The Waterloo Girls Minor Hockey Association offers a variety of hockey programs:
House League (HL) Hockey (U11-U22):
Waterloo Ravens House League provides girls the opportunity to play hockey within the Kitchener Girls Local League (KGLL). Waterloo Ravens House League teams participate in home and away regular season and playoff games, practice times* and the Jason Cripps Memorial Tournament run by KMHA during the holiday break. All teams play in the Waterloo Cup at the end of the season. Teams may enter tournaments at their expense (2 permitted).
House League games usually begin after the Thanksgiving weekend. There will be group evaluations in late September where we view all players in order to make teams as equal as possible. Please continue to watch the website for dates; registrants should receive an email sometime in August with information. After the evaluation ice times, players will be placed on a team and the coach will contact each player prior to when the season starts. We do not have specific days that teams will play, and the days vary, with most dates being on Saturdays and Sundays as that is when we have the most allocated ice time. Once players are placed on a team, they can subscribe to the Team Calendar via the website to see the schedule with dates of games and practices. Teams will receive a schedule for the Christmas tournament, 'The Jason Cripps Memorial House League Tournament', which runs over the school break. In January, the teams are placed in pools for the second half and the top 4 teams in each pool will qualify for the playoffs which start after March Break. The season concludes with the Waterloo Cup, a Ravens tournament day usually held on the first Sunday of April.
Development Stream (DS) Hockey (U11-U18):
DS is a program offered to U11 to U18 HL players only. There is no registration until November as teams may not be formed until November and cannot play games or practice until December 1st. One DS team is formed for each age division from all HL players that tryout at U11, U13, U15 and U18. DS teams may play in 8 exhibition games (maximum), 14 practices (maximum), and 2 DS only tournaments except for U11 DS which is not permitted to play in tournaments. The DS fee is a team fee paid by those making the team and covers 10 hours of practice ice time, 4 home exhibition games, and administration fees. All tournament or additional fees are budgeted by the teams.
Representative (Rep) Level Hockey:
Waterloo Ravens Representative Level (AA, A, BB, B and C) Programs provide players competitive hockey play within the OWHA and affiliated leagues. This level of play requires additional commitment in the form of tryout, rep and team fees, travel, and time. Rep teams will have regular season and playoff schedules and may participate in OWHA sanctioned tournaments.
Fundamentals, U7, U8 and U9 Hockey:
Learn to Skate FUNdamentals Program for ages 4, 5 and 6:
The Learn to Skate program is a 14-week program designed to teach girls how to skate in order to play hockey. The Learn to Skate program is for girls aged 4 - 6. The program cost includes hockey equipment (not skates) as well as a stick and bag! Numbers are limited so register early. The program is open to all eligible players however priority may be given to City of Waterloo residents.
Players are entitled to free equipment only for their first time taking this program. The program is intended as a one-time per player. You may register again but it will not include the free equipment and the price is the same. Please register early as space is limited and may be capped depending on registration numbers.
The Learn To Skate Program is expected to be scheduled Sunday mornings and begin in October, however schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control.
Rookie Ravens FUNdamentals Program for ages 5, 6 and 7:
The Ravens Rookie Program is a 16-week program designed to teach players the fundamentals of the game. The program is non-competitive and the emphasis is on FUN! This program is offered to girls 5 - 7 years of age looking for a more affordable and less involved alternative to U7 and U8. The program is open to all eligible players however priority may be given to City of Waterloo residents.
Please register early as space is limited and may be capped depending on registration numbers.
The Rookie Ravens Program is expected to be scheduled Sunday mornings and begin in October, however schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control.
Ravens U7 Program for ages 5 and 6 (replaces Rookie Ravens Plus)
The Ravens U7 Program is a 16-week program for those players wanting more ice time and games when compared to the Rookie Ravens Program (approximately twice as many practice ice times plus 6 half-ice games). It is designed to teach players the fundamentals of the game, gain additional skills, then put those new skills into action with half-ice hockey games. The program is non-competitive, and the emphasis is on development and FUN! The first half of the program will be all skill-focused practices. The second half of the season continues on with the practices but adds in games. The program is offered to girls aged 5 and 6 years of age and no prior experience is required! The program is open to all eligible players however priority may be given to City of Waterloo residents.
Practices each week are expected to take place on Sunday mornings and another evening during the week. Game schedules are to be determined from January to March on various days. Season runs from October to early April. Please note that schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control.
Ravens U8 and U9 House League Programs for ages 7 and 8:
The Ravens U8 and U9 House League Programs run from September to early April. Twice a week, station-based practices are based on Hockey Canada recommendations, designed to work on fundamental skills. These group practices are run with all U8 and U9 participants; depending on registration numbers there may be separate/multiple session groups. In mid-October, the coaching staff will create the U8 and U9 teams. These teams will then play in the Kitchener Girls Local League, which runs both a U8 and U9 division. Games are not permitted to begin until November 1st and the season runs until March. U8 games are half-ice all season. U9 games are half-ice until January 15th when, by rule, they may move to full ice.
The emphasis of the U8 and U9 programs is on LTPD (Long-term Player Development). Half-ice promotes more puck touches, more development, and helps learn basic skills for long-term success in hockey. This is in-line with Hockey Canada and OWHA guidelines.
The programs are offered to girls aged 7 and 8 years of age and no prior experience is required! The programs are open to all eligible players including non-Waterloo residents (additional fee required). Please register early as space may limited and capped depending on registration numbers.
Players born in 2016 must register under the U8 registration package and players born in 2015 must register under the U9 registration package.
U8 Schedule: Practices Saturdays and Thursdays*. Game schedule are to be determined but will not start until November per OWHA policy. Season runs from late September to early April. U8 practices will start late September. Please note that schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control.
U9 Schedule: Practices Saturdays and Thursdays*. Game schedules are to be determined but will not start until November per OWHA policy. Season runs from late September to early April. U9 season starts with the U9 pre-skates after the first week of school. This is open to all U9 registrants. Please note that schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control.
*Practices are U8 and U9 combined until registration exceeds 36 skaters. Once this happens additional times are required, and additional practice groups will be created.
**Teams of a maximum of 18 players are made at U8 and U9 but some U8 players may need to play U9 in order to make a team viable. U8s will not be on U9 teams unless needed to form a viable team. The season runs from September to early April.
Ravens U9 Rep Program for ages 7* and 8:
The Ravens U9 Representative Program runs from Sept to early April. The program is offered to girls aged 7* and 8 years of age. Tryouts are held to form the teams and U8 aged players are permitted to play U9 Rep. Tryouts for 2023-24 are being held in the fall and registration for tryouts is required. 4 Pre-skates will be offered early September to all WGHA registered U9 players and WGMHA U8 players that have registered for tryouts. U9 aged players may attend the 4 pre-skates before deciding to attend tryouts. Pre-skates are essentially practices preparing for tryouts. No evaluations are done during the pre-skates.
The U9 Rep team(s) will have additional fees based on the team budget which will be approved after team selection.
The U9 Rep program is open to all eligible players that are successful and selected in tryouts. Non-City of Waterloo residents will need to pay an additional Out-of-town fee. Any non-WGMHA players must have a PTT (Permission-to-Tryout) form to attend tryouts and must register for the tryouts. *U8 aged players may tryout but need to meet certain skill levels to be permitted to play on rep team. Please register for tryouts and it is recommended to register for the U9 Program as well at the same time. Only those registered to the WGHA U9 Program are eligible for the pre-skates.
WGMHA endeavors to run this program on the same days of the week for the entire season, however schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control. Game scheduling is not predetermined and may occur on different days and times. The team will play in the U9 A or B OWHA league. Games will fall on any day of the week. Practice schedules for this team are to be determined.
