Minor Hockey Association of the Year Award

Canmore Minor Hockey Association

Canmore Minor Hockey Association is being recognized as the Minor Hockey Association of the Year. Canmore’s desire to provide a fun and positive environment for children is directly aligned with the vision and mission of Hockey Alberta. They have established strong policies, procedures and is known for providing clear direction, training and support to their volunteers, allowing a fun, safe and positive environment to evolve. Canmore has also been active in seeking out grants to support player and coach development and have been proactive in offering flexible program options for families and working with neighbouring communities to provide opportunities for players outside of Canmore’s boundaries to access minor hockey.

St. Albert Minor Hockey Association:

St. Albert Minor Hockey Association (SAMHA) has shown to be one of the most progressive organizations keeping the development of their players and support of volunteers at the forefront. Throughout the 2022-23 season, the SAMHA invested in coach education tools, resources and training. They focused on developing the “whole player” by providing education around conduct, gender education and social media and piloting a mental health app. SAMHA created an Athlete Advisory Council to better understand and improve the player experience, and took steps to listen to membership on their perspectives of the needs within SAMHA.

Whitecourt Minor Hockey Association

Whitecourt Minor Hockey and their key volunteers showed great leadership throughout the 2021-2022 season not only in their community but regionally and provincially as well. Significant steps were taken to review their overall governance, policies and overall delivery of Hockey within Whitecourt. Whitecourt is a proud member of Hockey Alberta and have always contributed to discussion and collaboration sessions in efforts of improving the participant experience. A key area of focus for WMHA was in growing and supporting the opportunities for female hockey, which will continue to benefit both Whitecourt and surrounding communities.