Affiliate players are Vancouver Thunderbird registered players who temporarily play with teams in a higher division/level. There are different rules for Initiation, Recreational and Rep.

• Affiliates can only be used under specific conditions. Before arranging an affiliate, please read Section C “Hockey Rules and Regulations” in the PCAHA Rulebook carefully.
• For all divisions, if the Coach of a team would like to affiliate another player, it is the responsibility of the Coach to contact the other Coach of the team where the said player is rostered to ask permission and coordinate.
• Affiliates must be marked “AP” on the game sheet in HiSports.
• For Rep, please follow the steps outlined in this document. AP players for Rep teams must be rostered by the Registrar before they can play.
• For Rec, please refer to the instructions provided to you by your League Manager. For U7-U9, please refer to the instructions provided to you by your League Manager.

In situations where you may not have enough players, you can assign an Affiliate Player while at the rink as follows.

Rec and U9 and below

• Player has to be from a lower division and from C.
• Follow the guidelines given by your League Manager and/or below.
• Player isn’t serving a suspension.
• Ask player’s Head Coach for approval.
• Ask player’s parents for approval.
• Ask player’s Team Manager to ensure player has not maxed out on number of games.
• Call your League Manager to get verbal approval and get them to add player to HiSports.

Rep

• Player has to be on your roster to be eligible to play.
• Ensure player is on the AP approved list.
• Player is not serving a suspension.
• Ask player’s Head Coach for approval.
• Ask player’s parents for approval.
• Ask player’s Team Manager to ensure player has not maxed out on number of games.

Distribution

• At the beginning of the season, Division Ambassadors (recreational) or Team Managers (rep) will need to email our equipment manager Chris, to arrange a time to pick up their jerseys. They will receive a full set of blue jerseys (TBirds Home colour) and a full set of white jerseys.
• They will also get a puck bag, first aid kit and a coach board.
• If you have any questions regarding jerseys or equipment, please email Chris.

Goalie Equipment

• For teams in U6-U11, Vancouver Thunderbirds Hockey also loans out goalie equipment if your goalie does not own it. Contact Chris to set up an appointment. Also, it is recommended you bring an “average sized” player from your team to help with sizing.

Collecting Jersey Deposits from Players

• The Team Manager collects individual “Jersey Deposit” cheques from each player payable to Vancouver Thunderbird Minor Hockey Association in the amount of $100 for recreational and $150 for rep, post-dated March 31 of the following year. All deposit cheques are then given to Chris for safekeeping at the time of jersey pickup.
• Note: this deposit is per player: if you have 2 kids from the same family on the team, you would collect 2 separate cheques.
• Do not give out a jersey set without receiving a cheque in return!
• Most parents know the rules and are quite diligent about providing cheques upfront. If you have any issues, let the parent know their child will not be able to have a jersey – and therefore, not be able to play - until you have a deposit cheque.
• If a player is moved after the teams have been set, ensure the jersey is returned to the original team as the player should receive a jersey from the new team. This keeps the jerseys as a ‘team set’.

Care of Jerseys

Please inform your parents of the expectation for Thunderbirds jersey care:

• Jerseys should be washed throughout the season and be hung to dry after washing – do not put them in the dryer.
• ‘C’s and ‘A’s are to be gently “hand-stitched stitched” on. DO NOT iron, blue staple or machine sew anything onto the jerseys.
• Name bars are not permitted on Thunderbird jerseys.
• Any player’s jersey that is returned damaged or torn will have their cheque cashed. This includes permanently affixed ‘C’s and/or ‘A’s.

Processing an Injury Report

• When an injury occurs the Team Manager gives the parents an Injury Report Form to fill out. Carry more than one with you to all games and practices – especially at the older levels and Rep. Give forms to parents even if an injury is only suspected. As these must be filled out by the attending doctor, they need it on their first visit, otherwise they will have to schedule another appointment to have it done.
• Parents have 90 days from the date of the injury to submit their form to Hockey Canada. As manager you should keep a copy of all injury forms and also forward a copy to the Vancouver Thunderbirds Risk Managers Nancy Lis. Please also copy the office. Both parents and manager need to keep copies of ALL paperwork related to injuries in case complications arise later.
• Important: It is the parent's responsibility to mail in the form to Hockey Canada, not the Manager's or Risk Managers'.
• The Injury Report is necessary if the player needs to take advantage of Hockey Canada Insurance as a result of their injury.

What is Hockey Canada Insurance?

• Hockey Canada provides an insurance program for properly registered hockey players in Minor Hockey. It also covers registered officials and volunteers. Please acquaint yourself with the Hockey Canada Insurance program. An understanding of its parameters is critical for knowing the restrictions you face in booking off-ice activities, special events, and tournaments.

What does Hockey Canada insurance cover?

• Most parents think that because the injury occurred during hockey that Hockey Canada will pay for all the incurred expenses. That is not correct. Here is the order in which an injury will be covered:

1. MSP
2. Extended Health Care Insurance Providers
3. Any outstanding amount after the first two insurance providers are exhausted, will then fall to Hockey Canada will, based on their policies, reimburse the parents for partial or full amounts of the claim.

• All receipts must be provided and any or all statements returned from the Extended Health Insurance. For those families who do not have Extended Health Insurance then they are to keep all their receipts and mail those in with the Injury Report.

Return to Play

• Upon return from an injury, the player cannot participate in any hockey activity - whether on or off the ice (whether they have collected on insurance or not) - without a note giving them approval to return to hockey from their attending doctor (note that sometimes a note from a Physiotherapist or Chiropractor is also acceptable if they have been the treating doctor).
• As of 2008, Hockey Canada is also insisting the Return To Play Form is filled out by the physician who is confirming the player’s readiness to return to the ice. If a doctor issues a return to play note on his notepad instead, then simply attach that to your copy of the injury form. If the manager has the note in his/her hands the player can return to hockey. This note must be given to the Risk Manager to file with the injury report at the association.
• Please visit Hockey Canada’s Safety Program. There are many useful papers on safety, information on the Hockey Canada Insurance Program and forms that will be useful to you as a Team Manager.
• Should a Team Manager or HCSP have any questions, they can contact Thunderbird's current Risk Manager Nancy Lis.

Major Penalties

For both home and away games, if a serious penalty is incurred, verify in HiSports immediately after the game to ensure the recording of the penalty was correct, with the period, time and length of the penalty, infraction and that the correct player was noted. Any errors must be reported to the Referee before the final results are recorded in HiSports.

Suspensions

It is the responsibility of the Head Coach and Team Manager to ensure suspended players do not play in games. A player is considered to have played in a game if his/her name appears in HiSports for the game, so ensure that any suspended player has his/her name crossed off.

• Contact your League Manager if you think a player on your team may have been suspended. If you are unsure, sit the player until you hear from the League Manager.
• Suspended players may be listed in HiSports for the game(s) but they need to be noted as serving their suspension(s).
• A suspended player is not allowed near or on the bench at any game until the suspension is served.
• A suspended player must not be in the dressing room before and after a game(s).
• The suspended player is allowed to practice with the team (*there may be exceptions to suspensions longer than 30 days).
• A suspended player is not permitted to participate in any sanctioned game, including playing as an affiliate player for another team, or officiating a game as a Referee or Linesman.
• Players receiving a suspension while playing as an affiliate player for a higher category or division must serve their suspension on their regular team.

Dealing With Major Penalties And Suspensions

You must be aware of current suspension guidelines and keep track of all serious penalties, including those players on your team that incur penalties while playing as affiliates for another team. Failure to follow the proper suspensions for any player or team official could result in the player and the entire team official staff being suspended.

It is the responsibility of the team to know about and track any suspensions of your players. If a suspended player is entered onto a game roster (whether they play or not), the coach is subject to discipline.

Two lessons:
1) Ensure the suspended player’s name is noted as serving their suspension(s) in HiSports for the game.

2) stay on top of your team in HiSports so you know for sure if a player was assessed a penalty that will result in a suspension.

Be careful - the "last 10 minutes of the game" could include part of the 2nd period if the game was played at a slow pace and the third period wasn't 10 minutes long.

It is up to you and your coaches to be familiar with the PCAHA Rulebook. If you have any doubts, contact your PCAHA League Manager AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR NEXT GAME for clarification but do not send an email asking what the suspension should be.  The expectation is that the Team Manager or Head Coach should know, and be cognizant of accumulated suspensions as it can affect the Head Coach.  i.e. they will get an automatic suspension as well.  The message here is to read the guidelines and know/understand them.

Please check the PCAHA Rulebook for their “Summary of Penalty Types and Automatic Suspensions” and BC Hockey’s “Annual Minimum Suspension Guidelines” for any serious penalties/suspensions.

Picture Day

• The Association organizes the annual Picture Day for all Thunderbird teams. All players receive a Memory Mate at no cost. Various additional packages are made available for purchase.
• Have parents fill out the online picture forms provided by the photographer after the photo session.
• The date of picture day will be communicated to all Team Managers after Thanksgiving and is typically held the second or third Sunday of November.
• Picture day is often chaotic given the number of players and teams within the Association. It is suggested that players arrive at least 15-20 minutes prior to their scheduled time. The team must be organized and lined up in alphabetical order by last name.
• It is up to the team which colour jersey they would like to wear, although Blue is our home colour and seems to stand out better in the photos. Players can be in either full gear MINUS skates or just their jersey but you should decide as a team on one or the other.
• Once the pictures are ready for pick up, you will be contacted to arrange for someone from your team to pick them up and distribute them.

Your coaches may wish to bring in additional skills providers over and above what the association provides. Please note that all third party skills providers must be cleared by Vancouver Thunderbirds and BC Hockey in order to ensure they have the proper certifications, a criminal record check and insurance coverage.

• All third party skills providers must renew their status with BC Hockey each season, so do not assume they have done so. Please send the instructor’s name and the name of their company (if they have one) to the office who can verify if they have been approved for the season. If they have not, they will need to complete the BC Hockey application for Entrepreneurial or Private Instructors and Groups.
• The approval can happen quickly. However it is dependent on if the skills provider is current on their Respect in Sport, Concussion Awareness Training Tool and criminal record check as each of these steps will take some of their time to complete before approval can occur.
• All expenses incurred for additional skills providers/development will be borne by the team and is to be included in the team budget.
• Important: Skills providers who have not been verified by the association are not eligible to participate in any activity with a Thunderbird team or subset of a team as they do not have the required insurance and will put in jeopardy the insurance of our players and coaches. 

You will find over the years that some teams you are a part of want to do it all: fundraising, tournaments, parties, while others are more low-key. It is important to take the pulse of the group at the start of the season to see what the consensus is.

• These additional duties can be delegated, but you will probably find you are closely involved with all, and as they all represent team expenditures, you must ensure you or your team treasurer execute them with due diligence.
• As the Team Manager, there are many activities you may want your team to participate in. Depending on the age of your team there are many activities you can arrange to help with team building, relationships and fun outside of hockey. Activities could include bowling, going to a sporting event, etc. The Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants and UBC Hockey also allow minor hockey teams (U6-U9, Intro) to play a mini game between periods in some games. They also have group rates in the event your team would like to make this a team activity. Teams sometimes have parties at the beginning of the year, Halloween, Christmas and the end of the year. What you decide to do is entirely up to you and your team.

All expenses incurred for team activities will be borne by the team and is to be included in the team budget.

Insurance Considerations for Team Activities – Special Events
The Hockey Canada Insurance Program is extended to all registered players and officials. Please note, however, events that fall outside of “regular hockey programming” are, for insurance purposes, considered “Special Events”.

For each of these events, teams must ensure that a Special Event Sanction Request Form is submitted to the BC Hockey office at least 7 to 10 business days prior to the start of the event in order to request to have Hockey Canada Insurance Program coverage extended to the event. This includes additional dryland training, whether that be weekly, or a twice-yearly visit to The Grind. Be sure you and your HCSP person are aware of all the insurance issues for your team. Most parents are unaware of what the Hockey Canada Insurance Program does or does not cover and will expect their coaches and managers to have that information.