Meeting of the Executive
January 30th, 2006
7:30pm - Stanley's
Minutes
1. League Fees
- Teams not fully paid are subject to a minimum $100 fine and suspension after Jan. 31st.
Report:
As of January 30, all teams are reported in good standing.
2. Rosters and Registration
- Final Rosters are due January 31st
- Any team playing players not on their roster following the deadline will forfeit that game.
- All players must be registered. This is a one time process that must include a players name, address, phone number and date of birth. Unregistered players risk being ineligible for play-offs.
Report:
Final rosters have been issued from all teams except The Ice. The Ice must submit a final roster prior to their January 8th game.
Discussion:
It was noted that a new player for the Blackhawks, Chad Wilson dressed to play in the January 19th game against the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks were unable to ice a team and defaulted the game. The Blackhawks are concerned that Wilson may not get credit for the game played. No scoresheet was filled out for the game.
Decision:
There are enough games left in the season that Chad Wilson should be able to qualify for a play-off spot. Should he not manage the seven game minimum, he will be given the benefit of the doubt and be credited for a game played on January 19th.
All teams are reminded that a scoresheet must be filled out, even in the event of a default if they want their players to get credit for the game played.
3. League Liability
- A concern has been raised regarding liability and potential personal injury law suits.
- As required by the Arena, we hold liability insurance, however, this offers no protection from the inconvenience and other damaging effects of a frivolous lawsuit, both personally and to the league.
- Most leagues require all players to sign a waiver. While this is inconvenient, it may be necessary to at least make the players aware of the risks and limits of our insurance. For example, some players may be under the false impression that our insurance covers injury. It does not. We are only covered for liability to a limited amount.
Report:
All players playing the game of hockey assume a level of risk. RIHL insurance does not protect a player in the event of injury. Unless the league or arena is clearly guilty of negligence, any law suit would fail.
Discussion:
While the League Executive is protected legally, this does not rule out the possibility of the inconvenience and stress of legal action. It was suggested that all players be required to sign a waiver.
It was agreed that while other leagues do this, it still does not eliminate the possibility of a law suit, particularly if someone fails to sign a waiver.
Action:
It was suggested that we seek the advice of a lawyer and CARHA on this matter.
4. Two Line Off-side
- For the 2005-2006 season, the NHL eliminated the red line for off-sides in order to open up the game and create more offense. As a result, most amateur leagues have followed suit. However, after discussion at our annual Pre-season Meeting, it was decided the RIHL would not eliminate the red line at this time.
- While we will not be changing the rule for this season, we would like to hear the general sentiment regarding this decision as discussed among players.
Report:
Most teams had a discussion about this rule prior to the meeting, and the consensus ranged from oppose to eliminating to indifference. Any argument in favour was supported largely by the fact that all other leagues seemed to be following the lead of the NHL to eliminate the red line.
Comments were made that the NHL eliminated the red line for the purpose of opening up the game, catering to more speed and higher scoring. These are not necessarily things wanting in the RIHL.
Decision:
As there was no real pressure so far to change our two line offside rule, no motion was tabled. The RIHL will continue to play with a two line offside rule in place.
5. Ice Time Rate Increases
- We have been notified that there will once again be an increase in ice costs in the 2006-2007 season, however, it is unclear how much the increase will be.
Report:
Due to this increases, teams can expect a minimum $100 per team increase in league fees next season
6. League Expansion
- As always we are looking for opportunities to expand our league, but ice time continues to be a limiting factor.
- The option of an interlocking schedule with another league has been suggested for discussion.
Discussion:
It was reported that a few teams have shown interest in joining the RIHL, however, at this point we do not have the ice time to accommodate more that 6 teams.
Some concern was expressed whether or not the The Ice (who are having difficulty competing in their first year in the RIHL) will be interested in playing again next year. Rob Church of the The Ice confessed that he was having difficulty, but conveyed the desire to continue in the league.
There was some talk about the possibility of an interlocking schedule with another league in Ladner, but there seemed to be little interest in pursuing that option at this time.
Decision:
We will be following up on interested new teams, and will monitor the status of The Ice. At some point The Ice will be given a deadline to confirm their participation in the RIHL next year and they will be given right of first refusal prior to the date to be named.
7. Referee Incentive Program
- There has been some concern about the quality of officiating this season.
- The referee pool appears to be diminished overall and, as a smaller league sharing officials with the Coast Hockey League, we may not always be getting the top officials.
- We would like to discuss incentives that may entice better officials to want to ref our games. This may include financial bonuses and accreditation programs.
Discussion:
The suggestion that we initiate some sort of incentive program for the officials for the RIHL, was meet with general acceptance. While the detail of any such incentive program are unclear at this point, it is understood that there will be some additional expense to the League.
Decision:
A discussion will take place with the Head Referee to discover how we might implement an incentive program that may include a financial bonus, supported by an accreditation system.
If the idea meets no resistance, a proposal will be forwarded for next season.
8. Make up Game & Play-off Schedule
- Play-off games are scheduled to begin on March 28th, however, due to a power outage on January 4th, the Blackhawks and The Ice have a game at hand. It may be necessary to re-schedule this game for March 28th, pushing the Play-off schedule back.
Discussion:
It was suggested that in the event of a second overtime period, we should request an ice cleaning
The Ice suggested teams missing the play-offs should be given the opportunity to play a relegation round.
Decision:
The Blackhawks and The Ice will play March 28th
The Cowboys and the Raiders will play 9:15pm March 14th on the Stadium rink at Minoru
The request for an ice cleaning in double overtime will be forwarded.
A relegation round could be arranged if there is available ice time and sufficient interest among other teams.
9. Awards Night
- We need to pick a date for the RIHL Awards Night and discuss additional costs, if any.
- Teams are reminded that they will have to nominate a player from their team for the John Lynch Memorial Trophy before the end of the regular season.
Decision:
After some discussion it was decided that Awards Night tickets should be sold at the suggested price of $10, rather than given away for free. This is not to reduce the cost of the event, but rather to encourage a commitment to attend.
It was decided to hold the event prior to play-offs on Friday, March 24th
10. Other Business
A suggest to implement a shoot-out for game that were tied received little interest an the matter was not pursued.
11. Adjourned