Glencoe / Bothwell Proposed Amalgamation

                                                                Last updated Sept. 21, 2011

 

·        Why is there a recommendation from the Boards of Bothwell Minor Hockey and Glencoe Minor Hockey to join as one Association?

o   It is felt that by bringing all hockey players together under one association, that we will be stronger in numbers.  More kids mean more teams.  Our ultimate goal is to provide teams for our kids that will allow them to play at the appropriate level according to their skill set. 

o   With recent declines in registrations in both centres, it is felt that by combining all players we can build stronger teams at all levels and offer kids the appropriate teams for all to play on.

·        What is the proposed effective date?

o   We are working towards amalgamating for the 2012/13 season

·        What is the date of the vote?

o   There will be a vote in Glencoe Arena on Monday October 3rd, 2011 from 6-9pm

o   There will be a vote in Bothwell Arena on Tuesday October 4th, 2011 from  6-9pm

·        Who is allowed to vote?

o   Each family will have one vote.  This is one vote per family, not one vote per child that is registered.  The family member who registered the child for this current year in their respective association will have the opportunity to vote.

o   A family list will be provided at both arenas.  You can vote in either centre.  If the date doesn’t work for you at your home centre, you can vote in Bothwell if you are a Glencoe member and vice versa

o   You must vote in person.  There will be no proxy voting.

o   A  vote of 50% plus one vote will be considered a majority vote

o   Vote will be done by secret ballot

·        Will fundraising continue?

o   Fundraising will be streamlined with the intention of keeping the best that both boards are currently participating in.

·        How will members of the new board be split?

o   We will go into the new Association as a 50/50 split and a new board will be setup with half representing Glencoe and half representing Bothwell.  It is agreed that the new Association will have  2 co-presidents, one from each centre and 16 board members, 8 from each centre.  This board will total 18 members.

·        What about registration cost

o   The new board will consider startup and operating costs and offer a registration fee similar to current fees

·        What about investments and current financial status of each separate association?

o   Any monies that are currently in each Association’s bank account or term investments will remain the property of that Association.

·        How will ice be split up?

o   It is the intention of the board to offer ice at both arenas and split the use of each arena amongst all teams.  One proposal being considered is each team would either have their games in Glencoe and practices in Bothwell, or their games in Bothwell and practices in Glencoe.  This will make it fair for all families involved.

·        What will be the coach selection process?

o   Coaches will be selected by a coaches committee. The coaches committee will be selected by the unified board and will made up of representatives from both the former Bothwell and Glencoe boards

·        What will be the player selection process?

o   Coaches will have the ability to select their teams based on a tryout system, similar to the current process

·        What are the new boundaries?

o   Current boundaries for both Bothwell and Glencoe will become the new boundaries for the new association.  Families living in what is considered a “right of choice area” by OMHA, will have a one time chance to chose to move to their next closest centre, or to stay with our new association

·        What about the Centre name, logo and colours?

o   The Amalgamation Committee has passed a motion that the new combined association will be named Southwest Minor Hockey Association and our teams will be known as “Southwest Bullets.  We will have a contest for kids to show their creativity to come up with a new logo as well as colours for our new team

·        I’ve heard that Glencoe has recently purchased new Jerseys for most of their teams.  Is this investment in these jerseys lost?  Can you use them for the first year of amalgamation?

o   We understand that for the first season, we can use either the Bothwell or Glencoe jerseys.  We could have one half of the teams use Bothwell jerseys and one half of the teams use Glencoe jerseys.  After that we may sell these jerseys to the kids at a reasonable price

·        Bylaws and constitution

o   A new set of Bylaws and Constitution (Rules of Operations) has been constructed, using almost all of the current bylaws and constitutions of each individual centre.

·        Category of our new centre

o   We are expecting to be in a DD category for all teams

·        What leagues will we play in

o   We propose to remain in the Shamrock league for Rep and the Tri-county League for local league

 

Thank you for coming tonight to learn more about the future of hockey for our kids and associations. 

 

We look forward to seeing you at the night of the VOTE.

 

 

Yours in Hockey,

 

Bob Thirlwall and Brian Wright

Co-chairs of the Amalgamation committee