Inclement Weather Procedures
Woolwich Minor Hockey Association uses the following procedure in the event of bad weather impacting hockey schedules.
Safety is always a priority.
Our ice scheduler will cancel home games (or a practice) under the following circumstances
o the arena is closed
o roads to the arena are closed
o the other team has contacted the ice scheduler to say they aren't coming for safety concerns
Away Games
Please remember, that Woolwich Minor Hockey is not in the position to decide on whether a game should be cancelled because it is not safe to drive - each individual/team needs to take responsibility for making that decision themselves.
You can use the MTO road conditions site (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/map.shtml?ll=43.696424,-79.459648&z=10) and the Weather Network site (www.theweathernetwork.com) to aid in your decision making.
The decision to cancel a game due to inclement weather, cannot be made the day before your game, based on potential weather issues. The weather conditions need to be assessed 1-2 hours before you would normally be leaving for your away game. Please reach out to our Ice Scheduler to express your concern of travelling later in the day due to pending bad weather but the decision to cancel, won’t happen until 3-4 hours (depending on travel time) before the start of the game.
Our Ice Scheduler can reach out to the contact at the other Association to find out information about their weather conditions, but the associations do not have additional insight into weather conditions. And again, are not able make the decision about whether your team should drive to your game.
If the decision is made that it is unsafe for your team to travel, please follow the procedure outlined below.
Procedure to cancel a game
If as a team you decide you wish to cancel due to weather conditions, please have the coach or manager contact the WMHA ice scheduler, Kyle Cadeau at 519-501-6892 (please call or text) AND send an email to [email protected],
Please also include appropriate VP – either the VP of Rep Hockey ([email protected]) or the VP of Local League ([email protected]) on the email.
Our ice scheduler will then coordinate with the ice scheduler at the other team's end. Coaches are not to reach out directly to the coach of the other team - going through the ice schedulers ensures that all required parties (refs, teams, arenas) are properly notified.
There is not a true, definite set time for making the decision to cancel a game. This time of year, weather conditions can change dramatically within a couple of hours. The key is to keep the lines of communication open. If a team is considering this action, please contact the ice scheduler as early as possible on gameday, to begin the conversation.
All team members are encouraged - if you haven't already done so - to subscribe to notifications on the website. This means that when a game is cancelled you will receive an e-mail or text notification
Game Reschedule
As soon as both Ice Schedulers from both Associations, have connected and aware the game is to be cancelled, you will receive an email.
The Scheduler from the Centre who is the hosting the game, will cancel it on the website, so all applicable parties area notified.
The Scheduler from the Host Centre will reschedule the game as soon as possible. Please note, the team cancelling the game due to weather conditions, will not have any input as to when that game is rescheduled.
Final Reminders
If a team decides they want to cancel a game because they feel it is not safe to drive, then the association is never going to override that decision. Keeping that in mind, please ensure that the decision is made based on safety and not just convenience.
If you do decide to drive during difficult weather conditions, please give yourself lots of time to drive to the game.
The decision to cancel or not go to a game should never be taken lightly, safety should always be a priority.
Whether the team cancels a game or not, it is the right and responsibility of each individual family to make decisions regarding their own safety.