WORL A/AA League
Minutes
February 16, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 pm
1) Attendance
Chatham, Dorchester, Guelph, London, Mitchell, St. Marys, St. Thomas, Stratford, Waterloo, London Ladies, Peter Westelaken, Keith Kaiser, Mary Kaiser
2) Any new business to add to the Agenda
No new business was added to the agenda
3) Minutes from the January 21, 2009 meeting
Motion to accept minutes as written – Waterloo/London – approved
4) Reports
Treasurer/Registrar Report
No report
Stratford has paid outstanding dues
Scheduler’s and Convenor’s Reports
Petite
Game P78 has been rescheduled
Game P79 – date on website is incorrect – Shirley Verhoeve to send update to Keith Kaiser
No other issues
Tween
Tween AA - standings for playoff purposes has been changed to March 1, 2009 to allow all league games to be played
Tween A – St. Clements has opted out of playoffs
No other issues
Junior A
One game not reported
Game J55 (Feb 14 Guelph vs. St. Thomas) has been rescheduled to Mar 7
No other issues
Junior AA/Belle A
9 games to be rescheduled
No other issues
Belle AA/Open A
No issues
Note: During the reports it was suggested that the 2009/2010 regular season be scheduled to end the first weekend of March; with playoffs immediately after that
Official’s Report
No report
Elite Coordinators Report (Mary Kaiser)
The Western Region AAA coach will be determined by the March WORL meeting
Western Region chooses the Head Coach. The head coach picks the remainder of the staff. They are encouraged to pick from the unsuccessful head coaching candidates
Western Region does not specify a “tryout completion date” for the AAA team
London is still looking for QUALIFIED shot clock operators for the AA Provincials
Membership Services Report (Keith Kaiser)
There was one Petite C late registrant
With respect to the proposed change from “closest” to “chosen” association – comments on the issue are welcome. Send any comments to Keith who will post them on the website – and will remove any means of identifying the person who made the comment
The revised (for 2009) “Player Intent” form has been posted on the website. Players are encouraged to begin to complete the forms – some already have. Players are requested to complete the form by March 15th. Open A players are included in the Player Intent process. The spreadsheet containing the player intent information will NOT be published until after the completion of the A Provincials.
The Prelims will include Sportsmanship awards.
The results of the Prelims do NOT count toward the wild card rankings
G & T Report (Keith Kaiser)
There have been reports of “difficulties” with the handshakes at the end of the game. All teams are reminded, in the interest of sportsmanship, to shake hands with their opponents and the referees.
5) Formation of ADHOC committee to review A/AA Tryout and Selection Process
Peter reviewed the mandate of the committee which was to make one recommendation in each of the four following categories to improve the process:
Players
Associations
League
Sport
The ORA will make the decision on the “closest” vs. “chosen” in March. The only way this decision could be overturned is by a vote at the ORA AGM.
In the 2008/2009 season only a small percentage of players were affected/unhappy with the existing process – 178 releases were granted; 6 players had difficulties with the process
Peter reviewed some of the suggestions from the committee:
Make the process better for the players – because of the probable change from “closest” to “chosen” the committee felt that no other recommendations were required
Make the process better for the Associations – include qualifying guidelines to host teams
Make the process better for the League/Region – Limit the number of teams at the A/AA level. This will reduce the number of options the player has. This will help support the B and C level teams within Western Region
Make the process better for the Sport – recommend that Western Region and WORL create an Overview Committee. It is not the intent that the committee control the process, the committee would simply monitor what is happening across the region and be prepared to provide assistance and/or serve as mediators where potential problems arises. The committee would also review all Willing-to-Host applications and determine if applicants meet the defined criteria.
The committee members would include:
1 Western Region Executive,
1 WORL Executive,
1 WORL Rep from a small association ( < 80 registrations in 08-09)
1 WORL Rep from a large association ( > 100 registration in 08-09)
1 Committee Chair.
The Region and the League would determine and apply penalties for Associations that disregard the recommendations/direction of the Process Overview Committee
The comments on the “closest” or “chosen” rule are for the use of Western Region only in determining a position for the ORA Board meetings in March where the proposal will be voted on.
The “chosen” rule has both pluses and minuses. The player may “choose” the association they want to play for. The association is under no obligation to “choose” the player.
There is nothing in the current process that restricts the formation of teams. General consensus of those present was NOT to limit the number of A/AA teams next year
Dates for the Declaration Process
March 15th 2009 for Intent to Play form
March 15th 2009 for willing to host AA team
March 15th 2009 for willing to host A team
April 28th 2009 to determine AA roster
June 30 2009 to determine A roster
Note: for the majority of associations present – the registration process is complete by the end of April
Final Proposal will be presented by the ADHOC committee at the march A/AA meeting where they will be voted on. As part of that proposal will be guidelines that associations must meet in order to host
At the next meeting it is very important that each Association is represented.
Each Association gets one vote
6) Next Meeting: March 10, 2009 at the Optimist Hall, Dorchester
7) Motion to Adjourn: Stratford/Dorchester … carried