TEAM BALANCING IN HOUSE LEAGUE

November 11, 2016

It is the intent of the North York Knights Hockey Association to form House League divisions comprised of teams capable of winning 50% of their games. As a general guideline in team formation, the following principle prevails: a) 50% of the players should be of average playing ability; b) 25% of the players should be of weaker playing ability; and c) 25% of the players should be of superior playing ability.

The House League forms age divisions and teams at the beginning of the season. The divisional Convenor attempts to balance the teams after watching most games at the start of the season in the younger age groups. This process is again repeated before the holiday break in December if there is a need to make minor changes to alter the exceptionally weak or strong teams. Teams and divisional alignments are subject to a review by the Review Committee. In the interest of providing fair balancing, divisional tiering may be enacted at the discretion of the Knights Executive, if permitted by the number of teams (i.e., eight or more teams registered within a division).

The balancing process is exceptionally challenging for many reasons including: 1. the uneven progression in skill level especially for younger players; 2. the beneficial effect of the additional skating and competitive games for players who are part of the Select program; 3. the wide range of abilities of various players in the goaltending position; 4. the participation in additional skill level programs by some House League players.

As a result of this review, teams may be required to reassign players within a division. Thus, any player may be traded in order to make all teams in the division balanced (regardless of friend or coach requests). Convenors are aware that it can be difficult for a player to move to another team, and thus do their best to keep trades to a minimum. Co-operation and support from players, parents and coaches are nevertheless both necessary and appreciated.

Any disputes concerning the movement of players will result in a player’s fee being refunded on a pro-rated basis. NO appeals can be made by a player and/or a player’s parents. The Convenor’s decision is final.