Volunteer Commitment Program

Overview

North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association (NVMHA) is a community-based, amateur, youth ice hockey association committed to maintaining and building on its reputation of delivering safe and supportive hockey programs in North Vancouver.

Volunteers are essential to the operation and success of the association, and we depend on your volunteer contributions to ensure we can deliver on our commitment. Volunteering provides many personal rewards and helps create a sense of community – the foundation on which we are built. We appreciate all our volunteers and are thankful for your ongoing commitment to the association.

To support our continued success and ensure that the volunteer workload is distributed throughout our membership, NVMHA is implementing a Volunteer Commitment Program for the 2023/2024 season. The Volunteer Commitment Program will encourage all association members to get involved and provide more visible opportunities for members to contribute to the association.

We understand that not everyone is able to assist with some of the more significant volunteer roles, such as a Head Coach, Team Manager, HCSP, or Board Member; however, there are many other volunteer activities with reduced time commitments that have a significant impact on overall operations and success.

Program Requirements

The Volunteer Commitment Program requires families/guardians to volunteer for a minimum of 4 association shifts for each player or commit to one full-time position for each player registered in the Association (see Exempt Full-Time Positions section below).

Association shifts will be communicated out via email throughout the season; they are generally 1 to 1.5 hours in length but may vary depending on role. Some examples of association volunteer opportunities include rep tryout check-in, equipment locker support, tournament check-in or raffle table, tournament timekeeper/scorekeeper, and photo day volunteer.

Families/guardians are responsible for signing up and completing the minimum number of association shifts or committing to a full-time position to meet the Program Requirements.

Completion of association shifts does not exempt families/guardians from volunteering on their teams (e.g. scorekeeper, timekeeper, jersey duty, etc.). Families/guardians must be active members of their teams; there are no exceptions to assisting within the team environment.

Volunteer Fee Assessment

At the time of registration, a $200 mandatory fee for each player registered in a U6 to U18 ice hockey program with NVMHA will be assessed and collected. This fee will be capped at $300 for families/guardians with more than one player in the association.

Credits and refunds will only be provided to those families/guardians where all required shifts/commitments are met as outlined under Program Requirements; no partial credits/refunds will be provided. Reconciliation of shifts completed will occur by the end of the hockey season (March). If all required shifts/commitments are met, a credit will be applied to their account for the subsequent year. Refunds may be requested at the end of the season (March) by families/guardians who have completed all required shifts/commitments and will not have a player returning in the subsequent year. All refund requests can be made by filling this short form out.

If the required shifts/commitments are not met, the $200 fee that was assessed for each player will be withheld, to a maximum of $300.

The goal of the Volunteer Commitment Program is to ensure there are enough volunteers for all of our events and that everyone meets their volunteer commitments. Ideally, everyone will be eligible for a credit or refund following the conclusion of the season. If the mandatory fee is withheld, it will be used to pay people to staff those positions with any net proceeds kept in a separate fund to support player initiatives such as equipment replacement, player awards, or player development.

Opt-Out Option

An opt-out option of $300 per player has been established, with no maximum amount for families/guardians with more than one player in the association. This will allow families/guardians to forgo the Program Requirements for each player that the fee is paid for.

While we prefer that families/guardians contribute by meeting the Program Requirements, we also recognize that some families will prefer to opt-out and pay for their shifts to be covered.

The increased fee for this option is intended as a deterrent and has been set to fully fund the costs of maintaining this option as well as to cover association shift requirements.

Families/guardians who choose the opt-out option are not exempt from volunteering on their teams (e.g. scorekeeper, timekeeper, jersey duty, etc.). Families/guardians must be active members of their teams; there are no exceptions to assisting within the team environment.

Exempt Full-Time Positions

Families/Guardians who hold one of the following full-time positions are not required to complete the minimum number of association shifts, regardless of the number of players they have registered in the association:

• • Member of the Board of Directors (elected positions)
• • Photo Day Coordinator (Board appointed position)
• • Special Events Coordinator (Board appointed position)
• • Sponsorship Coordinator (Board appointed position)
• • Tournament Coordinator (Board appointed position)
• • Volunteer Coordinator (Board appointed position)
• • Webmaster (Board appointed position)
• • Team Head Coach (1 per team)
• • Team Assistant Coaches (up to 2 per team)
• • Team Manager (1 per team)
• • Team HCSP – Safety Persons (generally 1 per team; up to 3 per team, if rostered)
• • Team On-Ice Helpers (up to 3 per team; must be rostered; U6 to U9 teams only)
• • Team Treasurer (1 per team; U11 to U18 teams only)

The Board of Directors may add to or revise the list of exempt full-time positions from time-to-time.