Player deposit for next season is now available. The deposit is $80 dollars and due by the end of the business day on Monday, July 17th. After that, returning players will be treated as new recruits. If you are unable to pay the deposit by July 9th but intend to play with us next year, please contact Jake (treasurer@madisongayhockey.org) or Amanda (president@madisongayhockey.org).

Registration includes a question about which skill based league you would prefer to play in including the option for both. This does not guarantee you will able to play in both leagues, we have some details to work out there as well as priority given to getting as many players as possible into the league. Playing in both leagues will incur extra dues. Subbing across leagues will be possible. You will also be able to update this field in your user profile, login, then go to your account info https://www.madisongayhockey.org/account/ and scroll to the bottom.

As a reminder, we will be maintaining 10 teams at least (perhaps grow). We will need as much information to plan for this season as possible so we appreciate you getting your deposit in asap. In following with our mission statement, in recruiting and in accepting new players, we will prioritize members of the LGBTQ+ community and other groups with historically limited access to hockey.

We will be sending announcements for when we have 100 players, 125 players, and a full roster.

Looking forward to next season with y’all,

-Recruitment team and MGHA board

Whether you were a new or returning player this season, we want you to share your story by writing an essay titled “What Gay Hockey Means to Me.”

Why?

• These essays are vital part of our recruiting efforts. They show our prospective new players the impact that participation in MGHA has on improving lives.
  
• The essays help of us recognize our diverse needs and our shared intersections.
  
• They help guide the efforts of league leadership. 

How to Participate

1. Read past essays: https://www.madisongayhockey.org/about/what-gay-hockey-means-to-me.
   
2. Write an introspective essay (humorous, serious, instructive … this is 100% your choice). Essays are typically less than 1000 words, but can be more if needed. Questions to get you started include: What role has the Madison Gay Hockey Association played in developing you as a person? What has participation in the MGHA taught you about your identity and our community?
   
3. Send your essay to president at madisongayhockey dot org.
4. All 2018-2019 MGHA participants may write an essay. Previous award recipients are ineligible for this year’s award. Essay writers are ineligible for the evaluation committee.

Deadline: May 3rd, 2019

• A committee made up of current board members, Our Lives staff, and current captains will read the essays. All essay writers receive a gift from the league and have their essays published on the MGHA website. 
  
• One essay will be selected to be published in Our Lives magazine. And the writer’s 2019-2020 league fees will be covered by the MGHA!

The courage showcased through writing this can empower others to live more open and authentically. Please consider writing and submitting an essay.

Here are this year’s winners and the nice things their teams had to say about them! Congrats to all the winners!

Madison Blues (Blue) Erika Hansen Her quiet encouragement and comments were welcome to the new players. She is a great teammate in the locker room and on the ice, always willing to help the newer players by providing encouragement and positive feedback. She is the embodiment of a MGHA player, great attitude, and always willing to lend a hand. It has been an absolute pleasure playing on a team with her and getting to know her as a person this season.

Arrrnge (Orange) Chris Swomley Avast!! Our self-appointed pirate flag-bearer, Chris Swomley, makes our time on and off the ice more fun, whether breaking out his dance moves before the puck drops, giving encouragement and constructive feedback to his teammates, or just being a friendly face making the league feel more welcoming and safe. Chris helps anchor this team by playing with consistent energy and skill, giving it his all, and working hard to set up plays and assists for the rest of us. He’s been a real asset to this team and and is definitely MGHA all the way!

Maroony Tunes (Maroon) Molly Costello “For her combination of high speed and skillful play on the ice, and her unflagging positivity and ever-present smile in the locker room and on the bench, the Marooney-Tunes All The Way Award goes to Molly Costello. Molly has been a standout on defense all season, but has excelled not only in preventing opposing scoring opportunities, but also in mentoring less experienced players.  On the ice Molly’s consistent and consistently unselfish and inclusive play has benefitted the entire Marooney-Tunes roster. In the locker room Molly is always upbeat and positive, regardless of the result of the game.  Through the entire season she’s contributed to keeping the Marooney-Tunes focussed on what’s important about Sunday night – playing hockey with our friends.

Nightfuries (Black) Gene Zadzilka Gene is a great teammate that always encourages everyone and has something positive to say every game! He is great at lifting the spirit of the entire team, consistently throughout the season. Gene spearheaded a lot of team bonding – multiple rounds of shirts, patches, hosting movies, decorating his goalie stick. He’s been supportive of the entire team on and off the ice and he makes each game day fun.

Red Delicious (Red) Paul Weber Paul is the embodiment of positivity, inclusivity, and the MGHA way. He has been a fan of the MGHA for many years, but this is his first year as a player. He gives 110% on and off of the ice. He is always striving to improve his own skills. His team spirit is unmatched. He is always cheering on his teammates with words of support and he constantly leads cheers from the bench. He keeps the attitude fun, positive, and exciting no matter what the score is. You couldn’t ask for a more supportive team mate.

Grayzly Bears (Gray) Greta Landis Greta embodies our Grayt Grayzly spirit and has made incredible progress throughout the year. She has developed her game by putting in extra time outside of Sunday games, asking questions and welcoming feedback by turning it into progress. Regardless of the outcome of a play, an opponent’s tactic, or the score, she elevates the game to a positive place with her supportive words, wide smile, and growing love of the game. She always elevates our team and the game to a positive place, she is the Graytest! She is MGHA All the Way!

Narwhals (Lt Blue) Matthew Dorris The Narwhals are proud to have selected Mathew Dorris for the MGHA All the Way Award. He always has a positive attitude and has a real love for the game. Matthew’s positive attitude has made him a delight to play with, and his dedication is displayed in his perfect game attendance this year – even when he couldn’t skate, he was still present on the bench to cheer and coach. He constantly shows up to games with more energy than anyone else, and you can see and hear that energy in the cheers he leads throughout games. He really does embody what the MGHA is all about. Congratulations Matthew!

Snow Witte and the 14 Dwarves (White) Anna Celaya We think Anna deserves this award for her completely unflappable attitude, grace, and charm. No matter what she is positive on the ice, bench, and in the locker room. She’s a very advanced player, but takes every opportunity for inclusive play with her team. She has made so many plays happen for our newer players and helps give advice whenever needed. She’s decorated many of our team’s awards, making dwarf pucks, and helmet stickers! She’s also incredibly modest and will probably deny that she should even have been considered for this award. It’s been a lot of fun playing with her and everyone in the league benefits from her being in it.

ABBA: Gold (Yellow) Bryan Zaramba Bryan has developed quickly and takes coaching well. He’s always in there fighting for the puck, even when going up against much more experienced players, and never gives up. He is full of insightful questions to broaden his hockey knowledge, as well as to understand how best to play and contribute. He always has compliments for his teammates and is a cheerful and energizing presence on the bench. Best of all, he embraces and embodies the MGHA Way both on and off the ice.

Dancing Greens (Green)   Andi Vertz The Dancing Greens have nominated Andi Vertz as our All the Way award winner! Andi laces up their skates each week with enthusiasm and brings a positivity to the locker room that cannot be ignored. Andi has shown week after week they are not afraid to challenge opponents and make a play on the puck. Their hard work was rewarded with their first MGHA goal! Congratulations Andi!!

We’re postponing the Town Hall tonight due to the possibility of slick roads, dangerous temperatures, and potential lack of attendance. A successful town hall meeting requires people and we’re worried we won’t have a good attendance. We’ll work to reschedule for later in February.

Thank you for your patience and stay warm!

Based on the NWS Forecast (check the snow entry – blue bars) , 
We are cancelling the last three games tonight. The schedule tonight looks like:

Narwhals vs Dancing Greens at 4:50pm

Arrrnge vs Madison Blues at 6:00pm

Grayzly Bears vs Snow Witte – CANCELLED

Maroony Tunes vs Red Delicious – CANCELLED

ABBA: Gold vs Nightfuries – CANCELLED

This is reflected on the page https://www.madisongayhockey.org/teams-schedule/ We will make up those games the scrimmage week of March 10th. 

If you have scorebox for the 4:50pm or 6pm games, please still plan to show or get a replacement.

One thing our mid-season survey reflected was a need for greater clarity regarding how our sub system works. 

• Every Sunday we have league games, a script on the website runs at noon to check for players who have marked themselves absent as well as players who have volunteered to sub.
• The script analyzes each absentee and volunteer and uses a combination of skill level, times subbed, and game time to determine sub suggestions. If there are no subs at the appropriate sub level for an absentee, a Potential Sub will be selected (someone of a similar skill level). Each sub is only suggested once per email. For more on this algorithm see here.
• The script puts all this information plus pictures and contact info in an email (see pic below from Sunday’s email) and sends it to the captains.
• The team captains then use this info to select a sub and contact them.
• If the contacted player replies yes, all done! If the contacted player cannot sub that day and time, the captain contacts someone else until they find someone.

A note on last minute subs: yes, we still end up needing last minute subs. Life happens. Captains are instructed to make their best effort to match skill level and communicate with the opposing captains especially on last minute subs to address competitive balance.

Considerations: 

• PLEASE mark yourself absent if you know you’ll be absent for your game. You can do this weeks in advance if you know.
• Please do it before noon on Sunday of the game you’ll miss.
• Volunteer to sub by marking all the game you are able to sub on the website before noon on Sunday. 
• Make sure your contact info is up to date!

Thank you and thank you Randi for all your hard work to make this system work!