Teams in the Westlock Minor Hockey Association saw some significant successes this year both at the league level and in provincial tournaments.
For association vice-president Tate McNelly, though, the real highlight was being able to host the Bantam ‘B’ provincials at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
“Any time an association can say they hosted provincials, that’s just a huge success all around — not only for the association but for the parents, the kids and the community as a whole,” he said.
Pulling that event together was a testament to the hundreds of volunteers who enable the association as a whole to run, and in particular to the parents of the Bantam team and community members at large who stepped up to make the tournament a success.
While Westlock wasn’t able to medal at the host provincials, McNelly said all the teams who took part in provincial tournaments were able to stay very competitive — something he attributes in part to being in the 1660 Hockey League, where teams are tiered well and each tier is very competitive.
“Staying competitive and having to work for their results helps them in the provincial games where there’s more meaning, but they’re used to playing a tougher game because of the league they’re in,” he said.
Another notable success this year was being able to have two bantam teams, whereas in previous years there has been only one team at the bantam level.
“We wanted to try to get a couple extra kids to make it two teams, which we did, and once that happened we had five extra kids come back from either fun hockey or from quitting completely,” McNelly said.
Looking toward next year, he said he hopes to see a second team come on line at the midget level, as well, something that will be made easier if the association can retain the numbers from the bantam teams this year.
He acknowledged, however, that the game itself is changing and that contributes to the challenge with fielding more teams.
“It’s tough these days because more kids get injured and the game is quicker, so you need a larger team compared with the old days,” he said.
As for what the association will look like next year, McNelly said it could be too soon to say as the association’s annual general meeting isn’t scheduled until next month. One way or the other, though, the emphasis will be on maintaining the numbers and getting as many people as possible involved in the sport.
“Numbers have been declining for a number of years,” he said.
“We might not have the answer but we’re trying to do things to help that out.”
It was a season of growth for the Westlock Fun Hockey Association, and they’re looking forward to keeping that momentum going.
Secretary-Treasurer Monique Cameron said this year saw a huge influx of new players, doubling the number of teams and nearly doubling the number of participants.
“We had four teams with about 63 kids,” she said.
“We went up a couple dozen, for sure. Word is that we’re expecting more kids next year.”
All told, everything went smoothly and without incident. There were some cancelled games due to the weather, but that’s not especially surprising for an Alberta winter.
Cameron said the highlight of the season was hosting a tournament for the younger age group at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre in January, which saw five teams taking part in some friendly competition.
“The kids had a great times — everybody had a good day and went home tired,” she said.
Near the end of the season Westlock Fun Hockey also got to play some games against the group from Morinville, which is a first for the two clubs and something Cameron hopes to see again.
They’ve always had a fun team but never actually played games,” she said. “We’re hoping they’ll be on board next year for some games as well.”
Planning for next year is already tentatively underway, with an early registration planned for some time in June; having families register early on helps with the planning process.
“I’m definitely looking forward to next year” she said.
“We’re hoping our numbers go up again.”
Aside from increased numbers, which could mean the addition of one or more teams, Cameron said she expects the 2014-15 season will be “more of the same.”
