Discussions

Brandon have a strong group of girls that could easily form a competitive U18 team. It seems strange that a few parents have decided that all Brandon U18 players must go to play in Southwest. It appears that these few people that made this agreement, for the benefit of their own daughters, do not care about all the other girls that are not able to or cannot afford to travel to Hartney to practice and play. Southwest cut their own regional players as well as Brandon players. Thoughts

Parents are ruining the game… I could go on, but I think that’s enough said!

But why not? If there are enough players why not have a Brandon team?

If Brandon had an U18 AAA girls team, it probably would reduce number of pool of great players for the Westman Wildcats and YellowHead Chiefs and make their respected teams weaker. The only possible idea is for the Westman Wildcats to relocate to either Brandon or to Souris. That's highly unlikely. So its the status quo of either drive 50 minutes to Hartney (and maybe play at not as nice as an arena as some others) or drive a little over an hour to Shoal Lake remains. So I guess its going have to be either parents car pooling the kids to either Hartney or Shoal Lake or have the kids go to school at either community until something changes.  
 
I done the hockey circuit for U18 girls a few years ago watching a couple of cousins play with the WIldcats. Great hockey and in some ways, a better game then the NHL.

I don’t think affordability is really a factor when it comes to playing in Brandon or for Westman (in Hartney). Especially since if Brandon gets a league fees will be about $5000/player.  
 
I do think if Brandon doesn’t have a team, the player should be able to choose what direction to go though instead of the only option being south to Westman.  
 
Also 45 minutes travel time is nothing. I know some people that traveled 90 minutes one way for their AAA team.

 
 
Edited by 12jake, 2023-04-09 19:09:23

I guess the real question is not that Southwest could have a super team, maybe giving 20 more girls a chance to compete at the highest level. If you sent the top Brandon AAA U18 boys to Southwest you would have a super team as well but will not happen so why in Girls?  
 
Edited by 12jake, 2023-04-09 19:09:05

I know some 10yr old kids who are already playing both brandon and winnipeg programs driving 2hrs each way a few times a week. 45mins for a late yrs teen is nothing for hockey. Those with deep pockets distance is pretty much a non factor especially when many of them travel together.

I read the BS article. I completely agree Brandon should have their own team. I am not sure what the problem is. The ones that are already signed up and playing in Hartney can continue to do so.  
 
I see a lot of talent out there on the ice. There are lots of girls that get cut that probably shouldn’t be. This would definitely give more girls a chance to play at a higher level. What’s wrong with that?  
 
Also there are a lot of families who do struggle to pay the hockey fees and do the running it takes. We are one of them but we make sacrifices elsewhere because our daughter LOVES the sport. Is she AAA material? Time will tell as she gets older but knowing we could play locally and have the costs reduced by being local is something we appreciate. I am sure we aren’t the only ones. I think it would be unfortunate for someone to not tryout because of financial reasons but it does happen.  
 
Good luck to those pushing forward for this change.

Unfortunately if someone can not afford to drive to hartney for practices and games then they definitely can not afford AAA hockey fees and also can not afford the travel that comes with aaa. Also the U15 AAA Brandon team cut 3 Brandon girls and brought in 3 Westman girls. Thoughts?

Is anyone aware by Hockey Manitoba protocols how many female players must be registered in a region before they will consider a aaa team? Just because you have numbers for several years means nothing. I have a suggestion for those people that are truly invested in this that they call Hockey Manitoba and get the FACTS because there is a likely more to the story than what was printed in the Brandon Sun  
 
Edited by Bob1962, 2023-04-13 07:25:37

Cost aside as all sports are expensive. Maybe time means nothing to some but driving does add almost 2 hours more time for every practise. Guess some older AAA players can drive themselves. Issue then is safety in winter driving hoping nothing happens. And, Yes, some do drive much further to play but seems like a 5 minute drive within the city would be preferable for most parents and players.

Of course a 5 minute drive to the rink would be preferred by parents no one is arguing that but the reality is welcome to the world of hockey. Not everyone has the luxury of driving 5 minutes to the rink. If a AAA team is what is wanted for “convenience” then that is by far the wrong reason. Please contact Hockey Manitoba if you would like real/ true facts about this AAA team! Brandon was already denied by Hockey Manitoba but some are acting like toddlers and just won’t take no for an answer! Let all get the facts and numbers from Hockey Manitoba not from the Brandon Sun that interviews 2 parents from Brandon

 
 
Edited by 12jake, 2023-04-14 07:51:07

If you seem to know the real true facts then why not share them?

Fact #1: studies done that there needs to be 400 females registered in hockey from ages 6-18 within a region to even be considered for a aaa team!! Just to apeze you the number of females decreases as they age up!  
Curious if you’d like more facts??? I have done reasearch as maybe others should as well  
The list goes on with facts! I’ve done my research so now it’s time for others to do the same  
 
Edited by Bob1962, 2023-04-14 18:28:28

Please let us know the source for your information stating there need to be 400 girls registered and if possible how many are registered in Westman South, Yellowhead, Brandon and Central Plains as those are our bordering regions. That would be 26 female teams at 15 players per team in a region. That is highly unlikely.  
 
Edited by 12jake, 2023-04-14 19:58:32

Brandon is not a region in female hockey they are westman. Brandon is a region for male hockey

When female hockey started to take off Hockey Brandon did not have anywhere for girls to play at a higher level outside of joining a boys AA or AAA team. The top level girls wanted a place to play and so an agreement was made whereby girls could play in Hartley or Shoal Lake. Times have changed. Hockey Brandon’s female numbers are soaring. There is no reason a team could not be based here. We need to be proactive in keeping our children active and healthy. Not sure why there seems to be a lot of anger and “needs for data/facts” around this. If Bdn can have boys AA and AAA teams, why not a female team as well?

I am genuinely curious as to why this matters to you and others so much? I read that any girl’s currently playing for the wildcats can continue to do so? If there are enough players for all teams then why not?

Everyone knows Brandon is not a region for Girls AAA U18 hockey at the present time. Question Bob1962 was where you are getting your "facts"regarding the 400 females playing before a region can have a AAA U18 team???  
 
Edited by 12jake, 2023-04-15 12:14:46

I’m not here to banter back and forth. I have stated a fact. You choose not to believe so contact the source yourself. You maybe surprised  
 
Edited by Bob1962, 2023-04-15 14:05:51

There is a Memorandum of Understanding in place dated 2019 and in effect until the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. Hockey Brandon Board of Directors has already voted down this proposal 2 times. Hockey Manitoba has also rejected this proposal 2 times.  
 
The 2006 Brandon-based current Wildcat players, which were mentioned in the April 8, 2023 Brandon Sun article, have not been consulted, nor have they been i:ncluded in conversations. It should be noted, that it was stated, that those same players would be released to play where they wanted. The reality is, they are not the decision-makers. There is no guarantee that the players would get to finish their minor hockey on the team they have committed to all along. There is not a written, signed formal document – which they haveclearly stated their disregard for formalized agreement documents.  
 
 
 
A decision such as this will affect all the teams in the Manitoba U18 AAA Female Hockey League and the Rural Manitoba U18 Female Hockey League and have profoundly negative results for several teams spanning different leagues.  
 
 
 
• Hockey Brandon had 158 female hockey players over all age-groups this past season. Enrollment numbers have gone from 159 in 2016, to a high of 167 in 2017. It has fluctuated from a low of 154 in 2019 and high 150s consistently. It is not growingin numbers.  
 
 
• The total number of eligible U18 Brandon players is 37 – based on 2022/23 registrations and assuming all players return next season. 5 of those 37 are the 2006 Wildcats. Of the 32remaining, 20 currently play House League, of which the majority have played House League the entire time.  
o 2006-born Brandon girls: 2 House League and 5 Wildcats  
o 2007-born Brandon girls: 3 House League, 2 High School hockey, 3 Central Plains, 3 Wildcats  
o 2008-born Brandon girls: 11 House League, 7 U15AAA, 1 Wildcat  
 
 
• Female League rules state that 3 underage players (2009) may be rostered to a U18 team. If 3 U15-eligible players are rostered to a U18 team – the U15 team will also be significantly negatively impacted.  
o 2009-born Brandon girls: 4 House League, 1 U15AAA Parkland, 7 U15AAA Brandon  
 
 
• Westman U15 AAA has 9 graduating players this season and Westman Wildcats U18AAA has 5 graduating players from Westman South and 2 from Brandon. There were 42 confirmed eligible players at U18AAA Wildcat tryouts last Fall – from Brandon and Westman South combined.  
 
 
• Central Plains had 7 players from their region and the rest of their roster comprised of players from Brandon, Westman, and Winnipeg.  
 
 
• Eastman is the largest rural region and they also currently rely on Winnipeg players to fill a competitive roster.  
 
 
• Wildcats hosted their Spring Camp this past week and did have 62 participants. Of those 62 participants (55 skaters, 7 goalies) 13 are 2010-born players and not eligible players for the 2023/24 season as per Hockey Manitoba rules. 20 are 2009-born.  
 
 
It was indicated they expect 40 players at tryouts, comparing it to being “essentially the same as an average U18AAA Wheat Kings boys camp.” – Male hockey has nearly 4 times the amount of players involved in hockey in Manitoba. Where are the 40 girls coming from? This i:ncludes girls who currently play in the Rural Manitoba U18 Female Hockey League – some of who have no interest in playing at a AAA level of commitment. Brandon U15AAA has 11 graduating players – 7 are Brandon players and 4 out of region (2 Yellowhead and 2 Westman South).  
 
 
 
The 22/23 U15AAA Wheat Kings have won back-to-back Rural Provincial Championships (meaning the Rural League) – they do not play Winnipeg teams in league play – of which there are 6 Winnipegat the Female U15AAA level. They go down to 2 U18 AAA Female Winnipeg teams. They had 4 out of Brandon-region players on their team. They outshot 2 teams – Parkland and Norman, and not Norman in every game played. Shot counts during league play against the top teams are 471 shots for and 779 shots against. In Showcase games with Winnipeg teams the shots ranged from 37-18, 45-16, 46-19 against-for.  
 
 
 
Guidelines and recommendations for regions for a sustainable and viable U18 AAA Female League were agreed to by all Hockey Manitoba Female Midget Committee (2019) regional representatives. The Committee recommended 400 female registrants in a region to be a baseline for a sustainable U18 program. Hockey Brandon has not had more than 167. And Westman South had 200 registered for 2022/23. Historically, not much different than that. As a combined region, we are not hitting the recommended baseline.  
 
I'm not sure what more information you would like. Research has been done by many. I wish people would listen to facts and not what some people say in a news article.  
Thank you for your time and respectfully this issue was never ever meant to be one region against another as some see it. It's easy to say "we have numbers we deserve a AAA team" but there really is more to it than most know  
 
Edited by Bob1962, 2023-04-16 00:12:01

he answered your questions.