The ever-changing youth hockey landscape is poised for another new look in the Lower Mainland for the 2019-20 season — this time icing regional teams for 13-and-14-year-olds.
With the B.C. Minor Midget Hockey League now up-and-running for 15-year-olds, the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association voted this week to join the BC Hockey Zone Program Pilot project for the Bantam age division.
The project has been studying the expansion of residential boundaries over the past two seasons, with new programming being offered in the East and West Kootenays, North Central, North East, North West, Okanagan-Mainline and Yukon. The addition of the Lower Mainland leaves Vancouver Island as the lone area of the province not participating.
“The PCAHA has closely monitored this pilot project and we found it to be in line with the desire of our Associations to offer this sort of quality program to our participants,” said Lynne Kiang, president of the PCAHA. “Getting everyone onside was a key step in the process, and we now look ahead to working with BC Hockey on the program development and implementation.”
Five regional teams from Pacific Coast Amateur will participate in the BC Hockey Major Bantam AAA League next season. That would equal the number of Lower Mainland teams currently at the Major Midget level.
B.C. Hockey’s Vancouver Centre zone is designated for players from six associations — Richmond, South Delta, Vancouver Minor, Vancouver Thunderbirds and the Arbutus Club.
“We are very pleased with this addition to the zone programming pilot project,” said BC Hockey Chief Executive Officer, Barry Petrachenko. “Over the past two years this pilot has provided young hockey players across our membership with enhanced minor hockey programming options and expanding these options to the Lower Mainland is a major step forward for our sport.”
The BC Hockey Zone Program Pilot Project was developed to provide minor hockey players with access to the highest possible level of play within their age group, regardless of where they reside. Previously, residency regulations limited players to participation with their local Association.
BC Hockey is utilizing the Zone Pilot Program to learn more about the needs and wants of its participants and is working in collaboration with minor hockey associations toward the creation of standardized skill development programming at the local level as well.
The regional rep midget and now bantam leagues also provide another option to academy programs that ice teams in the Canadian School Sport Hockey League and have no player boundary rules.
