The Ontario Minor Hockey Association is highlighting and celebrating the critical and often overlooked role of hockey volunteers, bringing awareness during the annual Thank a Volunteer Week from February 28-March 6, 2022.
This season, more than ever, we recognize the impact that volunteers have in delivering minor hockey across the province. They were crucial in getting the sport back up and running at the start of the season have been working diligently to keep participants safe by following all protocols.
Thank a Volunteer Week will be highlighted through volunteer video profiles, motivational tools showing the volunteer experience, and material-sharing for associations to call out submissions of thanks.
Volunteers are an extremely dedicated group of parents, community members and administrators that give their time to ensure a positive minor hockey experience for our young athletes. The OMHA takes great pride in having an outstanding group of volunteers across its centres.
Every bit of volunteerism makes an impact – from organizing community Hockey Gives Back events to creating a carpool schedule, these things all add up in the big picture. Associations rely on a few to do the work of many.
Some volunteer statistics to consider from a typical season:
• More than 30,000 people volunteer within the OMHA
• Contributions of time include coaches, trainers, managers, time keepers, fundraisers and administrators, with 13,500 coaches leading the way by percentage
• Ratio of volunteers to players is 1:3
• Total number of training modules/courses completed by volunteers: 22,250