What Is The HUB League ?

The League is an inter-city competitive hockey league in Hamilton,

Ontario. Teams are registered with Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario on Member League rosters and most of our teams are very competitive at the "A" level.

The League consists of the following Age Divisions: Novice, Minor Atom, Atom, Minor PeeWee, PeeWee, Minor Bantam, Bantam, Minor Midget and Midget.  Players must be residents of the "OLD" City of Hamilton.

The league's first season was 1988-89.

Administration

The league is administered by a dedicated group of volunteers who

spend countless hours trying to make it all happen.  Please remember they are doing the best job they can with the time and talents available to them and they, like you, do have jobs and families. Supporting the development of our youth through Hockey is a genuine interest with these people but it is not their life. Please consider your own contribution and commitment prior to criticizing.

Any team or appointed volunteer  can request to present a concern or recommendation at a Director's meeting. Parental concerns should come through their team officials or Division Convenor.

The League is Incorporated and its Constitution guarantees a democratic election of officers. Each team has 2 votes at the League Annual and General meetings and each appointed or elected member also has 1 vote at those meetings.

League Polices And Philosophies

Our policies and philosophy is circulated annually in our Team Manual - see your coach/manager for additional information.

Discrimination

We support the Ontario Human Rights Act. Any discrimination matters

will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities. We will request the

City of Hamilton ban anyone convicted of such an offence from Hamilton

owned arenas.

Ethics

No Director or appointed member will be allowed to participate in a

discussion about or in any decision made concerning an issue that could

even remotely involve one of their family members. The responsibility

to declare a possible conflict resides with the individual and

ultimately with the League President.

Player Movement

The Hamilton Minor Hockey Council Constitution recognizes that there

are different levels of player ability but that for whatever reason

players wish to participate at a certain level. No player can be forced

to move to another classification but players should be encouraged to

play at the highest level their capabilities permit.  The HUB League will do everything possible within the rules of the Council and the Alliance to support players in their hockey ventures.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The City of Hamilton has a Zero Tolerance Policy that penalizes verbal and physical acts in their facilities.  The HUB League will report any incidents to City Officials and support any decisions made by the Department of Culture and Recreation.

Playing Time

Our belief is that if a player is good enough to make a team he

deserves a fair share of playing time. In general we recommend that

coaches not shorten their benches in the 1st two periods except for

penalty killing and power plays. 

No one can control playing time in competitive hockey but players

that follow the rules and work hard should be on the ice regularly. The

final decision always belongs to the coach but the philosophy is

published in our team manual entitled "Understandings Regarding Ice

Time".

Teams

The HUB League is made up of teams created "At Large" by the Board of Directors.  Ideally, each Division should consist of six (6) teams.The Board reserves the right to accept teams form outside the "Old" City as necessary to provide a balanced League.

Coach Selection

Coaches are selected based on an application & interview process by the HUB League Technical Development Group.

Registration & Tryouts

All HUB players must be residents of the "OLD" City of Hamilton.  Registration Fees are a flat non-refundable fee established annually by the HUB Board of Directors.  This fee is to be paid at the time the Tryout Registration form is completed.  Players begin their first tryout with the team of their choice.  The player is only allowed ONE tryout in the first round of tryouts.  Commencing with the SECOND round, players may attend as many tryouts as they wish at no additional cost.  Tryout schedules will be published in late March each year for Spring Tryouts and late August for September Tryouts.

Responsibilities

The HUB League is responsible for:

Coach Selection

League Operating Budget

Team, Player & Volunteer Registration & Insurance Coverage

Playing Rules & Standard Operating Procedures

Discipline

Providing one (1) practice hour per team per week

Game Schedule - Season - Playoffs - Championships - Awards

Tournament & Exhibition Approvals - Travel Permits

Team Budgets & Team Rule Approvals

Team Sweaters

Sponsorship Limits

Technical Development & Underage approval in conjunctions with the Hamilton Minor Hockey Council's T.D.C.

Representation on the Hockey Council & communication with the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario

Ensuring HUB Policies are not in conflict with those of the Hamilton Minor Hockey Council

Team Head Coaches are responsible for

Player tryout registration

Player selection

Team Budget preparation for League approval

Team Rule preparation for League approval

Team fund raising

Team Philosophy

Police Checks

All volunteers connected with the HUB League from team manager to

the President must annually receive a police check through the

Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police.

Certification of Volunteers and Game Officials

All Coaches

Must be DS1 Certified and Speak Out certified

All Trainers

Must have a valid trainer's card and Speak Out certified

Officials

Must be Level 2 minimum

Game Officials - Body Checking - Contact

The league uses a 2 man system in the Novice, Minor Atom, Atom and Minor PeeWee Divisions.  Body checking starts at the Minor PeeWee level.

Major PeeWee, Bantam and Midget divisions utilize a 3 man system with

development of Officials done mainly at the Major PeeWee Level.

We do permit a 2 man system for Exhibition games and will use a 2

man system for games should an official not show for some reason.

Each month the Referee Development Group attempts to introduce

promising House League Officials to HUB play. They also attempt to move promising HUB Officials into REP Tier Games.

Being in the middle gives us a large pool of officials to draw from

and we get to see many different officials and styles over a season. 

Officials are monitored by approved Supervisors under the auspices of

the Referee Development Group and must attend annual re-certification

clinics.

Game Schedules

Regular Season

Novice, Minor Atom, Atom,Minor PeeWee, PeeWee and Minor BantamTeams play a 28 game regular season. Stop

Time,3-10 minute periods with a 1 hour curfew on the arena clock.

Bantam, Minor Midget and Midget Teams play a 24 game regular season. Stop Time,

3-15 minute periods but with a 1½ hour curfew on the arena clock.

1st place teams in each division are offered the opportunity to

participate in the Alliance Playdowns.

Playoffs

All teams make it to the playoffs and based on final league

standings enter either the A or B Flight. 1st and 2nd winners from each

flight cross over and play a best of 3 series semi-final with the

winners advancing to a best of 3 Championship. Overtime is available

during semi-finals.

Normal Season

Tryouts for Novice to Minor Midget divisions follow the REP tryouts in

late April. Teams must select a minimum of 11 players. The balance of

the roster is selected during tryout/practice hours in September.

Midget teams are selected in September.

Our regular season game schedule commences the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The regular season finishes

just prior to the March Break Week and playoffs commence following the March Break. Playoffs last approximately 3 weeks .

Affiliated Players/High School

HUB players can be affiliated with the AA and AAA teams but the

choice is theirs.

Those that wish to be considered AP players are submitted on a

listing to the REP Coaches for their consideration.

HUB teams can register "AP's" from their own Association's House

League, if registered with the Alliance, or from a lower classification

HUB Team.

HUB players are permitted by the Hamilton Public and Separate School

Boards to play high school hockey.

League Structure

The HUB League is affiliated with the Hamilton Minor Hockey Council

and with the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. It is administered by a

Board of Directors and appointed volunteers.

Each Division has an appointed Division Convenor. 

Directors are elected at the Annual Meeting based on our

Constitution.

The following people have voice and vote at all Annual or General

Meetings

Division Convenor (1 per Division)

Each Team has 2 votes

Each appointed volunteer has 1 vote

Each Director has 1 vote

A total of 110 to 120 votes could be available at any meeting<

Any registered team official is invited to attend Annual or General

Meetings..

Information Availability

The Constitution is copied to all Directors, Recreational Associations, Association Contacts and the Hamilton Minor Hockey Council Executive Committee. It is available from this Website.  All other documentation is issued annually (September) in our Operations Manual . It contains such information as:

Standard Operating Procedures

Playing Rules and Tie Breaking Formulas

Playoff Formats

Due dates for information filing

League Forms

League Policies

Draft Schedules

Contact Listing - phone and fax numbers

Season Calendar

It is our intention to provide as much information to our members as

possible on this Website.

Should you need additional information please contact a Director.