League Fees.

·        Note:  $2055 in rebates is for teams that did not deduct it from their total payment. (Cowboys and Evaders deducted the $411 from their League Fees. Shogun are still owed their rebate, but chose to take a credit from next year’s fees)

·        The bad debt for the Sorcerers was written off, reducing League Equity.

·        The additional cost of the Monday night skate was $3793 and perhaps not sufficiently covered by the participating plus 65 teams. It should be noted that the older division did not have any Playoff ice.

·        The league subsidized the cost of First Aid/CPR training with an amount of $1323.

While the additional expenses impacted our bottom line more than desired, our contingency is still at a reasonable level. However, expect leagues fee in the coming season to be higher.

It was noted that an expense of league meetings from last season have not yet been reimbursed. A total amount of $111.93 from meeting of each division will be added to next season’s expenses.

3)      Glimpse at Next Season

a)      Division Line Ups:

i)       The Avalanche have indicated that they will no longer be entering a team into the over 53 division, instead focusing on the over 65 division

ii)      A number of players have left the Rusty Blades and there is concern about their future. We are hopefully that they will be able to continue.

 

b)      Anticipated Over 53 Division:

·        Cowboys

·        Greyhawks

·        Rusty Blades –  have lost a number of players and are in danger of folding, however, at the meeting it was pointed out that the Avalanche have a few players not old enough for the plus 65 division at they might be available. There have also been a couple players inquiring online, so we are hopefully.

·        Shogun

·        Evaders

·        Roadrunners

 

c)      Anticipated Over 65 Division:

·        Cowboys

·        Avalanche

·        Island Sun

·        Blades – are undergoing a change in management and there future is uncertain. This will serious effect the over 65 division, but conversations are underway to remedy the situation.

d)      The Guns are wanting to join league play, but may not be a good fit. It’s yet to be determined if they will continue in the 9:30pm ice time.

There was some discussion around the idea of moving the over 65 division into the rotation on Wednesday night and moving the Guns to Tuesday. This would allow us to offer referees back to back games and might help scheduling for the over 65 division. However, there was much resistance from some teams about playing in the 9:30pm, so the matter was dropped.

e)     Playoffs:
A playoff format will be decided after we have determined how many teams we will have. Our budget will include playoffs.

 

4)      Proposed Budget

a)      League fees:

As indicated in the financial report above, we will need to set League Fees a little higher to increase our contingency to the prescribe target of an $8000 balance. Without knowing if there will be any price increases from the arena, it is difficult to set a precise amount, but we can expect a minimum $500 increase.

 

A discussion ensued, with the majority feeling that an $8000 contingency is more than necessary and it was decided that a more appropriate amount is $6000 (approximately where we are right now). However, it is important that monthly ice payments do not force us below that mark, so prompt League Fee payments are essential.

It was also agreed that the Avalanche should receive a $500 credit because they did not participate in the Playoffs.

 

b)     Insurance:
All teams must provide proof of insurance to the arena. You are free to insure wherever you please, but currently there are only two known choices: CARHA and Sport BC.

Insuring as a league with CARHA would automatically cover the League Executive. You can insure individually through CARHA or Sport BC.

For efficiency, teams choosing to insure through Sport BC, will have that amount added to their league fees and we will do it as a group through the arena. If teams prefer CARHA, unless we do it as a league, you must make your own arrangements directly to CARHA. Please be sure to name “CITY OF RICHMOND; RICHMOND ARENAS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION in their insurance policy.”

 

5)      Other business

a)     Proposed rule changes:
A subcommittee will be established to review and update our Rule Book to present to the League for approval.
Among other potential changes, the following rules will be revised:

i)       Rule II – 1. 2. Slapshots and touching the puck with a highstick will no longer be a penalty served. Instead, the play will be whistled dead and a face will take place in the offending team’s zone.

ii)      Rule II - 8. Will be clarified to read: “Will be played STOP TIME provided that the score is within 2 goals apart (and time permits).”

iii)    The wording will be reviewed in terms of Major, Misconducts, Game Misconducts and Gross Misconducts.

iv)    Fighting will be clearly stated to carry an automatic 5 game suspension.

b)     Disciplinary process:
In light of the issues addressed in item 1. c. above, the Disciplinary Process will be reviewed. In an effort to reduce the necessity of a time consuming Hearing process, certain automatic suspensions will be put firmly in place (such as the above Fighting penalty).  An appeal process will be explored, but largely we will be relying on the referee call and hearings will only take place when absolutely necessity. This process will be discussed by the Rule Committee.

c)      Age restrictions:
By vote of 5 to 1 (Greyhawks opposed - over 65 division managers abstaining) it was decided to lower the age restriction of the younger division from age 53 to age 50. This will help teams in recruiting players age 50 to 53 that may otherwise be joining other leagues.

d)     Schedule:
We can expect the League to commence on the week of September 25^th and run until March 25^th. Playoffs will follow.

e)     By unanimous decision, the League picked up the tab for the bar tab of the meeting.

 

6)      Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm