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Fall 2003 Newsletter www.ithacagirlshockey.com August 27, 2003 Editor: Mary Grainger, mmgithaca@aol.com , 257-3268 President's Message Even though the season isn't yet underway, the board has been busy during the summer planning for the next season. Our ice costs are the biggest part of our yearly budget. This year, The Rink and Cass Park have both significantly increased their ice fees, over 10 %. The board is working hard to make sure that we keep our program cost in line. At this time we are hoping to keep fees close to last year but with rising ice cost it will be hard. One way to help is to fully support fundraising and sponsorship efforts; Sue McKelvey and Robin Zifchock have been coming up with some great ideas when they are announced please give them 110%. Information about each of our programs, including the planned ice times, is also in the newsletter. We expect that the ice times will remain unchanged for the season, but we may have to make some (hopefully minor) adjustments, depending on enrollment for each program. We'll let you know as soon as possible if any ice changes are made. Please read this newsletter carefully as it's full of information about the beginning of the season and the events we already have planned. Our registration for travel teams will occur August 27. Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 7 for registration at The Rink again this year, and Monday, October 27 for our annual "Open House". This is a great opportunity for each skater to bring a friend or two to give hockey a try. This is also the official start of the season for the non-travel teams. Details about these events and the beginning of the season are in the newsletter. We are happy to have returning "veteran" board members, and to be welcoming a number of new faces to the board. Our next board meeting will be September 4 at 7:00 p.m. at The Rink. Everyone is always welcome. However, it takes more than the board to keep TGHA running smoothly, and we'll need your help. To start off the season, we'll need some help with "Open House," if you'd like to pitch in, please contact Lisa McCutcheon. We also invite any parents who are interested in helping out on the ice to contact our coaching coordinators and take one of the required coaching clinics this fall. Welcome back from your summer sports and recreation; I hope to see you at the rinks! Kim Hamel, khamel@twcny.rr.com Web Update Chris Grippin in our new webmaster following Gion Men Kruegel's awesome designs. Most of it was updated last week but be patient as there are still some sections that need adjustments. Send your feedback (and gratitude to Chris!). Registrar Information The position of registrar is being shared this year by Mary Kreitinger, Janice Wetzel, and Anne Bechert. There are three ways to contact a registrar. Select the way which is most convenient, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Scholarship applications and information can be obtained from Madeleine Russell and Kath March; contact info with the TGHA Leadership. Janice Wetzel Wetz4NY@aol.com Anne Bechert 277-0614 Mary Kreitinger 211 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Faxes can be sent to 607-257-0483 Ice Hockey Registration Sunday September 7 For New and Continuing Skaters! Ithaca Youth Hockey Association (IYHA) and Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) will hold Registration on Sunday, September 7 at The RINK, 1767 East Shore Drive from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Representatives of both organizations will be available to talk about their programs and to sign up interested girls and boys. No prior ice hockey or skating experience is necessary as beginners are welcome. The Used Equipment Sale will be held from 12:00 noon-2:00 p.m. Beginning hockey programs are kept affordable by this annual sale and other efforts of IYHA and TGHA. Used ice and in-line hockey equipment for sale can be dropped off between 9:00 and 10:45 a.m. Ithaca Youth Hockey Association is open to all youth in Tompkins County ages 4-18; all abilities are welcome. For more info about IYHA programs, contact President Louise Watson, 277-8835, lmw417@twcny.rr.com or visit www.ithacayouthhockey.com. Tompkins Girls Hockey Association programs are for area girls of elementary, middle and high school age. For more info about TGHA, contact the Registrars, wetz4NY@aol.com, 277-0614, or visit www.ithacagirlshockey.com. A non-checking coed recreational hockey program open to 6th-12th graders is also being offered this year; contact Joe Sullivan at sullyvan@aol.com for more details. The Community Recreation Center Inc. which operates The RINK and The FIELD will be holding a chicken barbeque in conjunction with the Masonic Lodge. Later this fall IYHA will host an Open House at The RINK for prospective youth players. TGHA will have its annual Open House/Season Kickoff for new and continuing members on Monday, Oct. 27, 7:00 p.m. at The RINK. Contact the IYHA and TGHA leaders and their web sites for details. 2003-2004 Programs, Schedule, Fees This season's program is being announced before it is approved by the TGHA Board at its next meeting on Thursday, September 4. The delay in approval is related to our several efforts to keep the costs down, and the need to decide on which travel teams are being offered. Estimated fees and schedules are presented, and they will be confirmed or changed soon after September 4. Fees listed include USA Hockey registration and program from October-March. Each player also pays a "fund raising commitment" at the time of registration. They are able to receive that amount back later in the season if they participate fully in TGHA fundraisers. Last year the fund raising commitment was $40 for half time Recreation players and $75 for all other members. This year will be a similar formula, and there should be more fund raising opportunities to encourage your participation. We hope many will take the chances to "earn back" this part of your fees. Schedules are subject to change when enrollment is known, but are published here to assist your family planning. Any changes will be announced as soon as information is available. The regular schedule does not begin until the week of October 27 when Cass Park is open, but preseason ice times on Mondays and Tuesdays at the other rinks will soon be announced for those who are available to participate. TGHA knows many girls are in fall sports seasons! Initiation serves beginning girls in elementary school. How many years a girl plays in Initiation depends on her age, previous skating experiences, level of interest. Michelle Mogil will counsel last year's Initiation girls about their placement for this year; contact her by Sept. 7. Current schedule has this group on the ice Mondays 5:00-6:00 p.m. at The RINK and Thursdays 5:15 -6:15 p.m. at Cass Park. Fee $200. House League is for girls who have completed TGHA or IYHA Initiation and are in elementary or middle school. Contact Chris Grippin by Sept. 7 if you wish to discuss placement for this season. Monday games will be held 6:00-7:15 p.m. at The RINK, and skills sessions will be Thursdays 6:15-7:15 p.m. at Cass Park. Fee $275. Recreation is offered for middle school and high school girls with some hockey experience. They will have skills sessions on Mondays 8:30-9:30 p.m. at The RINK and some weekend game slots during the season for $275. They are also welcome to sign up for the IYHA non-checking coed recreation program for middle school and high schoolers. Several Shooting Stars Travel teams will be offered pending evaluation of the numbers of girls at each age group who register on August 27. USA Hockey age classifications are 19U, 16U, 14U, 12U. These girls will participate in the tryouts in mid-September. Head coaches will be announced when teams are announced soon after August 27. There will be a handout at tryouts outlining the several teams' season plans and coach expectations. Practices will be Mondays 7:30-8:30 p.m. at The RINK and Thursdays 7:15-8:15 p.m. at Cass Park for the younger travel team, and Tuesdays 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Lynah and Thursdays evenings tba at Cass Park for the two older teams. Games, home and away, are played on weekends. Fees will be between $750 and 850. Tryouts for Travel Teams Tryouts will be on September 13 and 14 at Lynah Rink between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. for the Shooting Stars. The times for each age group team will be announced to all on the TGHA email list. Please refer to the handout on Travel Team Tryout Schedule and Procedures. All girls must be registered before taking the ice for the first tryout. $30 will be charged for the tryout ice times. Some practices will be scheduled for the weeks after the tryouts and before the regular schedule begins in late October. Your email? Do you have a new email address this year? TGHA is continuing to use yahoogroups.com for our email newsletters (TGHA-All and the various ones for each team and program.). You can try to change your address directly with yahoogroups.com, or contact Mary Grainger and she will update your contact information. Thanks. Open House TGHA annually starts the season with a fun night at The RINK for all current members and prospective members. Mark your own calendars and tell your friends about Monday, October 27, 7:00-8:30 p.m. There will be refreshments and music, free skate rentals, information about the upcoming year, scholarship information, and an introduction to girls ice hockey for those who are considering joining this exciting sport and great community! Help Needed! Many TGHA parents can't help coach the girls and may not have time to take on a leadership role, YET there are many other ways to help out! At this time of year we especially need people who can help at the events when we greet prospective members. Refreshments need to be arranged, decorations and signs hung, visitors greeted and assisted at the door, etc. If you can help at Registration, Open House, or the Try Girls Hockey events, let Kim or Mary know and we'll refer your name to the right person! Thank you. Fund Raising TGHA's fund raising plans are underway! Several ideas have been brought forth and are being researched. Information on fund raising will be forth coming in the next several weeks. Each player's fund raising obligation will be announced after the Sept. 4 board meeting and will be collected at registration along with your program fee. Participation in fund raising allows you to earn back this money based on your family's level of involvement in those projects. Scholarship recipients also participate in fund raising. If you have ideas or suggestions, please contact Sue McKelvey and Robin Zifchock. They are also contacting businesses about becoming TGHA sponsors. If you have a business to suggest, please let them know. Update from the TGHA Cub Club It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to Erin Magee, the Cornell Big Red assistant coach who worked with me last year on the Cub Club. Erin is leaving Cornell to seek her fortunes elsewhere, and I wish her all the very best of luck from the whole TGHA Cub Club. Erin is not leaving us empty-handed, though! Along with a promise for an equally wonderful replacement, she has been working hard in between all her summer activities to come up with a Cub Club brochure under the guidance of Cornell Women's Coach Mel Davidson. One of the cornerstone concepts contained in the brochure is growing the relationships between TGHA girls and Cornell Big Red players to last the entire academic career of the Big Red Sisters. This is a nice evolution for the Cub Club and while I am sure it will cause some initial confusion and record-keeping challenges, I think it is a very positive direction for the program. More to come as the season progresses! Stephanie Herrick Silver Stick Tournament News We'll be hosting the Silver Stick Regional Qualifying Tournament again this year, and our tournament weekend will be December 5 through 7. This tournament is a substantial fundraiser for our whole association (which allows us to offer scholarships and to keep everyone's fees low!), so we'd like to see as much involvement as possible from our skaters at all levels. One way to get involved is to sell ads for the program we'll be selling at the tournament. At registration this year we'll have a form for you all to use to sell ads. And we'll let you know as the season progresses what additional help we'll need. Thanks in advance for your help! Rosie Mayer, Silver Stick Tournament Chair Successful Summer Hockey Program Draws to a Close The TGHA summer hockey returned for its second season and was an outstanding success. We have more than 40 girls signed up for this year's program (going through the end of August) making it our biggest yet. A large and hearty THANK YOU to Chris Grippin for all of his outstanding coaching during the eight nights on the ice. This year we also introduced a program for beginners which was very well received. These girls were so enthusiastic!! A very special thank you to Michelle Mogil for coaching this group and for Matt Ulinski and Mary Grainger for organizing it. Jeff Scott Do you have used equipment? TGHA has an Equipment Loan supply of hockey gear which is loaned each year to members who return it when they are done and someone else can borrow it. If you have equipment you'd like to donate to the supply, bring it to Registration or Open House or contact Tony and Julie Eisenhut who maintain the supply. If you need to borrow something, contact them as well. If you'd like to sell your old equipment under "consignment", bring it to the IYHA Used Equipment Sale on Sept. 7. Bring it to The RINK between 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. and check back at 2:00 p.m. to see if it sold. IYHA benefits some from this annual popular sale. Announcing the Hockey "Big Sister" Program Jointly Sponsored by TGHA and the Ithaca Youth Bureau The Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) is looking for adults (both men and women) to participate in a new program to help make ice hockey available for more young girls in the Ithaca community. Many girls would love to play hockey, but don't have the resources to get the equipment, pay the ice fees, and get a ride to the ice rink. TGHA will provide the equipment and the ice times and coaching for eligible girls. (In 1999 TGHA received an NHL ASSIST grant which strengthened our scholarship fund, and in 2001 we received a Gatorade Equipped2Play grant of new equipment to loan in addition to our used equipment resources. At this time we are awaiting news of another NHL ASSIST grant, but this program will begin whether or not the outside funding is awarded.) We need you--members of the community--to provide the rides to the rinks--and the personal encouragement to help the girls enjoy themselves and succeed. The Ithaca Youth Bureau will provide training, support and encouragement to our volunteer "Big Sisters" through its "Big Brother/Big Sister" program. Current families may feel they can help another skater, or you may know someone at your work or in your neighborhood who may want to get involved in this active way. If you're interested in helping, please contact either Madeleine Russell or Kath March. Support the Tallman Family Fund Taken from the web site: www.tallmanfund.com Mike Tallman (Ithaca High '86, Cornell University '90) sustained a serious spinal cord injury playing in a pick up hockey game on April 24th. The injury, while not life threatening, has caused Mike to experience paralysis below his waist. The prognosis is currently unknown, but indications are that he will need to use a wheelchair for the foreseeable future. Those of you who know Mike know he is one of the toughest and most determined individuals you will ever meet. Rest assured, Mike will meet this most difficult challenge with the same fierce determination he has brought to all of his past endeavors. Because of this, we know Mike will succeed. Mike and his family, including his wife, Kristen, and daughter, Brodie, have remained incredibly strong during this difficult period and have been touched by the outpouring of support from so many individuals. Another child was due to be born in late August. For more information, please contact Casey Jones (tallmanfund@aol.com) or Neil Paterson (Patersons@aol.com) A number of people have offered to make donations to Mike and his family to ensure that Mike can devote full attention to his rehabilitation. To that end, we have established an account in Mike's name. All proceeds donated to the Tallman Family Fund will be used at the family's discretion to cover necessary expenses such as: rehabilitation, wheelchair, home renovations, vehicle, etc. These expenses are both imminent and immediate so we are trying to move quickly to help Mike and his family. If you would like to make a non-tax deductible donation, kindly make your check payable to the "Tallman Family Fund", and mail the check to: Tallman Family Fund C/O Kim Jones 3079 Scioto Trace Columbus, Ohio 43221 Thank you for your support! Many current and former TGHA players and coaches are Mike's friends so this information is provided to the TGHA membership at the time of registration for the 2003-2004 season. Parent and Shooting Star Alumna Perspective Susan Cosentini was one of the very first TGHA players and she continued playing as an Ithaca Shooting Star and Cornell women's hockey player. She has also been involved with TGHA as a coach and parent during her daughter Jamie Jensen's years playing in Initiation, House, Recreation, Travel, and for Ithaca High School. Jamie will be a freshman defensive player for the University of Vermont this season and is hoping many of us will be in the Lynah stands when she faces Cornell for the first time! During this past year Sue had cause to write her perspectives on the sport of women's ice hockey in this eloquent letter to the editor of The Ithaca Journal. "The value that my daughter and her teammates realized from their participation on the Ithaca High School Girls hockey team can not be measured. The discipline, commitment, drive and cooperation that these girls have developed and displayed as part of their involvement on this team are probably some of the most life enhancing characteristics that they will get out of their high school experience. These attributes and the integrity that these girls developed as a result of their experience on this team are exactly what will make them valuable, contributing citizens of whatever community or world stage they choose to participate in. Ice hockey is played at a fast pace and requires complex skill mastery, and moreover is a non-traditional sport for girls, all of which combine to create its profound effect on the girls that play. As a female, simply by default, you grow to believe that due to your gender there are things that you can not do. After you have participated in this sport for any length of time, you become aware of the contrary; there is nothing you can not do. This is a powerful message for a girl to learn and is just one of the many ways that will eventually serve to flip the world right side up by putting more women in positions of leadership. That will by definition, result in a world where compassion and empathy are no longer considered signs of weakness, but are instead, accurate descriptions of what is to be human and appropriately linked to leadership positions." Susan Cosentini Tompkins Girls Hockey Association Leadership 2003-2004 President: Kim Hamel, 257-5122, khamel@twcny.rr.com Vice President: Mary Grainger, 257-3268, mmgithaca@aol.com Treasurer: Michelle Mogil, 273-6501, mmm3@cornell.edu Secretary: Matt Ulinski, 257-5600, mu25@cornell.edu Registrar: Janice Wetzel, Anne Bechert, Mary Kreitinger, wetz4NY@aol.com, 277-0614 Scholarship: Kath March /Maddy Russell, ksm8@cornell.edu, 277-6010, madlerus@twcny.rr.com Coaching Coordinators: John Uber, john.uber@mt.com, 266-7432 Fundraising and Sponsorship: Sue McKelvey 272-4432 and Robin Zifchock 387-3713 Equipment: Tony and Julie Eisenhut, te@kensagroup.com, 533-7599 Members-at-Large (2): Stephanie Herrick, sph1@cornell.edu and OPEN Cub Club Coordinator: Stephanie Herrick, 277-1414 Silver Stick: Rosie Mayer, rma@twmlaw.com, 257-2621 Webmaster: Chris Grippin, cjg29@cornell.edu, 277-3128 Clothing: Margie Mikula, mmikula@ithaca, 533-4865
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