Volunteer Policy
This page is in process of being updated for the 2024-2025 season.
There is a mandatory Volunteer commitment for each participant registered with Cloverdale MHA (with the exception of players in the U21 Division).
Our Association members have told us over and over again that more tournaments are what they want. As a result, we continue to rely on Tournaments as our primary fundraiser for our Association each season. In order for these tournaments to be successful, we need our families to step up and volunteer.
This volunteer work of the members in our Association provides benefit to all the Colts in a number of ways:
- Provides Tournament revenue to the Association - over $50K per season
- Provides Tournament opportunities for our Colts teams.
- Creates a positive view of Cloverdale MHA in the community through the success and publicity of our Tournaments.
In addition to tournaments, there are also volunteer opportunities during Evaluations, and other events we may hold throughout the season. Hockey would be a lot more expensive without volunteer effort.
As well, volunteering gives our members a chance to collaborate with others, and get more hands on in our programs.
Volunteer Deposit
- Each family (who did not opt out at the beginning of the season) has selected a $300 pre-approved charge on their TeamSnap account (post-dated April 1, 2025). This charge will be removed upon completion of the family volunteer requirement.
Volunteer Requirements
One (1) child playing. Your family will need to complete:
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- eight (8) credit hours, or
- a single sixteen (16) credit hours position.
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More than one (1) child playing. Your family will need to complete:
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- sixteen (16) credit hours, or
- a single sixteen (16) credit hours position.
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OPT OUT Information
For the 2024-2025 season, we are again offering an OPT OUT option. While we prefer that our families contribute through their volunteer hours, we also recognize that some families prefer to simply opt out and pay for their shifts to be covered.
- Each family will pay a fee of $300 per player during player registration to opt out. This amount is intended as a deterrent, as well as to fully cover the costs associated to the program.
- This will allow that family to opt out of volunteering on behalf of each player this fee is paid for,
- In the case where a family has more that two players, only two fees will be required to be paid to opt out for all players in that family.
- These funds will be used to pay for the staffing of the shifts for these players, as well as to fund operating costs to run the volunteer program. Any remainder will be reinvested into Association programs.
Volunteer Roles and Shifts
| Positions (16+ credit hours) |
|---|
| Member of Board of Directors (12) |
| Risk Manager |
| Equipment Manager |
| Coordinators: Tournaments/Volunteer/Media/Sponsors |
| Division Managers (at least 7) |
| Tournament Committee Chairs (2 per tournament) |
| Tournament Treasurer (1 per tournament) |
| Tournament Volunteer Coordinator (1 per tournament) |
| PCAHA Volunteers (3 or 4) |
| Team Head Coach |
| Team Manager (1 per team) |
| Team Assistant Coaches (up to 2 per team U9-U18, 3 per U7 team only) |
| Team HCSP (1 per team) |
| Team Treasurer (1 per team) |
| Team Tournament Rep (1 per team) |
| Shifts (1 or 2 credit hours per shift) |
|---|
| Evaluation/Tryout Volunteer Sign In |
| Evaluation/Tryout Time Keeper |
| Evaluation/Tryout Bench Staff |
| Evaluation/Tryout HCSP |
| Evaluation/Tryout Pinnie Collector/Clean-Up/Runner |
| Evaluation/Tryout On Ice Helper |
| Tournament Office Staff |
| Tournament 50/50 |
| Tournament Raffle |
| Tournament Concession |
| Tournament Time Keeper |
| Tournament Score Keeper |
| Photo Day Volunteers |
| Parade Volunteers |
| Equipment Handout/Collection Volunteers |
| Other Event Volunteers |
If there is another volunteer role that you feel you could commit to that would help CMHA, please contact either your Division Director.
Volunteer Sign-up process
- Sign-up for volunteer positions using the online link provided by your Division Director or Volunteer Coordinator. Select the time and shift type that you will be able to cover & provide the name of the volunteer person and cell phone number they can be reached on during the shift.
- Sign-up links for the tryouts and evaluations will be emailed out around 1 week before the first tryout/evaluation start date to the whole association.
- Please arrive 15-20 minutes early for each shift to check in at the office.
- *NEW* Volunteer sign up program for the 2024/2025 season. Please ensure you create an account with Sign Up Genius before you sign up for your first shift. Easy track shifts and hours completed with your parent account in Sign Up Genius.
- More information can be found here: CMHA Volunteer Signup
FAQ
What do I do if I don’t have a cheque?
Volunteer cheques are no longer collected. If you do not complete your family volunteer requirement, a pre-approved $300 fee will be charged to your account.
Why are U21 families not required to complete the volunteer hours?
We do not offer tournaments or tryouts/evaluations for U21 teams. If a U21 tournament is held, those teams will be required to run their own tournament.
How did you decide on the $300 deposit/fee amounts?
We looked at programs offered by other Associations both within Hockey and in other sports, as well as the commitment we need to ask for from our members. Many associations use a much higher amount, and we may further adjust this deposit in the future depending on how the program performs. We have decided in the 2024-2025 season to adjust the deposit to $300 and keep the opt out to $300.
How did you arrive at 8 credit hours per player?
We looked at all of our required positions for the year and divided it by the amount of expected registered players, discounting those families that would be taking full time positions.
I help on my team - isn't that enough?
Each family is expected to also contribute to the volunteer needs of their team, in addition to the Association volunteer commitment. Only the roles specified as Full Time or Part Time contribute to the volunteer credit commitment.
Examples of team roles that may be needed by your team, but are not considered part of the volunteer credit commitment:
| Team Support Positions (Non Credited) |
|---|
| Assistant Coaches (beyond the 2 credited positions) |
| HCSP (back up) |
| On Ice Helpers |
| 2nd Treasurer/Co-Signer |
| Team Event Coordinator |
| Team Fundraising Coordinator |
| Game Score Keeper |
| Game Time Keeper |
Why does someone in a full time position not have to do credited shifts?
The commitment for a full time position is much higher than the 8+ hrs required to complete the shift requirements, with all of the positions requiring over 16 hrs of time commitment.
Why do families with 3+ children only have to complete 16 credited shifts?
We looked at the Association families, and this is a very small part of the entire Colts organization and these parents are already paying registration fees for 3+ kids and having the extra time commitment of getting 3+ kids to and from the games, practices, etc. Frankly, we decided to give them a bit of a break.
I have 2+ players and signed up for a full-time position - do I still need to sign up for 8 credit hours worth of shifts for the second player?
No. Because of the time commitment of a full time position (usually much more than 16 hours), volunteering for one of these positions will fulfill the hours required for both players.
Isn’t this just another way for the association to make money?
No. The goal of the program is to ensure that we have enough volunteers for all of our events and that everyone meets their volunteer commitments. Ideally, CMHA does not want to cash any cheques during the season. If we do happen to cash a cheque we use those funds to pay people to staff those people.
Does this mean that you are paying your replacement staff $30-40/hr?
No, generally we provide our replacement staff with a $20/hr honorarium. The extra money is to incentivize people to meet their volunteer commitment. Many associations that we spoke to found that if the deposit was too small people would simply pay funds and not complete their hours. This is not the goal of this program and we will continue to adjust to deposit amount to ensure that people are meeting their volunteer hours rather than simply opting out of their commitment.
What happens if I’m an A parent and I’m unable to find enough time during the tryouts/evaluations?
There are a number of team official positions which are available for each team. In addition, all Association members are welcome to sign-up to volunteer at any of our C tournaments to complete their volunteer commitment. Finally, we have asked that anyone taking a full time position do not take a shift as this will ensure that we have enough positions available for everyone to meet their commitment. U18 & U21 players can also fulfil some shifts.
That being said, we’d encourage all families to complete their commitment as early in the season as possible so that you are not scrambling at the end of the year to make up your hours.
What happens if I cancel my cheque before it’s cashed?
If we are unable to collect the owed funds we will add the funds and an NSF fee to your child’s registration fees for the coming year(s). We also will not approve player transfers to other associations or organizations if there are outstanding fees on a player’s account.
What happens if I don't complete all my hours?
Completed hours are tallied and submitted to the Administrator at the end of season. Families who have not completed their volunteer requirement will have a $300 charge added to their account for the next season.