We're still sorting through some issues with the Oakridge association. Our late start to the season has us at a bit of a disadvantage compared to some of the other teams.
Jersey Update
Unfortunately our appeal to the Oakridge board regarding the addition of a sponsor on our current team jerseys was rejected. This decision also prevents us from putting player names on the jerseys.
There would be the option to buy two new sets of jerseys, but that would be too expensive to fit into our current team budget. We will be sticking with these jerseys for the balance of the year, after which they will be used in the Oakridge house league program.
I'm disappointed with the decision, but that's the one that was made so we have to live with it and adjust our budget accordingly. I thank the sponsors who stepped up. I'll be speaking with them separately to sort out the situation.
Budweiser Gardens Practice and Knights Game
There have been some questions regarding how exactly this works. For those of you unfamiliar with this regular London Knights program, we will be getting free ice time at the Budweiser Gardens in exchange for selling 140 tickets to the game that same day. The tickets are sold at face value. It's not dissimilar to the program where teams commit to buying tickets to Knights games and then get to have a quick game of shinny on the ice between periods.
This is not a fund raising opportunity. Each family will be asked to buy and/or sell a minimum of eight tickets. (Let me know if you think you would be able to sell more than that.) It's rarely difficult to sell tickets to a Sunday afternoon Knights game. They're often the hardest to get. Just be sure to hold onto a ticket for everyone who will be coming to the rink, including the players themselves and those coming to watch the practice and/or game.
Thanks to Coach Dave for making this possible. This is a great way for us to get a practice at the Budweiser Gardens with no additional expense to the team for the ice time.
Please let me know if this raises more questions. I've done this several times before with Andrew's teams and it's always a great afternoon that the parents and grandparents have as much fun at as the boys do.
Once I have more details on when we will be distributing the tickets to you and collecting money I'll let you know.
Tournament Update
We are currently registered in one tournament and continue to look into adding a second one in the new year. More on that later.
Team Jackets vs Team Sponsorship
I found a sponsor who was willing to purchase jackets for the team or donate $1,000 towards the team budget. The coaching staff talked it over after the last practice and decided that these sponsorship funds would help offset team costs that we would otherwise be coming to you for, so we've opted to take the sponsorship rather than get jackets. If any parent would like to take up the cause to arrange for a purchase of jackets you are welcome to do so, but I won't be coordinating that aspect.
On a related note Pete's Sports is selling Oakridge Aeros apparel through their store.
Pre-game routine
Just a reminder that the boys have to be dressed and ready to go 10 minutes before our scheduled game time. Some of the boys have been having trouble with that timeline, even with 15-20 minutes to do so following the team warmup. To help with this we are now asking you to please try to be at the arena roughly 40 minutes before game time. This gives the boys a chance to drop off their equipment in the room before the warmup. The warmup will start exactly 30 minutes before game time. Any player late for the warmup will be considered late for the game with potential consequences determined by the coaches.
Competitive Surcharge
The Oakridge registrar recently informed me that most if not all of the players on this team still owe the competitive fee surcharge for the year. If you paid this at the time of registration you can disregard this section. If you have not paid the fee then we will be asking you to pay it when the next team deposit is due next month.
As per the Oakridge web site, the competitive surcharge for our division is $300. Do not give this money to Alissa just yet. We will get back to you shortly.