As 2007 draws to a close so ends another challenging year for Ice Hockey in Victoria. Firstly & most importantly, we had a lot of things to celebrate & be proud of this season, and in no particular order the ' positives or highlights for IHV are as follows ;
(i)The DeFris tournament .
This year IHV hosted its first National tournament in many years & what a great tournament it turned out to be. Some thought we were crazy taking this on but handle it we certainly did! The camaraderie and enthusiasm of the Tournament Directors, Committee, helpers & volunteers was fantastic. The achievements and improvements at the rink was something we have all enjoyed, thank you to all involved, it ended up something we are all were very proud ,"Well done !"
I believe we ran the friendliest, best organized,best run tournament on the calendar and we received very positive feedback from all attending States and the IHA. As a result IHV will be hosting the Tange tournament in 2008.
(ii) Our Referee & Linesman courses.
These are now starting to bear fruit and I am very pleased and proud of so many young and new linesman having a real good go at it. It is especially pleasing to see new Referees coming through the ranks. It is essential
for the survival of the sport and I’m very pleased that this is working well. Congratulations and thank you to all concerned, we certainly need to keep this good work going.
(iii) Development council .
This program now more than ever is vital and despite some tough times this year. Roy and his team of helpers did a terrific job in encouraging, recruiting & badging numerous new comers, and they were drafted to the clubs successfully. This years Summer comp has had a great influx of first timers. Many thanks to Roy & all the helpers at Development council for their tireless efforts.
(iv) The Dodge Nitro launch .
This gave us a rare opportunity to strut our stuff in front of a substantial number of Chrysler executives and a strong media contingent and I think we pulled it off very well. It was unfortunate we were unable to open the gates to everyone (as they had booked out the rink, not us) but our teams put on great display. We sent away a lot of new Ice Hockey converts. It was an excellent Public relations event for us.
(v) State and National Representation
At the national tournaments Victoria again competed with great success, a success that is the envy of other states. Again Victoria has provided a significant contingent of players to the Australian National Youth, Junior and Women’s teams.
(vi) Coaches
Our coaching development programme is reaping rewards with more accredited coaches. As noted in Richard Moore’s report several of our coaches have been invited to the Level II coaching course in 2008; Simon Holmes has been appointed Head Coach of the Australian Junior Team and the National Player Development Officer.
On the negative side of the ledger our attempts to reorganise the Junior competition have not had the desired effect of bolstering our junior numbers with the result that we are faced with the potential of an even further reduction at junior levels in 2008. Our aging and limited facilities continue to hamper our ability to grow the sport and to offer all the programmes that we would like, such as a winter Senior C competition.
Faced with our situation, a sub-committee was formed to examine various options for the future of ice hockey that would deliver upon our major aims of:
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Offering as much ice time as possible to all players;
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Developing both the elite and the novice;
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Maintaining numbers of the playing group as a whole;
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Maintaining the enthusiasm for the sport from the players, parents, administrators and officials; and
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Providing a structure that provides all players with a balanced & competitive season.
While we await the final report from the sub-committee it is obvious that not only must the competition be restructured but also the administration must be spread more equitably across the members of the IHV Committee. The current structure places too much work in too few hands. The reality is that we all have families and lives outside of ice hockey that must take first place. The heavy load placed upon the members of the Executive finally took its toll this year when Rick Shaw had to stand down as President because of the deleterious impact of the position on his business. At the end of 2007 I find myself in the same position and consequently will not be seeking a further term as President. With a restructured IHV competition comes the opportunity to restructure the administration to provide more effective support for this great sport.
Finally I would like to thank all those who have contributed so much to ice hockey - the IHV Committee and Executive, the club committees, the coaches, the referees, the Development Council, and all the volunteers who give so much of their time at games.
So much work goes on behind the scenes, more than most could understand but a special mention & sincere thanks to Brien Baxter & his million phone calls, to Grant Moss who has been the backbone as Secretary & permit secretary, Helen Howells as our tireless treasurer & Brent James who was a very welcome new Exec member doing a terrific job with our reinvigorated Rules & Regulations & By Laws .Thank you sincerely !!
While we are facing some difficult times our continued success at national levels demonstrates that we must be doing something right. With enthusiasm, passion and commitment to our future direction we can look forward to steady improvements in the health and well being of this fantastic sport.
Andrew McDowell
IHV President
