June 6, 2012
For Immediate Release
HOCKEY ALBERTA TO HOST BODY CHECKING SEMINAR FRIDAY NIGHT IN RED DEER – FOLLOW ALONG ON TWITTER
Red Deer, Alta – Hockey Alberta will be hosting a Body Checking Seminar from 6:00pm-9:00pm on Friday, June 8 at the Sheraton Hotel (formally the Capri) in Red Deer to kick off its Annual General Meeting.
The session will feature presentations and discussion from a highly knowledgeable panel on body checking and its place in hockey. Specifically, how body checking relates to recruitment and retention, injury and development. The seminar will feature a question and answer period between the membership and the panel, and a breakout session where members can brainstorm possible solutions for how and when body checking should be implemented in the province.
“The purpose of this seminar is to give our membership an opportunity to share their opinions and offer suggestions for the future,” said Hockey Alberta’s General Manager, Rob Litwinski. “This will give our branch as a whole a better perspective on our membership’s views on body checking and allow us to make informed decisions moving forward.”
Hockey Alberta will be providing commentary from the event on TWITTER. Follow along and give your opinion or ask questions about bodying checking in Alberta using the hash-tag #HABodyChecking. Hockey Alberta will be tweeting live and your question could be asked to the panel.
NOTE TO MEDIA:
·There will be time for interviews with the panel at approximately 8:00pm
Body Checking Seminar Panelists:
Rob Litwinski – General Manager, Hockey Alberta
Mike Olesen – Senior Manager, Operations and Administration, Hockey Alberta
Barry Medori – High Performance Coach Mentor, Hockey Alberta
Jerrold Lemko – Vice Chair, Hockey Development Committee, Hockey Alberta
Paul Carson – Vice President of Hockey Development, Hockey Canada
Todd Millar – President, Hockey Calgary
Hockey Alberta will be looking to gain feedback from its membership regarding current body checking implementation standards, options for body checking implementation and at what level (local or provincial) body checking regulation should take place.
Currently in Alberta, body checking is implemented at the peewee level in male minor hockey. Hockey Quebec and the Ontario Federation (OHF) are the only two branches that have successfully removed body checking from peewee, Quebec in all levels and the OHF in house league levels. BC Hockey and Hockey Calgary both have motions put forward that need to be ratified by their board of directors to remove body checking for all levels of peewee for the 2012-13 season.
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For more information, please visit www.hockeyalberta.ca or contact:
Mike Dennis
Manager, Marketing and Communications
Hockey Alberta
P: 403.342.6777
C: 403.872.9095
F: 403.346.4277
mdennis@hockeyalberta.ca
Jimmy Adams
Coordinator, Communications
Hockey Alberta
P: 403.342.6777
jadams@hockeyalberta.ca