Volunteer Policy

In order to ensure the continued success of the many programs that Cloverdale MHA runs each year, we have in place a mandatory Volunteer commitment for each family of a child 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 is what they want to see. 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:

  1. Provides revenue to the Association - over $50K per season
  2. Provides Tournament opportunities for our Colts teams.
  3. Creates a positive view of Cloverdale MHA in the community through the success and publicity of these events.

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.

Volunteer Deposit 

  • Each family participating in the program (who did not opt out at the beginning of the season) will have a $200 pre-approved charge applied to their TeamSnap account (post-dated April 1, 2024).

Volunteer Requirements

One (1) child playing. Your family will need to complete:

      • eight (8) credit hours, or
      • a single sixteen (16) credit hours position.

More than one (1) child playing. Your family will need to complete:

        • sixteen (16) credit hours, or
        • a single sixteen (16) credit hours position.

OPT OUT Information

For the 2023-2024 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 participating in the program will pay a fee of $300 per player during player registration. The increased 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 (20+ 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)
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 as per the sign up sheet.
  • Sign-up links for the tryouts and evaluations will be emailed out around 1 week before the tryout/evaluation start date to the impacted division/groups first. For example, U15 rep families will get the first chance to signup for times in their tryouts. Families of C/House players and Initiation (U6-U9) players will not receive their signup schedules until the evaluation skates have been finalized at the end of August.
  • Please arrive 15-20 minutes early for your shift to check in at the office.  To receive credit for your shift, scan the large QR code to complete an online form with your contact information and player to whom the credit is to be applied.
  • It is a parent's responsibility to track completed and outstanding hours for their family requirement.
  • More information can be found here:  CMHA Volunteer Signup

FAQ

What do I do if I don’t have a cheque?

Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator: [email protected] to arrange an alternate payment

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 $200 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 2023-2024 season to keep the deposit as $200 and set 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 10+ hrs required to complete the shift requirements, with all of the positions requiring over 40 hrs of a time commitment.

Why are some roles now 8 credit hours and some are 16 credit hours?

We have received feedback from our members that some of these positions are a much smaller commitment than most of the full time positions. The commitment for a part time position is still at least equal to the 10+ hrs required to complete normal shift requirements, but is still much smaller than the roles that require 40+ hours commitment.

Why do families with 3+ children only have to complete 10 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 10 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.