Amalgamate Without Debate

By: Kiernan Rennie

IntroductionFor those of you who participate or participated in minor hockey, you will know how frustrating it is for your area (especially in Grey-Bruce) to have enough registrations to make a full hockey team. The concerns of very few centers has been heard, and this gave me more than enough reason to put this project into action.

PurposeThe purpose of my project is to eliminate the stress of low registrations by suggesting new amalgamations for 2 or more small towns. This will create one center for a larger and more competitive team, giving kids the satisfaction of playing at a higher level of hockey.

Geographic Inquiry Process Ask- Geographic Questions

Acquire- Geographic Resources

Explore- Geographic Data

Analyze- Geographic Information

Act- On geographic Knowledge

Geographic Questions

Will my data be completely accurate?

Will teams be willing to amalgamate with other teams?

Will parents want to drive the extra distance?

Do players at other centers want to play more competitive?

Do the amalgamations effect WOAA playoffs?

Will it increase registration numbers dramatically

How many centers will find this project useful?

MethodologyThroughout this project, a long with everyone else, I ran into some challenges, such as:

Receiving the data I required

Suggesting new amalgamations

Accurately locating problem areas (population, location, etc.)

Taking into consideration the condition of all arenas in Grey-Bruce

Retiring ArenasArena Condition

Chesley 8

Tara 5

Paisley 8

Wiarton 5

Lion’s Head 6

Owen Sound 10

Chatsworth 4

West Grey 8

Lucknow 2

Hanover 10

Walkerton 8

Kincardine 7

Port Elgin 10

Southampton 4

ConclusionAfter completing this project, I found that... All needed to be amalgamated with a center close to them. Everything had laid out perfectly and I was then able to suggest reasonable amalgamations for all of the above centers. I was also able to show which arenas were in the worst shape and have little money to repair them.

Very Special Thanks!

BIG Thanks to the following Minor Hockey Presidents:

Gary Scott- Saugeen Shores

Andrea Watson- West Grey

Steve Dunbar- Wallace

Don Leslie- Walkerton

Brian Seaman- Owen Sound

Steve Shouldice- Shallow Lake

Dave Tedford- TCDMHA

Dan Kerr- Lucknow

Rob Bishop- Kincardine

Kevin Waddell- AEMHA

Steve Fitzsimmons- Hanover