Michigan Senior Women’s Hockey League
Meeting Minutes ~ August 28, 2007

Meeting Overview
President Joanne Lukasik called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.  

President’s Report
In the opening remarks, Joanne introduced the board: absent Terry Mathews (VP), Ann Dobija (VP), Lisa Mello (Secretary), Johnna Rhone (Treasurer), and Carrie Sirola (MAHA/USA Hockey Rep). 
Joanne said she was impressed with the interest in the league last season. It was the first time in years that there was ever a board election. It shows that more people are interested in what’s going on and she encouraged everyone to get involved.  There were several changes in teams for this upcoming season. We lost some teams and we picked up some new teams. We no longer have the Canadian teams in the league and that caused us to combine the upper divisions into one division. 
One change for this year is the 10 game minimum requirements for players to participate in Ruicci Cup. You will no longer need to track games played by player. However, in order to have players eligible for Ruicci Cup they must be rostered by December 31, 2007. 

Joanne did discuss the issues of last year and the time the board had to spend on them. Again this year is a reminder that we will not tolerate any issues with conduct of play. Each player needs to take responsibility for their actions on the ice. If there are any issues of unsportsmanlike conduct the team will be put on probabation immediately. If there is second offense, the player will need to appear before the board and the team will be suspended. This league is a recreation league and everyone needs to respect each other. There will be ZERO TOLERANCE this year. 


Treasurer’s Report
Joanne went through the financial status of the league. Last year’s revenue: $18,080.00; expenses: $4,300.10, Ruicci Cup expenses: $14,788.412 and our current balance is $ 3657.16. We hope to maintain status quo for this season as in the past. 

Vice-President’s Report
V.P. Ann Dobija discussed that there weren’t any major changes to the handbook for the new season. The biggest change was the removal of any reference to the Canadian teams. Look for an updated handbook on the website in a few weeks. All teams will need to have a representative sign the Acknowledgement of Rules & Regulations form and send in to Joanne when you send your official USA Hockey roster prior to your first game. 

MAHA/USA Hockey Report
V.P. Carrie Sirola reported that there were not a lot of changes. The biggest is the USA Hockey registration fee. It is now $35 per player with $5 going to MAHA. Also, the rule has changed so a team can now have 3 players from out of state on their roster. Just a reminder that teams planning to go to states/nationals need to commit in writing by November 15, 2007. The National Tournament will be held in Philadelphia and the State Tournament will be the in Taylor. More info to come.

Division/Team Structure
President Joanne Lukasik announced the divisions. 
Advanced: Little Caesars, O’Leary Hawks, Black Beauty, Mission, Detroit Dragons, Snipers, McDonald’s, Stix. 
Intermediate I: Ice 3, Polar Bears, Mag-a-ritas, Metro Blades, Wildcats, Stingrays, Michigan Devils, Howell Lady Blues.
Intermediate II: Frozen Assets, Flyers, Phantoms, Black Ice, Iron Maidens.
Recreation I: Ice Picks, Ice Pack, Lady Wings, Nighthawks, Southfield Storm. 
Recreation II: Kensington Swarm, Ann Arbor Cyclones, Ann Arbor Flames, Predators, Puck N’ Chicks, The Other Team, Spitfires, Goody 2 Shoes Hockey.  

The Nighthawks from Rec. I are still looking for players. 

Teams broke into sessions and created their schedules for the season. 

To Do:

Each TEAM must do the following:
* Every team must send your team info to Ann Dobija at adobija@aol.com.  This should include players names & jersey numbers, your team coaches & managers names, and your home rink.  This should be sent by Sept. 28th. 
* Every team must send an official copy of their USA hockey roster to Joanne Lukasik by Sept. 28th (Joanne's address is 19840 Northbrook, Southfield, MI 48076). 
     Note: you must have your roster completed prior to playing your first game!
* Every team needs to review the MSWHL rules handbook, (updated version will be posted on the website by Sept. 14th).  After reviewing the rules, please print out the last page and have your team coach/manager sign it, and mail it in with your official roster to Joanne Lukasik (address above). 
Each Division Director or Statistician must do the following:
* Each division Director or Statistician is responsible for sending your divisions complete schedule to Ann Dobija at adobija@aol.com for posting to the website (by Sept. 28th).  Please use the form (excel document) posted under the forms section of the website to input your divisions schedules and to keep the standings on.   The statistician is responsible for updating this document, and emailing it to Ann on a monthly basis, so the website can be updated.  Please send the stats the first week of the month (starting in Nov.) for the prior months stats.
* Each division must sent the names & email addresses of your respective Division director and Statistician to Lisa Mello at ltmello@umich.edu by Sept. 7th.

Check the website for updates and announcements. 

Lisa Mello
MSWHL Secretary
ltmello@umich.edu