On March 4
the Ontario Hockey Federation approved changes to the regulations which govern
minor hockey in the Lake Ontario Region (LOR). The LOR is composed
of the Greater Toronto Hockey League and the following Ontario Minor Hockey
Association centres: Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering, Ajax, Oakville and Brampton.
Stouffville is part of the LOR’s extended geography by virtue of its membership
in the Markham AAA zone and is impacted to a limited extent by the new
regulations as they relate to AAA programs. The new regulations
take effect with the upcoming 2017-18 season.
A Stouffville resident who wishes to play AAA hockey at Minor Atom, Atom, Minor Peewee, or Peewee must try out with the Waxers. If they are offered a position with the Waxers they may accept, or return to Stouffville and try out for a local rep team. If a player is not offered a position by the Waxers after attending their try outs he may request a release from Markham to try out for another AAA organization in the LOR, or return to Stouffville. At Minor Bantam, Bantam, Minor Midget or Midget a player can request a “permission to skate” to try out for any LOR organization which offers AAA programming without first being waived by the Waxers. Any player who is unsuccessful in obtaining a spot on a AAA team, but wishes to play rep hockey may do so by returning to Stouffville and trying out for a Clipper team.
A Stouffville resident who played on a non-Waxer AAA team in the LOR this past season may return to that same team next season without first trying out with the Waxers or obtaining a “permission to skate”. Should they wish to transfer to a different AAA team, however, they would be required to first try out for the Waxers (Peewee and below), or obtain a “permission to skate” from their home centre (Minor Bantam and older). Note, the quota for imports on AAA teams in the LOR has been reduced from 5 to 4.
The foregoing is an abbreviated version of the key LOR regulation changes that could potentially impact a Stouffville resident. More information will be available in the coming weeks and we will keep you informed. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact the Hockey Office; if we don’t know the correct answer we will make sure we get it for you. Beware of the “experts” you encounter in the rinks. There is already information circulating about the new regulations that is flat out wrong. You could waste a lot of time and make some serious mistakes based on bad information.
Attached are some commonly asked questions as well as the actual LOR regulations Please remember that any new or existing regulations pertaining to A or AA programs in the LOR do not apply to Stouffville, Nobleking and Caledon.
LOR_Changes_-_Frequently_asked_questions.pdf
LOR_Regulations_E46-E82.pdf