Each of the topics below will be discussed at the MGHA Members Meeting on Saturday, June 6th at 10am.
This page will be updated with materials on each topic as we create them.
League Name Change Proposal
Name change to Madison Pride Hockey Association would reflect the league’s diverse gender identity membership, align with modern LGBTQ+ language, and strengthen community representation.
If voted Yes, logo design submission opens July-August with finalists chosen/voting in Sept and new logo announced Fall 2026.
If voted No, current name remains and other options will be explored by sub-committee for vote next year.
USA Hockey
USA Hockey enacted an eligibility policy that prevents transgender people from playing in hockey leagues that match their chosen gender. To be clear – the MGHA is not impacted by this eligibility policy, as we are currently registered as an all-gender league. As a result of this policy, the MGHA is considering ending our relationship with USA Hockey and acquiring insurance elsewhere.
✅Move off USA Hockey – pros
- Partner with an organization whose values are not in opposition to ours
- Cost is cheaper – TCQHA is under $10 / player
- Other insurance would not require disclosure of gender
- MGHA decides if players under 18 can play
- TCQHA’s insurance allows 16+ with parent permission
- Kids are cheaper to insure
🥅Stay with USA Hockey – pros
- If you play in another league that requires USAH, your fee applies to both leagues, so is cheaper for those players who do
- This depends on what other teams in the area are doing
- This also depends if tournaments people play in elsewhere require USAH
- We have a seat at the table to push USAH on policy
- They are being pressured by the administration, so it is unlikely we will be able to influence their policy for at least 3 years.
If we choose to go with insurance that is not USA Hockey, we will not be considered a USA Hockey sanctioned league. This means that our games will be considered “unsanctioned” for any referee who is a USA Hockey certified official. Some officials may not want to work unsanctioned games (which could reduce the pool of available refs), though many are happy to work unsanctioned games. We are still able to schedule referees through DCHOA (Dane County Hockey Officials Association). We would not be required to have officials who are USA Hockey certified, though we should still prioritize this since these officials have completed the USA Hockey referee training.
This could give us more flexibility should we choose to do something with that flexibility. This could also mean that nothing changes other than that we are considered “unsanctioned” when we send in our game schedule for official assigning.
Grain Media Documentary – POSTPONED
6/5 note: Grain Media was unable to schedule a listening session before the member meeting. As a result, we’re not comfortable proceeding with a vote at the member meeting. We will schedule a second meeting just for the Grain Media discussion after the listening session has been scheduled.
The board has handled a LOT of media requests this season. One proposal from Grain Media has stood out above the rest – they want to produce a documentary about the MGHA, highlighting what we do and the impact we have on our community. They would like to send a documentary crew to Madison to follow us around and film us for the 2026-2027 season.
- The documentary crew would follow a team and/or a couple of individuals for the entire 2026-2027 season.
- Grain Media is giving us a lot of creative control over the end product.
- We have plans for people who do not want to be part of the documentary.
- We’ve improved profile privacy so people outside the MGHA cannot tell if you play in the MGHA.
- Green tape on your gear will indicate you do not want to appear on film.
- A question on your profile will act as a double-check during editing.
Grain Media is going to host a listening session before the member meeting to answer all your questions. Details to come in a follow-up email.