Greetings MGHAers! We hope your summer has been going well. Believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about hockey. The 2008-09 season is fast approaching, and we have some important information and opportunities for involvement to share with you.

Stick Taping Party / Food Pantry Drive

We will kick off the season with the Stick Taping Party on Sunday, September 14th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Neighborhood House Community Center, which is giving us a significant rental discount in exchange for a food drive to help fill their pantry shelves. So, let's show Neighborhood House what great neighbors we are by bringing at least one nonperishable food item per person to the party. Then relax and enjoy free pizza/soda/water with your fellow MGHAers and learn what's in store for the coming season. For those of you who are new to hockey, we'll have a stick taping demo (bring your stick!), a gear demo ("how do I put on all this stuff?"), and an explanation of the rules. If you've already registered for USA Hockey, bring your confirmation printout with you, otherwise we'll have computers available for those who want to register. Also learn how to participate in the web forums, update your player profile, or pay fees online.

Seeking Social Diva Help

Are you looking for an opportunity to get more involved with the MGHA? Do you like to have fun? Can you help organize a small-scale event? Well, then, we would like you to seriously consider helping out our Social Diva, Tim Foster, who has recently taken on many new responsibilities with the MGHA, including those of Board member. The responsibilities of the Social Diva and his helpers are to organize a social event about once per month during the regular season for MGHA players, fans, friends, etc. The event could be most anything fun and social... attending a play, a concert, or a sporting event; eating at a new restaurant, etc. This is a great way to get to know your fellow MGHAers. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the recruiting committee.

Seeking Fan Club Leadership

The MGHA would like to create more excitement about our hockey league within the greater LGBTQA community, including, but not limited to, getting more fans in the stands for our games. Do you have the spirit of a cheerleader or do you know someone who does? Maybe you have a friend who doesn't want to play hockey, but just loves coming to the games and cheering? We are looking for a few enthusiastic people who can generate more interest in our games and the league by networking with other LGBTQA and greater Madison community groups. If you have ideas about how to market the MGHA to the community, this is a great opportunity to use your creative talents, get more involved with the MGHA, and meet a lot of people. If you are interested, please contact the recruiting committee.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

The MGHA is also looking for several other volunteers to help with recording players' stats, running the scoreboard, writing game summaries, and photographing games and other MGHA events. If you or someone you know would be interested in any of these great volunteer opportunities, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Bri Deyo.

Skate with the MGHA at the UW Shell

Back by popular demand! Work on your skating skills and meet or catch up with other MGHA folks. At least two returning players will be skating in their MGHA jerseys so new players can easily identify them on Wednesdays (6:15 – 7:15 PM) and Saturdays (7:00 – 8:30 PM) at the Shell during September and October.

If you've just purchased skates, it's recommended that you spend as many hours in them as you can before the start of the season. New skates can take about 20 hours to break in, so you'll save yourself a lot of blisters by coming out to skate! And if you haven't skated in a while, it's a great opportunity to build up those ankle muscles so you'll be able to skate for an hour at the first skills clinic without your feet hurting. The first "Skate with the MGHA" session will be Wednesday, September 3rd. See the Shell web site for complete cost and schedule info.

Gear Deals

All MGHA players will receive a 10% discount on all hockey gear & accessories from Middleton Sports & Fitness on University Ave., Suter's Gold Medal Sports on North Sherman Ave., and Play It Again Sports on Gammon Rd... all you have to do is ask for the discount at the time of purchase.

The MGHA has once again teamed up with Middleton Sports & Fitness (MS&F) to offer an Easton gear package for $209.95 (not eligible for the 10% discount) that consists of breezers, shin pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, and gloves. If you want to get the gear package in time for the start of the season, you need to go in for a fitting ASAP, as it takes about a month to get the equipment. If you would like to have your fitting done by someone from the league, the MGHA Treasurer Matt Jelinek works at MS&F and is willing to fit any MGHA players. If you would be interested in that, please send an email to MGHA Recruiting, and we will help you arrange that.

Another option for new gear is Suter's Gold Medal Sports. Players should ask for Mary at Suter's eastside location on North Sherman Ave if they need to get fitted for new gear. If you are looking for a gear package, she will recommend the Bauer Supreme 30 line for about $200.