SHA Amends Non-Sanctioned Play Policy
It is a policy decision that is likely to cause more action off of the ice than on the ice as the Saskatchewan Hockey Associaton (SHA) updated its policy regarding non-sanctioned play during the Winter Hockey Season. The Winter hockey season runs from August 15th to April 1st annually.
In a published letter explaining the reasons for the SHA Board to update the policy the general manager of the organization, Kelly McClintock, says the policy was updated at the behest of the various minor hockey associations throughout the province.
Many local hockey associations had stronger policies regarding players and organizers of non-sanctioned activities in advance of the SHA updating their policies.
The associations asked the SHA to update the policy “due to potential negative impact of Non-Sanctioned Winter Programs on MHA (local minor hockey association) registration numbers and programs,” the letter published on the SHA’s web-site reads.
In the letter, which announces a policy having major reprecussions to both players, officials and parents who chose to participate in non-sanctioned Winter programs past October 31st, the SHA says they recognize it is everyone’s right to consider programming outside of their local minor hockey association’s offerings.
But if that programming goes past skills development there will be reprecussions to those involved if they wish to be part of SHA sanctioned play and associations.
The policy does not definitively define exactly what is non-sanctioned play is but states that defining that “is at the absolute discretion of the SHA Board of Directors and/or the SHA staff.”
The letter does indicate that non-sanctioned play and activities would be “if that outside programming focuses on the recruitment of players, formation of teams, competition and playing games outside of the SHA sanctioned activities.”
The letter went on to state that there were opportunities outside of the SHA and there are programs outside local minor hockey associations’ programs which are sanctioned. There are ten sanctioned skills licensees from the SHA.
The amended SHA policy has varying degrees of ‘penalties’ for participating in the non-sanctioned activity depending if the participants are Team Officials/Team or League Administrators/Officials (Referees or Linesman), parents of players or players themselves.
In the case of players who wish to re-attend SHA programs there are varying hurdles dependeing when the player returns.
For Team Officials/Team or League Administrators/Officials (Referees or Linesman) who participate in a non-sanctioned SHA activity they will be indefinitely barred from being a member of the SHA.
“Any parents of players participating in non-sanctioned winter hockey is subject to indefinite suspension from being a registered team official within the SHA as well as ineligible for being a member of any minor hockey association’s Board of Directors or league executive,” the amended policy reads.
Players themselves cannot participate in both sanctioned and non-sanctioned activites during the Winter hockey season.
If a player choses to play the full season with a non-sanctioned activitiy they can return the following year without a concession application but they would be barred from being part of any upper level team - AAA, AA, A, Upper Tier or carded team.
The same restriction would apply to any player returning to SHA sanctioned teams and programming between September 30th and October 31st. They would be barred from being part of any upper level team - AAA, AA, A, Upper Tier or carded team for that season.
Those who are indefinitely barred from the SHA must follow the SHA step by step appeal policy to be re-instated.
Other penalties for those playing in non-sanctioned programs include no access to Hockey Canada/SHA insurance.