May 02, 2023 | Angel Barbisan | 1045 views
U16AAA CARDS UPDATE
Last evening the Sault Major Hockey Association board met and it was decided that although we were granted the U16AAA cards this year, we would take a leave of absence for the 2023-24 season.
The association submitted the application for this set of cards before the January 20th deadline. Currently there is a moratorium on new AAA Teams within the OHF. The NOHA is permitted to have 25 AAA Teams across all age divisions and currently they have 24. We were notified by the NOHA on March 10th that while they supported our application, the remaining set of cards was granted to the Timmins U15AAA. Due to the moratorium our request would require OHF approval. The request was put forward and we were notified on April 20th that we were approved for the U16AAA cards by the OHF.
This was a difficult decision based on extensive discussion, but given the lateness that the OHF awarded the association the cards , and the insufficient numbers to carry both a U16AAA and U18AAA as seen by the registration numbers, this was the only option available to us at this time.
It is the plan of the association to have the U16AAA program up and running for the 2024-25 season. As an association, our goal is to promote, enhance, and develop hockey within our area at all levels and calibers. At present, our association oversees several AA and AAA Rep teams from U10AA to U18AA and U12AAA to U18AAA. We have been building our development base over the years to ensure we can support all of the teams in the future.
We are striving to have a continuous development pathway and the U16AAA team would provide an additional steppingstone by providing a setting where players can develop and showcase their skills at the highest level and reach their full potential. With this in mind we will actively work on building our program starting this coming fall.
Sault Major Board of Directors