May 06, 2024 | Westfort Hockey | 199 views
Westfort Hockey Association Joins Forces with Partner Associations
For almost as long as the current structure of minor hockey has existed, there have been many ideas and views on how best to make change for the better. Hundreds and likely thousands of volunteer hours have been spent meeting, discussing, engaging, and thinking about the ways in which positive change could be brought to the hockey community. Building on the work that has been done by current and past volunteers, today we are excited to announce a pivotal coming together of five hockey organizations focused on taking the first concrete steps to delivering more efficient, consistent and cost effective hockey programing for families in Thunder Bay in the U7 toU13 Divisions.
The Boards of Directors of Port Arthur Minor Hockey Association, Norwest Minor Hockey Association, Westfort Hockey Association, Thunder Bay Elks Hockey Association and KC Minor Hockey Association have all voted to come together under one association starting with the 2024/25 Season. Utilizing the historical multi club structure of Port Arthur Minor Hockey Association to be the foundation for this new beginning, Norwest, Westfort, The Elks and KC will all become Members of PAMHA. The five existing member clubs of PAMHA (Current River Comets, North End Flames, Westfort Maroons, Volunteer Pool Bearcats, and West End Bruins) are excited to welcome the new members. All member clubs contribute to the work of delivering hockey programming by organizing teams, developing coaches, raising funds and recruiting volunteers. All current members are excited to share this framework with the 4 newest members.
Our guiding principles are:
1) Hockey programming should be available for all who want to participate.
2) Those trusted with the privilege of leading the hockey community shall be expected to effectively manage our volunteers, available ice, development and financial resources with the highest standards and for the benefit of our players and families.
3) Finding the balance of quality high level competition, and access to sport for all who want to participate in our hockey community.
Our associations have discussed, collaborated, looked at the history and the options that are before us. We have decided to take these bold first steps and show our faith that collaboration and working towards collective good will prove to be the model that grows our game at the grassroots level. We look forward to continuing the work in the coming months as we prepare for the upcoming Hockey Registration season and the start of our 2024/25 season planning. We know that these changes will raise questions, and we look forward to doing our very best to answer all of these questions from our hockey families and partner organizations. Our boards do not take these decisions and steps lightly, but we are united in our belief that these changes are the right ones for all of our hockey community.