Annual Congress
About the Annual Congress and Annual General Meeting
The Annual Congress is held over a weekend in the month of June, and provides BC Hockey members the opportunity to get together to celebrate minor hockey, attend seminars as well as attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the Saturday afternoon. The AGM of BC Hockey is, as the name suggests, the main annual meeting of the members of BC Hockey.
Our Congress Weekend Goals
This gathering is all about creating a great business, interactive and social environment for BC Hockey members. We gather to learn, take care of Society business, and have some fun. Among our goals:
- Review the completed season
- Discuss and establish direction regarding our rules, regulations, bylaws, policies and budget for the coming seasons
- Elect Directors for the BC Hockey Board of Directors
- Celebrate achievements, champions, and volunteers, including those being awarded for outstanding service
- Provide engaging opportunities for education and training on key areas of focus for the coming season
- Take pride in our accomplishments and enjoy each other's company
We are all invested in BC Hockey as a dynamic organization, melding together Hockey Canada direction with BC Hockey Branch initiatives and with the work of every member association.
It is a weekend to live our values: Fun. Integrity. Teamwork. Excellence.
BC Hockey is excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2023 BC Hockey Annual Congress which will take place June 9-10, 2023, at the Penticton Lakeside Resort in Penticton, B.C.
For this year only, the BC Hockey Board of Directors has announced that the registration price for the event will only cost $100 per person. We hope that this price reduction can help reduce the financial burden on Districts and Minor Hockey Associations (MHAs) and allow everyone to come together for a great weekend.
Click the button below to register for BC Hockey's 2023 Annual Congress:
Register for the 2023 Annual Congress (Credit Card Payment)
Register for the 2023 Annual Congress (Invoice MHA)
The theme of this year’s Congress will be Be the Change in Hockey. Here are some further details on the schedule of events for the 2023 BC Hockey Annual Congress.
Friday, June 9, 2023 - Schedule of Events
| Delegate Voting/Registration | Foyer | 2:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. |
| Tradeshow | Upper and Lower Foyer | 2:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. |
| Welcome and Introductions | Salon B/C | 6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. |
| Keynote Address: Corey Hirsch | Salon B/C | 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. |
| Social - Reception | Salon D and West Lawn | 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. |
Please note that the schedule is tentative and could be adjusted prior to the event. A finalized schedule will be distributed to delegates prior to the 2023 Annual Congress.
Keynote Speaker - Corey Hirsch:
By the time he was 22 years old, goaltender Corey Hirsch had realized his childhood dream of playing in the NHL, won an Olympic medal and drunk from the Stanley Cup. While he excelled on the ice, out of the net Hirsch was plagued by persistent dark thoughts and ceaseless anxiety. On days when he could barely get out of bed, he was able to push aside the endless loop of dark thoughts running inside his brain long enough to win a game. But as soon as he got back home, the agonizing cycle started all over again. And it continued, until finally he was able to confide in a team trainer who helped him get the professional treatment he needed. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Hirsch was able to embark on the rocky road to recovery. As one of the first professional athletes to talk openly about mental health, Hirsch wrote about his OCD for the Players’ Tribune. His piece remains one of their most-read articles ever.
As Hirsch says, “I am not insane. I am not a bad person. I am not weak. I have an illness, and there is a treatment.”
Saturday, June 10, 2023 - Schedule of Events
| Grab N' Go Breakfast | Foyer | 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. |
| Delegate Voting/Registration | Foyer | 7:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. |
| Tradeshow | Upper and Lower Foyer | 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
| Seminars | Salon A, B, C & D | 8:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. |
| Buffet Lunch | East Ballroom | 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. |
| Annual General Meeting | East Ballroom | 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
| Pre-Gala Social | East Ballroom | 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
| Awards Gala | East Ballroom | 6:00 p.m. |
Please note that the schedule is tentative and could be adjusted prior to the event. A finalized schedule will be distributed to delegates prior to the 2023 Annual Congress.
Seminars
| Room | 8:30 am - 9:15 am | 9:30 am - 10:15 am | 10:30 am - 11:15 am |
| Salon A |
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (with special guest Eva Bošnjak) |
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (with special guest Eva Bošnjak) |
Coaching |
| Salon B | Safe Sport (Independent Third-Party Reporting System) | Safe Sport (Independent Third-Party Reporting System) | Officiating Assignments on Spordle Play |
| Salon C | Mental Health (presented by Dr. Shaunna Taylor) | Mental Health (presented by Dr. Shaunna Taylor) | Female Development |
| Salon D | Indigenous Participation | Indigenous Participation |
*Please note: Saturday's seminars have been designed so that delegates can attend multiple seminar topics, that is why some seminars are offered twice. More information surrounding the seminars and seminar registration will be sent to delegates in the near future.
Register for Seminars Here
On Saturday June 10th, BC Hockey will host the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will include Board elections with a new Slate Of Candidates. The BC Hockey Membership will also vote on any resolutions to amend the Constitution, Bylaws and Regulations.
The weekend will be capped-off with the 2023 Awards Gala where we get to recognize members and volunteers that have shown dedication to hockey in B.C. and Yukon. Nominate someone for a 2023 BC Hockey Award HERE.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Seminar Details
The Hockey Canada Player Pathways are programming philosophies that align with Hockey Canada’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) model and focus on delivering hockey with an emphasis on enjoyment of the game and player development. Between 2016 and 2021, Pathways were created for the U7, U9, and U11 levels of play. Built on the foundations laid down by those previous documents, the newly created U13 and U15 Pathways are now available and serve as the next sets of age-appropriate teaching curriculum and skill-specific program delivery guidelines that Hockey Canada has created to support minor hockey associations. By utilizing the Hockey Canada Player Pathways and LTPD principles, Minor Hockey Associations (MHAs) can be confident that they offer systems and structures to their members that are consistent and ensure continuity as players move through the system from one age level to the next.
This seminar will introduce MHAs to these newly developed frameworks, and provide coaches with direction and guiding principles for level-appropriate practice, game, and seasonal planning for both the recreational and competitive streams, player evaluation and selection protocol, ice time, position specialization parameters, skill curriculum and development focuses, and more. Following these recommendations provides players at these age categories with an ongoing opportunity to develop and refine their fundamental movement skills (skating, turning, acceleration), manipulation skills (shooting, puck control, passing), overall motor skills (balance, coordination, agility) and checking skills (stick checks, angling, body contact/checking) through a defined path of progressions in a fun and safe environment that promotes skill development through self-confidence.
Inclusion is on the radar and priority list of most organizations. Organizations and their leaders want to do something but they often struggle with where to start. Inclusion is a choice, it is an outcome of intentional work to create environments that support diversity and provide leadership for people to bring their whole selves to their work and play. This session will be your call to action, your opportunity to think about next steps. It will also connect some of the key areas across sport that leaders need to be paying attention to, such as safe sport, gender equity, and anti-racism.
Eva Bošnjak (they/them) - Manager of INclusion Projects - Eva is a settler living and working on Treaty 13 territory whose passion for sport inclusion stems from their experiences as a trans non-binary person and former competitive athlete. As an equity, diversity, and inclusion practitioner working in sporting and post-secondary environments, Eva designs and facilitates trainings and workshops focused on educating leaders to build safer spaces for LGBTQI2S+ persons. Eva holds a MSc in Sociocultural Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity and a BSc in Exercise and Health Physiology from the University of Calgary. Eva’s research highlights transgender and gender non-conforming persons’ lived experiences within recreational sport and physical activity environments. Eva strives to change the dominant narrative that seeks to silence and pathologize trans persons by amplifying the voices of those experiencing marginalization.
For the 2023-24 season, Women in Coaching will be a focus of promotion within female hockey. Whitney Juszkiewicz will lead seminar attendees through our thoughts and plans for women in coaching development opportunities. She will focus on the overall mentorship plan, seminars and workshops that will be offered and how a Minor Hockey Association (MHA) can start to get involved. This past season, Whitney was fortunate to run two pilot programs in Gibsons, B.C. and Dawson City, Yukon. Whitney will outline the great initiatives that occurred and will talk about how our MHAs can benefit from this program.
Whitney is in her second season as Female U18 Team BC Assistant Coach after she helped the team to a gold medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. She was also previously the Female Program of Excellence (POE) Coordinator and played integral roles with Team BC's bronze medal team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, and the 2017 Team BC which claimed a bronze medal at the National Women’s U18 Championship. Whitney has served as a leader in the National Hockey League Coaches Association (NHLCA) Female Coach Mentor Program. Whitney brings over 10 years of experience working with numerous MHA's in the Lower Mainland and is a Hockey Canada Skills Coach. She was awarded BC Hockey's Development Award - Coaching in 2022, and was named the BFL Female Coach of the Year for B.C. in 2021.
This seminar will have a focus on building connections for inclusion of Indigenous communities and building sustainable relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. This seminar will be presented by Ryneld Starr.
Ryneld is a member of the Gitxsan Nation, part of the Gisgaast (Fireweed Clan) and Wilps Wii Gyet (House of Wii Gyet). His background is in journalism. He has worked with some of B.C.’s leading news organizations such as CKNW Radio and CTV News. After leaving journalism, he spent two years as communications officer for BCAFN Regional Chief Shawn Ah-in-chut Atleo, culminating in a successful bid by Ah-in-chut as AFN National Chief. He worked with the Four Host First Nations and the Vancouver Olympic Committee during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics supporting coverage for the Aboriginal Pavilion, Artisan village, and Business Showcase. Following his Olympic experience, Ryneld returned home to the Gitxsan territories to work with the Skeena Fisheries Commission where he continues in administration and communications. Ryneld volunteers extensively for minor hockey, serving as President of Hazelton Minor Hockey Association for the past seven years. He also works with BC Hockey as Indigenous Liaison for all minor hockey associations in British Columbia.
Mental health has been at the forefront of discussions around the kitchen table and the boardroom table, particularly in recent years. High profile athletes and coaches have begun to speak up about the importance of honouring a holistic approach to mental health in sport. This session will introduce core concepts about mental health and wellness in sport, bust some myths about mental wellness, and will encourage attendees to develop an action plan for taking next steps in their programs across the province.
Dr. Shaunna Taylor is the Past Chair of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association and is a Professor at UBC Vancouver in the High Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership program. She is dedicated to holistic athlete and performer development through her work as the Executive Director of PacificSport Okanagan, and she sits as Chair of viaSport BC’s Girls and Women Advisory Group. She is also proud to provide mental health and performance support to a wide range of performers (www.shaunnataylor.ca) and she is a mental health service provider for the Canadian Centre for Mental Health in Sport (CCMHS). She has been consulting with coaches and athletes from grassroots to the Olympic/Paralympic level for 20 years. She continues to operate her private practice and she has a special interest in creating systems that promote holistic athlete/performer development and honours 'duty of care' and a positive experience to all participants. She earned her doctorate in Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa, and is a certified clinical counsellor.
BC Hockey Members have been at the forefront of electronic game sheets integration with Spordle Play. During the 2021-22 season, BC Hockey’s High Performance Officiating Program piloted an enhanced Spordle Play feature which includes officiating assignments. This seminar provides BC Hockey Members with an opportunity to learn more about this feature.
During the 2022-23 season, many local associations switched to Spordle Play for officiating assigning. Due to integration with the Hockey Canada Registry and direct connectivity to existing schedules within Spordle Play, the use of the officiating assignment feature allows Members to easily manage all aspects of scheduling administration in one place. This eliminates the needs for exporting/uploading schedules to third-party platforms, tracking game changes and means no additional membership or licensing fees. Members can customize assigning methods, generate payroll report, with officiating assignments automatically being added directly to the e-gamesheet; plus many more integral management features.
Expanding the virtual administrative ecosystem will save administrator’s significant volunteer time, resources and allows Members to collaborate more efficiently. Ideally, if all Members utilized this assigning platform, officials from minor to junior hockey would be able to manage their personal schedules all on one profile, reducing inter-Member conflicts / double bookings and better coordinate officials’ availability. We highly encourage Members that do not use this feature to join the Spordle Team during for this seminar. For those that already use the feature, it will be a great opportunity to expand your knowledge and engage directly with the developers.
Led by BC Hockey Ombudsperson Dr. Frank Fowlie, BC Hockey will be advising seminar attendees best practices and processes regarding complaint intake specific to Safe Sport and Maltreatment.
This includes an in-depth discussion on Hockey Canada’s new Independent Third-Party Reporting System and provide insight to how BC Hockey members and participants can utilize the complaint intake process.
The seminar’s goal is to assist and educate members on maltreatment, safe sport and the processes in place at various levels of community sport.
What To Expect
Not sure what to expect at the BC Hockey's 2023 Annual Congress? Check out this video below for some highlights from the 2022 Congress:
Resolution submissions can be made here.