| Chapter 2: | Organization of Hockey |
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The Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) governs hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. |
| Some of its principal objectives are: |
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To foster and encourage the sport of amateur hockey in Canada. |
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To establish and maintain uniform playing rules for amateur hockey. |
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To conduct interprovincial and international contest of amateur hockey. |
| The CHA has 12 branches, one of which is the
Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA). Each branch has jurisdiction over
several local associations. The MHA has 10 local associations, including
the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association (WMHA). Each local association in
turn has several area associations. The WMHA has 11, including the Assiniboine Park Hockey Association (APHA). The APHA has seven community centers, one of which is Westdale Community Centre.
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| Minor hockey in Canada is a grassroots
organization. The community centers give direction to the area
associations. The area associations appoint Executive Members to the WMHA,
who vote on all hockey decisions. The local associations, like the WMHA,
nominates members to the national CHA office. Thus members' of a community
center can influence the policies, plans, rules, and regulations of
hockey. They can influence their community center, which can influence its
area association, and so on up to the CHA.
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| Each community center or association has the
latitude to vary its approach to its own hockey program. While rules and
certification programs are uniform across the country, organization and
program structures are flexible. Better methods can be introduced at any
level.
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| The Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association (WMHA): |
| The WMHA governs all hockey played in Winnipeg. It establishes leagues for teams in the various age groups to conduct competitions and to decide the winners to represent the City in provincial playoffs. |
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WMHA DIVISIONS, 1997-98 |
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Juvenile AA, A |
1979-1981 |
| Female Juvenile | 1979-1981 |
| Midget AA | 1982 and later |
| Midget A | 1982-1983 |
| Female Midget | 1982-1983 |
| Bantam AAA | 1984-1985 |
| Bantam AA | 1984 and later |
| Bantam A | 1984-1985 |
| Female Bantam | 1984-1985 |
| Peewee AAA | 1986 |
| Peewee AA | 1986 and later |
| Peewee A | 1986 |
| Peewee Female A | 1986-1987 |
| Minor Peewee AA | 1987 and later |
| Minor Peewee A | 1987 |
| Atom AA | 1988 and later |
| Atom A | 1988 |
| Female Atom | 1988-1990 |
| Minor Atom A | 1989 |
| Novice | 1990 |
| Novice Female | 1990 and later |
| 8A1 | 1991 |
| House League | 1991 and later |
| AAA and AA Hockey: | AAA is organized into districts, which may combine several
area associations. There is a minimum of four districts in each AAA tier,
decided each year by the AAA Council.
AA hockey is organized into 11 zones, each of which may consist of an association of combined associations.
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| Amalgamation: | In 1990 the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association adopted a
policy that provided for community centres to amalgamate to form teams in
the Al, A2, and A3 categories. The objectives of this policy are to
maximize the opportunities for children who wish to play on traveling
teams, to create more balanced teams, and to have children of equal skill
levels playing together.
If a community centre has: After amalgamation, there can be no more than 69 players in total
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| Area Associations in the WMHA: | The WMHA contains the following area associations: Assiniboine Park Fort Garry Fort Rouge Lord Selkirk Midland Centennial North Winnipeg River East St. Boniface St. James St. Vital Seven Oaks Transcona |
The Assiniboine Park Hockey Association (APHA)
| Responsibilities: | The APHA is an area association within
the WMHA. Its responsibilities include: -Registering teams and collecting fees for hockey within its area. -Purchasing ice as required from various sources - all APHA members are charged a blended fee. -Meeting at least once a month during the hockey season - meeting are open to anyone wishes to attend.
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| Community Centres in the APHA area: | Community centres in the APHA are : Westdale Sir John Franklin Tuxedo Varsity View Roblin Park River Heights Phoenix |
| AAA and AA Hockey: | For AAA, the home district for the Area
Centres typically includes Fort Garry, Fort Rouge, and Assiniboine Park. It is represented by the Monarchs. For AA hockey, the APHA is represented by the Rangers. The
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| Amalgamation: | The Area Centres meet in the spring of
each year to decide which centres will host teams the next season. The team assignments are reviewed after registration. Westdale often amalgamates with Roblin Park and sometimes with Phoenix. Older age groups will also include other Area Centres. Team assignments are based on a consensus of the Area Centres. Typically, when amalgamating with Roblin Park, the host Area Centre alternates from one year to the next.
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| APHA House League: | The APHA sponsors a house league for
children aged 5-6 and 7-8 If enough players register, each community centre forms its own teams that then play other APHA teams between November and March. House league hockey starts in October with an initiation program followed up to 2 games and two practices a week.
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| APHA Recreation League: | The APHA Recreation League offers a
program after house league that increases participation, decreases
cost, and extends recreational hockey to older players.
There is a one-time registration fee for this program. Other
than
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