Welcome to Waterloo Girls Hockey Association
2024-25 Season

Welcome to the 23rd season of Ravens hockey in Waterloo! We are happy to have so many returning players and families. A special shout out to players and families that are joining us for the first time – glad you are with us!

Organized sports such as female hockey offers participants many benefits including enhancing passion for the sport, skill development, leadership opportunities and friendships that will last a lifetime.

We are excited about the 2024-25 season. Getting back on the ice, playing games, participating in tournaments, hosting tournaments, celebrating 23 seasons and seeing friends and colleagues are all in store. 

Focus on Programs

Waterloo Girls Hockey Association is happy to announce that registration is now open for the 2024-2025 season! We are currently offering Rookie Ravens (formerly Learn To Skate), U7 to U18 House League, U9 to U18 Representative, as well as U22 AA Elite and Senior programming this season. We will be hosting our tournaments again this year, including the US Canada Cup, Fall Challenge Cup (FCC) and Waterloo Cup.

For players interested in Rep Programs, we expect to hold the remainder of tryouts in early September for U9 Rep, U11 Tier 3, U15 Tier 4 and U18 Tier 4.

For players interested in House League Programs, we will be completing our usual player placement weekends in late September with practices starting in early October.

Players ages 4 to 55+ can find a program to join. Specific details on each of the programs can be found on the website or by contacting Scott Storey, Director Rep Hockey, [email protected], Ryan Terpstra, Director House League Hockey, [email protected] or Chris Holdsworth, Registrar and Admin [email protected]  

Please register as soon as you can – this helps us better plan based on the number of players. 

 Focus on Volunteers

We are a volunteer run organization. Without the countless hours of many – coaches, committee members, board members and more, we would not be able to offer our programs and events.  If you are interested in volunteering, please email [email protected].

I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the volunteers who help in many different ways to make this one of the best run female hockey associations in Ontario. It is with your support that we achieve our goals on the ice and off, allowing us to continue to develop and grow this association. Thank you to all who step up to help out on teams, tournaments and fun events. 

Your volunteer Board of Directors spend many, many hours planning and delivering programs and ensuring that our direction lines up with our strategy and the guiding principles of our Association. We do our best with the available volunteer hours we have to ensure that we meet your expectations and more.   

We are currently looking to fill several Board and Committee roles for the upcoming season. If you are interested in joining the Board, a committee or Tournament Planning Team, please don’t hesitate to contact Ian Murphy [email protected] or myself [email protected].

Focus on Creating a Safe and Fun Environment

The health and safety of our players, coaches and families is paramount. A reminder about two key policies that help us assure the safety of all: 

Harassment, Abuse, Bullying and Misconduct

Please refer to the WGHA Manual of Operations for more details.

The WGHA continues to fully endorse this extremely important policy. To that end: 

• The WGHA is committed to providing an environment that is safe and respectful for all participants.

• The WGHA supports the right of all its members to participate in an environment that prohibits discriminatory practices of all kinds.

• There will be no harassment, abuse, bullying or misconduct of any participant in any of the WGHA programs.

• The WGHA will not tolerate cyber bullying of any form. 

Rowan's Law 

Concussion awareness, management and safe return to play have been key areas of focus for our trainers and coaches. WGHA has hosted two workshops focused on Concussions in Hockey. Information is available on the Ravens website for parents, players and coaches in managing concussions and ensuring the safe return to play for a player.

Since the introduction of Rowan's Law in 2018, all players, parents, and coaching staff must sign a declaration indicating that they have read and agree to comply with the requirements outlined in the policies from OWHA. As part of the registration process, forms have been included for players, parents and coaches to sign.

So, there you have it . . . unique year ahead of us and if you should have any questions throughout the year, or wish to make comments, please do not hesitate to contact myself or any one of the WGHA Board of Directors.

We are looking forward to another great season. Please remember ... “it is not about whether you win or lose, it's about how much fun you make it for the kids” The WGHA is not a “Win at all Cost” centre and will do what’s right … “For the Kids, For the Game, For the Fun”

Sandra 

Sandra Hanmer
President, WGMHA

[email protected] 

“For the Kids, For the Game, For the Fun of it”