ATOM
PEEWEE
BANTAM
MIDGET
Friday, September 7
Richmond Ice Centre - Coliseum
7:30 - 8:15 pm - Goalie skills session (Goalies only)
8:30 - 10:00 pm - Scrimmage (all skaters and goalies)
Please note the scrimmage time will be a combination of 5 on 5 standard scrimmage and 3 on 3.
Schedule for the following week will be based upon the practice roster assignments - see Schedule for Phase 3 for ice time allocations for all rep teams as of August 31.
Saturday August 25 Update
The goalies and Atom skills sessions started things off for the 2018 tryout season and it was great to see everyone at the rink again! We are looking forward to the ice times tomorrow as well and hope our peewee and bantam players will be ready to go.
Assignments have been finalized for the Monday Atom scrimmages. Please note that goaltenders are on a pre-determined rotation through the three tiers in Atom before being assigned following the Tuesday ice time. Skaters, please note what team you are on - this is the team you have been assigned to for Monday. Be sure to bring both jerseys though just in case a last minute change is required. For those that have moved up a tier, congratulations on doing well today - be ready for stronger competition. For those that moved down a tier, the expectation is that you will be one of the stronger players in that tier now so take advantage of that and perform your best. No decisions have been made at this point, just go out and have a great ice time on Monday.
August 24 Update
In case you missed it, tryouts start this weekend! If you haven't already now is really the time to make sure you know when the first ice times are and what group you have been assigned to (scroll down for the August 17 update). A few last minute reminders:
Checklist reminder
For those final few that haven't completed the items needed before the first ice time, players will not be able to go onto the ice without having the ePact profile updated and the rep commitment form/other activity form submitted (see checklist for what to do prior to the first ice time above). You will not receive a jersey unless these have been completed, and the check-in team will make you fill it out on your phone if it has not been done so make it easy on everyone and be sure to do it today.
Volunteers
We cannot run ice times without volunteer roles being filled. There are still a few spots in peewee and bantam for this weekend - some of them in roles that mean we can't start the session. If you are at the rink anyway, please consider helping out.
For those awesome people that have already volunteered, and the amazing ones to follow, a description on what you will be doing and where/who to meet with for your shift can be found here.
Parent Information Meeting - Mandatory for one member of each family to attend
As in all years, we will be hosting parent information meetings onsite during tryouts. For atom, peewee and bantam, please ensure you attend one of the following two meetings (midget parents are more than welcome however the section on the rep tryouts will be a bit different for you and we will be hosting a meeting on September 4th as well for your group).
Saturday, Aug 25 @ 2:30 - 3:30 pm in Room 328 (upstairs at Hillcrest)
Sunday, Aug 26 @ 10:00 - 11:00 am in Room 328
Please note that for any atom parent, we do allow one parent to attend the player interview component with your child as support, however the person going to the interview must attend this meeting.
Injury/Sickness Protocol
If a player is injured/sick, a doctor's note indicating the expected date of return OR the date of the next assessment if they are not able to conclude a return date is required to be sent directly to Tanya here a minimum of 2 hours before the ice time they will be missing. You can read the full protocol in Policy 9 Section D3. If a player misses an ice time without informing Tanya, they will be automatically assigned to the recreational division.
Vancouver Canadians games impact on parking
Hillcrest is located adjacent to Nat Bailey Stadium and parking is severely impacted when there is a baseball game. We get to deal with it every day except Tuesday so if you plan to come to the rink and stay, note that you will need extra time to find parking. Other than Sunday where it is a 1:05 start time (parking impact starts at 10:30 am), the other days are 7:05 starts and the parking lot condenses down significantly starting at 4:30 pm. Street parking is an option but ensure you pay attention to the signs as they do ticket/tow from around the area during games.
UPDATE FOR MIDGET TRYOUTS
Midget rep tryouts will begin with two days of scrimmages for the entire group the first week of September. Based on registration numbers, we will likely create 3 groups of 10-12 skaters and 2-3 goalies to play a round robin of shorter scrimmages each session assuming all players registered attend. Format is subject to change based on attendance.
Groups will not be finalized until as late as possible to help us identify those midget players who will be participating in tryouts for a full time position versus keeping the option to return available if they accept another opportunity to start the season. Therefore all players should plan to be onsite for the entirety of the sessions.
Schedule
Tuesday, September 4 - Hillcrest - 8:00 - 10:45 pm
Friday, September 7 - Richmond Ice Centre* - Coliseum - 7:30 - 10:15 pm
*Please note that Kits and Kerrisdale Arenas are undergoing upgrades and will not be available until mid-September and so we had to go outside of our normal area to hold this session.
August 17, 2018 update
Select the appropriate division below for the groups for the first ice session.
Skaters: Please note that all efforts have been made to keep skaters from the same level last season together, however that was not possible for our incoming Atom players due to overall numbers of that group. The skill ratings collected at the end of the season were used to separate the group into two sections and know that there was not much difference from top to bottom so if your child is assigned to Group 3, it is not something to focus on. As many in this group are new to the tryout process, parents please emphasize to your players that they just need to do their best on every ice time and, at the end of the process, they will be placed in a great place for their own personal skill development. For some that may mean moving up a group right after the first ice time, for others they may take another ice time or two to move up or they may remain where they are. There is ample opportunity to show what they, and all the players, can do and let the evaluation team do their work.
For new to TBirds skaters, the same philosophy is in place in that while they are automatically placed in the lower group in order to be initially assessed, they will have a great opportunity to stand out and move their way up as appropriate.
Please note that by keeping skaters from same level, this does create an uneven allocation throughout the groups. This does not impact the skills evaluation session (Phase 1) but will require additional movement in order to ensure rosters are of a similar size for scrimmages starting in Phase 2 and an uneven amount of upward/downward movement will occur in this round of player movement.
Goalies: Goaltenders have been separated into groups that will move together through the first 3 ice sessions and each group will be assigned to each tiered group once over those days. The groups have been made with a mix of skill levels within each and have not been put into tiers.
These placements are final and will not be changed - it will be up to the players to play hard and show their best each and every ice time.
Parents, thank you to those who have already jumped in and signed up to help out on the first weekend. With the knowledge of what group players are assigned to, if you haven't signed up yet, we ask that you review the volunteer roles needed to be filled and ensure we have people in each. It is greatly appreciated to have these positions filled quickly so that we don't need to find people last minute in the rink in order to start the ice times.
We are planning for either 3 or 4 Atom rep teams. The final determination will be made by the evaluation team after seeing the players on the ice to determine the overall skill level.
We are planning for 4 Peewee rep teams.
We are planning for 2 Bantam rep teams.
August 7, 2018 Update
With registration now complete, we are pleased to announce that 262 Thunderbirds registered for the upcoming rep tryouts.
At the completion of each stage during the August 25-31 period, ice assignments, parent volunteer roles needed and any other information will be displayed on this page with the most recent information appearing at the top. It is the responsibility of each player and/or parent/guardian to check this page following each stage to identify their next assigned ice time. Assignments for ice sessions will be posted here as soon as possible following the conclusion of the final ice session for each age division each day.
All sessions in Phases 1 & 2 for Atom, Peewee and Bantam (August 25-31) will take place at Hillcrest Centre. Ice time assignments for the first ice session will be posted no later than Tuesday, August 21.
About the External Evaluators
In addition to the non-parent coaches, we will have a number of external evaluators assisting in the process this year. For each age division, there will be 4 external evaluators participating along with support from goalie specific evaluators throughout the week. These gentlemen bring with them significant experience coaching and scouting from NHL, WHL, BCHL, PIJHL, major midget, and various BC Hockey high performance experiences in addition to playing in junior to NHL levels.
Board of Director Oversight
As is the standard process, Board members will work with the Executive Director to provide oversight to the tryout process. The assignment of Board oversight for this year's tryouts will be:
Atom - Shared oversight by Steve Yan-Klassen (Director of Rep) and Bruce Gregg (Associate Director of Rep)
PeeWee - Bruce Gregg (Associate Director of Rep)
Bantam - Steve Yan Klassen (Director of Rep)
Midget - Shared oversight by Steve Yan Klassen (Director of Rep) and Bruce Gregg (Associate Director of Rep)
We will need your help!
Each ice time will have a few volunteer roles that we will need our parents to assist with in order for the rep tryouts to be successful. We will do our best to remind you but feel free to be proactive and select the button located on the top right for the sign up form for the next round of ice times. We will update the form each day during the tryouts so you will know what ice times your child(ren) are assigned to and can choose accordingly. Thank you in advance for helping us with this!!
Attendance at Tryouts
All players are required to attend ALL assigned ice sessions. Failure to show will immediately result in the player being assigned to the C Division for the season (P-9 Section 2.2) with the following exceptions only and with the required notification:
- P-9 Section 2.3 - (summary of section) Any player that is required to miss an ice session due to sickness or injury must provide a medical note to the Executive Director no later than 2 hours prior to the scheduled ice session. If the player will be missing more than one ice session, a discussion with the Executive Director and Board member overseeing the age division will be required to ensure all factors are understood by both the player and the Association.
- P-9 Section 2.4 - (summary of section) any player that is required to miss an ice session due to work obligations must provide a letter from their employer in advance of the ice session.
- P-9 Section 2.5 - (summary of section) any player trying out for Major Midget or Junior teams that has conflicting ice times must notify the Executive Director no later than 2 hours prior to the scheduled ice session.
- P-9 Section 2.6 - (summary of section) any player that must miss an ice session for exceptional personal circumstances must seek permission in advance of the missed session by emailing the Executive Director or the Board member overseeing the age division. NOTE: Family vacations are not considered exceptional circumstances and do not qualify under this section.
If you have any questions, please contact the Executive Director, Tanya Foley.