First 2008 Registration Deadline Approaching

While we aren't yet near the end of registration, you should know that the deadline for past-members to register for the 2008 season, before we begin advertising outside the membership, is this Wednesday, January 16th. We already have more than 250 players registered to date, with a few divisions filling up faster than last year, so don't delay - avoid the disappointment that many ex-players faced last year when the league filled up quickly and they were left on the outside looking in.

Based on the questions that have been coming in since registration opened up on January 2nd, here are some FAQs and answers from the Registrar:

1. Reciprocal Friends: The NSIHL is one of the very few sports organizations that allows friends to name each other upon registration with the aim of playing together on a team. This extra benefit actually prolongs the amount of volunteer time that coaches devote to the draft process when picking teams, so please do not attempt to name two friends on the registration form - it will most likely result in your child not playing with a friend at all. Also, this system only works when two friends name each other, so if you do not have a commitment from the other family to name your child, you should seek another friend to name. By the way, siblings in the same age division do not need to name each other - they are automatically placed on the same team.
2. Secondary Email Address: Many families have asked that both parents/guardians be included on the league's email contact list, so we have recently added that function to our contact records. If you would like to add one more email address, please email the Registrar at and provide your child's first and last name, your primary email address and the secondary address. Federal fitness tax receipts will be emailed only to the primary email address.

Hi to all,

As we get set to start our 12th season as the NSIHL, I would like to take this time to thank all of you who have already registered. By getting your kids signed up as early as possible it makes things a lot easier for the volunteers working behind the scenes. We are going to have to cap our number of players to about last year's (706) due to a compressed season with similar floor time. The sooner we get our players registered the easier it is to set up our coaching staff, volunteers and the schedule. With this in place it will make the start to our program a lot smoother. All of you that have been around in the past can see how busy the first week usually is with evaluations and drafting teams. We are getting better at it every year, but you can really help by registering early. Don't be disappointed. When we're full, there will be no exceptions.

Thanks to all of you who attended the AGM in November. This year's meeting was another success as far as attendance goes. We had around fifty members attend. This is a huge jump from three years ago when we saw three people show up. This year we had four board members re-elected and welcomed one new member to the board (welcome to Donna Sas!) We would like to thank Jay Loder for his time spent working on our board. Jay has decided to "get a life." Three cheers for Jay!

Please mark the dates for the Swap Meet on your calendars. This has become a very successful tradition, giving the members a chance to get the gear they need at affordable prices. A lot of you have more than one child playing and it can get very expensive. By bringing your old gear in to sell, we all win. Every year we have more buyers than we have things to sell. Skates, girdles and pants are the most sought after items. So please, if you don't need it, sell it. Last year every thing was gone in about 1 ½ hours, so please come early.

See you all in April.

Mike Smith
President NSIHL

BUY: Mark your calendar for the league's annual Swap Meet set for Saturday, March 1st, from 1:00pm to 2:30pm in the Esplanade Room (above the rink, on the east side) of the Harry Jerome Arena. Benefit from our members' growth by buying outgrown equipment at bargain prices. It's amazing how fast the merchandise sells, so don't be disappointed - get there early and get in line. Every year we set new records for both sales and the pace in which one member's pile of gear turns into another member's pile of gold.

SELL: We can't have a Swap Meet without items to sell, so please check out these two important dates before the Swap Meet to bring your used gear in for assessment and valuation. Please stop by with your clean, used gear on Sunday, Feb. 24th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and Thursday, Feb. 28th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Experienced NSIHL volunteers will be on-hand to accept your equipment and help arrive at its proper value based on its age and condition.

The league retains 25% of the selling price of the equipment and the net proceeds generated by the Swap Meet are used to subsidize registration fees for children who might not otherwise be able to afford to play in the league.

As an initiative to promote good health in children, the federal government promised to include a fitness tax credit for the coming tax preparation season based on activities participated in during 2007. If your child played inline hockey for the NSIHL last season, you will receive a fitness tax receipt for each child that played based on the net value of each registration. These should be sent to you by mid-February to the primary email address you gave us last year.

Some of you may remember the situation in 2007 when we failed to get enough 15-17 year old registrants in the Bantam Competitive division and were forced to fold all the players into a super-sized Bantam Recreational division of 16 teams. While that experiment turned out pretty well, we're trying once again to resurrect Bantam Comp this year. Of course, it's existence will be totally dependent on parents and kids getting together to decide the best Bantam level to play in and completing the registration process early enough for the league's board of directors to march forward with confidence in the numbers.

For full-time goalies playing in the Squirt, Peewee and Bantam divisions, please take note that the league will no longer be providing goalie sticks. If you are playing in the nets this year in the older age groups, you might want to take advantage of the season-ending sales on ice hockey gear at local sports retailers and buy yourself a new goalie stick. The league will continue to provide all of the pads that you'll need to keep playing safely: chest protector, glove, blocker and leg pads.

Although there are many parents who already volunteer their time to coach or help manage their kids' inline teams, we are always in need of coaching help in most divisions. If you would like to give a hand in coaching or assistant-coaching a team, either sign up on your child's online registration form (a new feature introduced this year) or send an email to . One of the benefits of coaching in the NSIHL is the traditional Coaches game that takes place every Sunday evening throughout the season.