Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I have to sign up for all the optional camps/programs with my initial registration? Can I sign up for them at a later date?

All optional programs are non-refundable unless due to medical circumstances. You do not have to sign up for camps and/or clinics at the point of initial registration. You can go back into the registration site at a future date and select an optional program, space is limited and all optional camps/optional programs are on a first come first served basis.

Are there female teams at all divisions?

CMHA will attempt to provide female teams for all divisions except U7. The viability of these teams will depend on the number of registrants signed up so female players are encouraged to sign up early.

Can female players sign up for both the Female program AND either the Rep/House program?

No. Female players must choose either Female hockey OR one of the other mixed leagues.

I have registered my player in REP, if he does not make a REP team will we be refunded the difference in fees?

Yes, REP players that are transitioned to RHL will receive a refund for the difference.

If I register my player in REP and he does not make a REP team will he/she be guaranteed a spot on an RHL team?

Yes, all players that are to transition from REP to RHL will be guaranteed a spot on an RHL team.

Can I still get the payment installment option if I pay by cash or cheque?

No, the payment installment option is only offered through our online registration portal and you must be paid by credit card only

Why do teams require a travel permit for all tournaments and exhibition games?

It ensures that our players are covered for insurance purposes at all sanctioned hockey games. All exhibition games must be sanctioned by the home team and all teams traveling for tournaments must submit a travel permit request. Travel permits are only required for exhibition games outside of Alberta. Travel permit request forms must be submitted minimum 7 days prior to the date of game.

Does a player need a doctor's note to return to play after a sports-related absence?

It is up to the individual coach, however, the guiding principle is to be aware of a player's health and safety first and Foremost.

Who decides if a game will be canceled due to weather conditions?

The coaching group and manager must follow the league regulation on this by contacting CMH CAHL or RHL Director. It is always up to a parent whether he/she wants to travel on the roads.

What is the Chain of command for concerns?

Parent-Manager-Coach-Director-Governor. EXERCISE THE 24 HOUR RULE!

Who should be in the room when a coach is dealing with a player on a disciplinary concern?

Coach, player and another adult carded to the team or parent of the player.

Is it mandatory to wear a mouth guard?

Mouth guards are recommended for all in CMH players.

How long in advance can we get a schedule?

Practice schedules are set at the beginning of the season. League schedules vary depending on re-tiering, however, once that is completed, depending on the league, you will get the first-week short notice but the remainder of the season should be done in a timely manner. Your patience is appreciated on this.

How do I book referees' for my home games in Cochrane?

If you need to book referees for an exhibition game and plan to use an already scheduled practice ice time for your team or an extra game ice time that has been assigned, you must first contact the Operation Coordinator of CMHA cmhaice@cochraneminorhockey. Please ensure that you have also completed a Exhibition Sanction request and have the Sanction #. The exhibition game must be entered into your RAMP website as a Non League game and specify it is a exhibition game. League games for all CAHL teams must be entered into RAMP as well. If you belong to a league that uses RAMP the league games are already tied to CMH and the operations coordinator will send to ref assignor for assignment.

How do I book referees' for my home games in Cremona?

To book referees for Exhibition or League Games in Cremona Please send email to cmhaice@cochraneminorhockey.com Your email must include the team requesting the officials, league & level, home & visiting teams, date, time, duration of ice time, exhibition or league game and venue. this game must be entered into RAMP as well.

We have practice ice booked but we would like to have an exhibition game, how do we change that and update the schedule for our team?

All practice & game schedules are currently maintained and updated by the Operations Coordinator to ensure accuracy and financial management of CMHA Ice expenses. If you want to change or update your scheduled ice time or change your practice to a game all you have to do is send an email requesting the changes or updates to cmhaice@cochraneminorhockey.com, ensure that you provide all the relevant details of your request and the operations coordinator will update your schedule accordingly. If you are changing your practice ice to game ice, referees' will be scheduled automatically once the Operations Coordinator has updated your schedule on the CMHA website. Exhibition games require a Santion number so please complete sanction request first and then send the Sanction # along with your request for referees.

How do I get a refund?

All requests for refunds must be sent to administrator@cochraneminorhockey.com Refunds ill be calculated based on the date this email is sent and according to our Policies and Procedures.

If a player or coach has been suspended and the team wants to appeal it, can the player/coach keep playing until the appeal is heard?

No. The player is suspended and can not play until the games have been served. If the association chooses to appeal and have followed the correct steps to do so, the appeal will be heard as indicated in the regulations. The player or coach serves until that time.

If a team chooses to enter a tournament, do any teams impacted by that decision have to provide multiple options for rescheduling?

No. The teams should make reasonable efforts to work with each other but the team attending the tournament is obliged to make it work.

If a team feels that the official has done a poor job of calling a game, can the game be protested?

No. Any and all calls made on ice cannot be protested. However, a complaint against the official made be filed. The outcome of the game will not change and a protest will not be entertained.

Who is responsible for the conduct of fans at CAHL games?

The local association is responsible for this. If visiting fans are a problem and rink attendants cannot address it, police should be called. The CAHL will follow up with the association to ensure that measures have been taken to avoid repeat incidents. If deemed necessary and fans cannot be controlled, the team may be suspended.

Who should game sheets go to for tournament games? Are they to go to the Governor?

If there are any Game Misconduct penalties, the Governor should be made of the situation. However, the actual suspension decision should be handed down by the appropriate Hockey Alberta Zone Discipline Coordinator. Until the suspension notification has been sent, any player or coach cannot be involved in any games, league or otherwise.

How late can we decide to change the tier a team is in?

Tiers are set at the tiering meeting which is held after the four weeks of tiering round games. Governors make the recommendation as to where the teams belong and unless there is other information provided by the association director, the teams are set.

If a player gets a major penalty, are they allowed to come back into the game?

No. All major penalties come with an automatic Game Misconduct. That means the player is out of the game and someone else has to serve the 5 minutes. If that penalty occurs in the last 10 minutes of the game, the player will also be out of the next game at a minimum. Additional suspensions may be assessed depending on the nature of the penalty.

What happens if a suspended player or coach is in a game while suspended?

The Head Coach is guilty of having an ineligible player or coach included and is subject to additional, lengthy suspensions by Hockey Alberta.

Can a player serve a suspension in an exhibition game?

No. The player must serve the suspension in sanctioned games including tournaments, league play, and provincial playoffs. A player cannot play or serve a suspension in an exhibition game.

If a player gets a major penalty (5 minutes) in a tournament game, do we need to inform the Governor?

Yes. A Game Misconduct will also have been assessed. If a suspension is assessed, it will have been determined by the appropriate Hockey Alberta Zone Discipline Coordinator and the Manager of the team must ensure the Governor is aware. Failure to do this could result in a player playing while suspended and the Head Coach being guilty of playing an ineligible player.

How many coaching staff is allowed on the bench

The team is allowed to have up to 5 including Trainer provided that all are listed on the Hockey Canada Registry and on the CAHL roster for the particular team. Registration as part of another team does not make a coach eligible to be on the bench with another team even with the same association. There are also training requirements for coaches which must be respected so be sure to meet those as well.

Can an injured player be on the bench for games?

A player may ONLY be on the bench if they are in full uniform. The player must be in full gear including skates or must be removed on the bench. The belief that a player may be present as long as they have a helmet on is incorrect. This player must be accounted for on the roster as present but injured.

If a coach or player is suspended for actions in a game, can the games be served by sitting out games with another team?

No. Even if the coach or player is registered with another team, the games must be served by sitting out games with the team on which the suspension resulted.
As an example, a coach who is an Assistant on a U13 Tier 2 team and Head Coach of a U15 Tier 4 team and behaves in such a manner in a U13 game that he is suspended for 3 games. Those three games must be served by missing 3 U13 Tier 2 team games. The coach may not be on the bench with the U15 team either until the game have been served with the U13 team. The same applies to players. Suspension games must be served where they were earned.

The evaluators must have made a mistake in scoring my child, how do I go about getting this error corrected.

The scores given to each player by the evaluators are not open for discussion or revision. The evaluators are watching and scoring all the players against each other in a fair and consistent manner, and once those scores are entered onto the score sheets, and the sheets are signed by the evaluator and turned into the Divisional Coordinator they will not be changed.

Everyone who watched my child play including his last coach thinks that he/she deserves to be placed on a higher team will you consider the opinions of others during the review process.

Unfortunately the opinions of past coaches or other parents who witnessed your child play cannot be factored into final team placement. To maintain integrity and fairness to all who have been evaluated the only measurement tool we can use is the scores that have been given by the evaluators.

I truly believe that my child has been placed on the wrong team. Can he/she be moved to a higher level team through an evaluation review?

Once teams have been set, player movement is not an option unless there has been a technology related issue with the spreadsheets involved or an error is found in the scoring input into the spreadsheets. In very rare occasions an error is made in the scoring input if this does occur the scores will be properly input and re-calculated. Once the re-calculation has occurred the review committee will review the numbers to determine if a change in team placement is required.

There must be something wrong with the evaluation process to have my child placed on the team he/she ended up on. Why did my child not end up on a higher team?

All the players are evaluated against other players in their peer group and are scored accordingly. By the time we approach the last skate the players who fall on either side of a team line are being watched closely. There may be 5 to 10 players whose scores are close enough to each other to warrant this procedure. In many cases, there is a minute difference in the scores between these players (sometimes decimal point differences). At the end of the process, a line is drawn at the number of players that are required to be on each team and the teams are announced.

I am very upset about where my child was placed can I call someone to discuss the matter in detail.

All complaints and concerns will not be addressed until after October 1st. Please do not send complaints or concerns until after this date and the VP of Operations will address them. CMH has a zero-tolerance for abuse or harassment to any of our volunteer board members.

I have a 4 year old that can barely skate. Should I enroll him in hockey? Or wait

What does â€œbench staffâ€ mean?

Bench staff are the team's head coach, assistant coaches, goalie coaches, trainers. All bench staff have to be registered to your team and all have to have Respect in Sport Activity Leader Course. Respect In Sport Activity leader must be completed before bench staff step on the ice for practices and games. The Parent Respect In Sport does not replace or can be used in place of the Respect In Sport Activity Leader. The head coach must have the required coach courses for their level. You can find out which courses are required on the Hockey Alberta website under Coaches - Coach Education - Requirements. Head Coach required Courses need to be completed by mid November 2020. Also, each team must have one member of their bench staff that has a current Hockey Canada Safety Course. It is up to the head coach to ensure that one of their bench staff has the course or take the course themselves. All bench staff need to provide CMHA with a current Vulnerable Sector Police Check. Instructions for Criminal Record Checks can be found under the Coaches tab on our website.

I have just showed up for my teams practice and only two coaches will be available today, can one of our parents who have their skates help on the ice, as an on ice helper?

No. Only registered CMHA coaches can help at practice. If a parent has their skates and they are registered to another CMHA hockey team then they can assist on your practice.

I have just showed up for my team's game and we only have 2 coaches available today, can one of our parents come on the bench to help?

No. Only bench staff registered to your team can be on your bench for games.

I have two children in CMHA and I am part of the bench staff for one of my children's teams, can my other son come on the ice for my teams practice?

No. Only players listed on your team roster can go to your practice. We do have a Junior Coach program and siblings or other CMHA registered players can become Jr Coaches. Jr Coaches must be 2 divisions above your team in order to help with your practices. Jr Coaches cannot go on your bench for games. If your team would like to have a Jr Coach please email the office staff to ask for details.

My team is short players for our exhibition game, tournament, or league game, can I just borrow a player from another team or bring a sibling of one of our players to play in our game?

No. Only players listed on your roster can play in your teams games. This would include properly registered affiliate players. (exception will be in U7 & U9: teams may email the Intro to Hockey Director to ask if they can invite a player(s) from another U7 or U9 team to play in their exhibition, tournament, or league game. The player(s) must be approved by the Intro to Hockey Director in advance of the game. U7's cannot be asked to play with the U9 division.

What is an affiliate player?

Affiliate players are players that are chosen according to our affiliation policy to be placed on your roster. The Affiliation Policy can be viewed on our website. Affiliate players are used to fill spots on your team for games or practices when you have sick or injured players and in some cases suspended players. (CAHL does not allow teams to use affiliates in place of suspended players) You may not play an affiliate player until the office staff confirms that the player(s) have been registered to your team.

I took a few coach courses and they were expensive does CMHA reimburse me for these courses?

Yes, CMHA will reimburse all coaches who are carded to CMH teams. Please go to the Coach tab on our website to view reimbursement instructions.

How can I find out about the rules for the league that I coach in?

Leagues post their rules and regulations on their website. It is a good idea to read through these rules and regulations prior to the season start. Also, print the rules and regulations so that you have them handy during games. It is also a good idea to read the Hockey Alberta rules and regulations. You should also read through CMHA Policies and Procedures. Of course ignorance is never an excuse when something goes wrong. It is up to you as the team coach or bench staff member to know all of the rules.

One of the players or bench staff is suspended can they come to practice?

Yes suspensions are only for games. When a player or bench staff is suspended in league for example and the next game your team plays is an exhibition game, your player cannot play in the exhibition game. Suspensions can only be served in league or sanctioned tournament games.

My team is Tier 3 and we want to play an exhibition game with Tier 2 can we do that?

No CMHA does not allow our Tiered teams to play each other. CMHA also does not allow our city league divisions to play teams in the higher or lower division unless approved by the Division Director. (example: Red teams cannot play Blue teams) If your Tier 3 wants to play a Tier 2 team from another association you can do that.

My team has been invited to play an HSL or non sanctioned team, can we do that?

No, minor hockey teams registered with Hockey Alberta can only play in sanctioned exhibition games and tournaments.

What is a travel permit?

Travel permits are required to play any games(tournament or exhibition) outside of Cochrane that are not your regular league games. (league playoff games or provincial tournament games do not require a permit) Your manager can apply for a travel permit. You need to apply for a permit approximately one week before your game or tournament. Travel Permit forms can be found under the Managers Tab, Manager Start-up. If you forget to get a permit you can call the office and get advice on how to proceed.

What is an exhibition game permit?

Your team needs to apply for an exhibition game permit when you are the home team for an exhibition game. If you have booked ice outside of Cochrane, (Cremona, Edge, Morely for example) the home exhibition game will serve as your exhibition game permit and your travel permit, you do not have to apply for both.

It is your responsibility to ensure your team manager is aware of the fact that travel and exhibition permits are required.

Our team wants to attend a tournament outside of Canada, is this allowed?

Yes, your team can attend a tournament outside of Canada as long as it is sanctioned by the Countryâ€™s governing body. You will need to provide this sanction number when you apply for a travel permit. Also, make sure your team has the required documentation to cross borders. It is normal to have to provide special documentation at the border if only one parent is taking a player. The other parent has to sign a form and the form needs to be notarized and accompany the traveling parent and player.

I want my team to go to a tournament but they said it is too expensive, can I just enter them and insist we go?

All teams meet at the beginning of the season to decide on the number of tournaments, maximum distance away from Cochrane they would like to go, extra activities such as dryland, team functions etc. Teams must vote on items that will cost families extra money. It is also usually decided at the team meeting what percentage of voters need to agree in order for a function to be approved. (Example would be that the team decides that at least 12 of the 17 families must vote yes so there will be enough players to play in the games)

Our team did fundraising and we have a lot of spare funds and the season is ending soon, can we buy the players expensive gifts like sticks etc.?

Please make sure to review the AGLC rules regarding how team fundraising funds can be spent.

A parent on our team was displaying very poor behaviour at one of our games, how can I deal with this?

You should report any inappropriate behavior of parents, players etc. to your division director. It is key to report any incident in a timely manner so the behavior is documented. If you feel that you can deal with the behavior with a simple discussion to the family you can do so, but wait 24 hours before speaking to the family so that both parties have had time to review their behavior.

After my practice I have an event to attend, can I shower in the dressing room with the players?

No, It would not be appropriate to shower with or in the same room as the players.

Who is responsible for the dressing room cleanliness?

The head coach should be the last person to walk through the dressing room and ensure that the dressing room clean and nothing is broken or destroyed in any way. This would be for home and away games. If you have to leave and cannot do the walk through then please assign an Assistant Coach to take on this responsibility. It is a good practice to address dressing room expectations with your players. Players should have the utmost respect for facilities in our home arena and also dressing rooms in visiting arenas. Teams that leave dressing rooms untidy or have caused destruction of property will be liable for fines or fees that are sent to CMHA.

Are U7 and U9 coaches required to bring skates to the game sessions?

Yes please always have your skates available for all team sessions. There may be times when coaches are needed to wear skates to help to place bumper pads and remove bumper pads for games.

Our team is at our game and the refs have not shown up, can I call a referee that I know?

No. Only referees assigned by the Cochrane Referee association can ref league, exhibition or tournament games. There is a hockey Alberta rule that if no refs show up and both teams agree, coach from each team can ref the game, but please review the Hockey Alberta rules to ensure this rule is valid.

My son is moving to Cochrane and will be new to Cochrane Minor Hockey. He would like to try out for the AAA Team in Airdrie the U15 level. Can you please lead me through the registration process as to what specifically he has to register for . How does he register for the AAA conditioning camp?

All AAA registrations for camps and tryouts is completed through Airdrie Minor Hockey association as that is where the AAA draw zone is for Cochrane residents.

What is the process if my son wants to drop down to RHL from REP during the evaluation process.

Please email the registrar prior to 5 on 5 evaluations. Players that withdraw from REP Evaluations to go to RHL will incur a Program change fee of $150.

Hi, For next season when do you register? And at what age do they start? Thank you.

Our registration information is posted usually by the second week of May. Please visit the CMHA website to view this information.

What if a team member canâ€™t make a cash call?

Cash calls are exclusively team business. CMH fees cover all league games and socks. Cash calls are really designed to support all the extras, therefore if cash call is not paid a player may not be eligible to participate in the â€˜extrasâ€™ - this of course is difficult to navigate so working with families on a cash call payment plan may help avoid difficult decisions.

Should I be in the dressing room assisting my player?

It is appropriate to assist your player and there is really no policy, coaches discretion but around U13 players should be able to dress themselves and with team staff support get skates tight.

What is carded?

Carded is a term we mean when you are officially registered with Hockey Canada/Alberta and receive your HCR (Hockey Canada Register number). There is an HCR # for each player, staff member and one is also assigned to the team.

What are the coach requirements?

https://www.hockeyalberta.ca/coaches/clinic-information

How do I enter my game sheet in RAMP?

Where do I find my sanction number for the score sheet?

If you require a sanction number for a league game sheet these are the game numbers listed on the schedule of the game.
If you require a sanction number for a tournament or exhibition game you are traveling to these should be provided to you by the host team.
If you are looking for a sanction number of an exhibition game you have sanctioned this is provided to you once the sanction is approved.