And what a bizarre season it was.
With minor hockey finally wrapping up near the midway point of March, North Island Eagles executive Tanya Spafford issued a statement on Facebook about the season, pointing out that it will likely “go on record as the worst season ever” and the executive would like to “say thank you to the players, parents, and volunteers that worked hard, stayed positive, and kept showing up every week!”
Spafford stated they all know being motivated for an entire season is “such a hard thing to do without the excitement of games and we are incredibly proud of the players that continued to give it their all at practices and build their skills. So many things could not have been anticipated at the beginning of the season. We knew to expect no tournaments, but to lose games and the ability to watch our kids really stung. Thank you so much for the positive attitudes and respect for the guidelines put in place.”
She added the organization had fewer expenses this season so they were able to invest in training gear. “Both arenas have been outfitted with a fantastic dryland set up, and Micron Machine Works has finished a prototype of an on-ice training piece that we requested. So new it does not even have a name yet! We were unable to use this equipment this season but took the chance to build up our on and off ice tools. These will be a great addition to next season.”
The Eagles will also be offering a $100 credit towards next season’s tryout fees. “This may not seem like a lot, but it is almost $10,000 given back to our families as appreciation for being part of our club this season,” Spafford said. “As many of you are aware, we are fortunate enough to have some of the lowest hockey fees in the rep program and we off-set the expenses with the club fundraisers. Thankfully, we will be able to give this money back to families to alleviate most of the cost of tryouts without adding a financial stress to the club in the future seasons.”
The Eagles will be holding an Annual General Meeting (in person if restrictions lift and allow it) in May.
A firm date and time for the AGM will be announced soon. “Elections will be held at this time as well,” added Spafford. “If you are interested in being part of the NI Eagles executive this will be your chance to join a great team. Though many of our executive are willing to stand, each position is available for nominations. A full agenda package will be available ahead of the meeting.”
As for Port Hardy Minor Hockey (PHMH), President Nicki Ranger also posted on Facebook stating it has been “one of the strangest hockey seasons on record” and that the PHMH executive would like to say thank you “to our coaches Kristen, Adam, Jordan, Kevin, Evan, Brian and Sagel: Thank you for coming out twice a week every week not knowing if we would be able to keep going, coming up with new ideas for practices when all anyone wanted to do was play some games, and for being plain awesome!” Ranger added a special thanks to “Koen, the best on-ice mentor this side of the rink!”
She also went on to thank the team managers and players. “Marnie, Vanessa, Tara: Thank you for the enormous amount of organizing and planning that pandemic hockey brings… You are all rocks stars. To our players: thank you for sticking it out on the ice even though we only managed two games all season. Thank you for keeping a smile on your face under your masks and being positive in the face of constant change! Hockey is awesome, no matter what!”
She then thanked the parents and fans “for sticking with us, for coming out to volunteer from tying skates, selling tickets, being safety or doing covid door duties - we needed you and you delivered! And thank you to the parents and fans who had to wait in the car when you couldn’t come in to watch - we saw you - and we thank you. Next year we will host a barnburner!”
PHMH will be holding an Annual General Meeting in the near future. “As a league, we not only took on the challenge of hockey during a pandemic, but a season of rebuilding our program,” added Ranger. “We can’t wait to see what exciting things happen next season!”
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