Author: Kriona "Viking Princess" Hagen

Proud trans woman, storyteller, geek, programmer, athlete, feminist, Slytherin, sister, mother. I'm in charge of the website, so if you need help, contact me.

2018 Summer Scrimmages

The summer scrimmages for 2018 are ready!  The scrimmages are split into the early session and the late session, and you’ll need to sign up for each individually (you can pay for them at the same time, though).  Each session costs $70 for skaters, and is free for goalies.  Signup is available to both current MGHA players and alum, and is capped at 24 players for each session (first come, first served!).  If you are a goalie, reach out to the board to sign up.  Scrimmages are played the MGHA way, so players of all skill levels are welcome to participate.

You need to be registered with USA Hockey in order to skate with us.  If you registered with USA Hockey for the 2017-2018 season, your registration is valid through August 31st of this year.  If you played with us in the previous season or in the MGHA Classic Tournament, we have your USA Hockey registration on file.  If you didn’t, please reach out to registrar@madisongayhockey.org!

You have the option to sub for a particular scrimmage if there are absences.  Sub signups open 3 days before the scrimmage at 9am – because all scrimmages are on Wednesday this year, that means signups open on Sunday at 9am.  If you want to sub or are going to be absent from a scrimmage, use the home page of the MGHA website to indicate your attendance.

Also note – the first two scrimmages are at MIA and at odd times – after that, things settle down at Hartmeyer at a consistent time.  From the calendar link, you’ll be able to add the scrimmages to your calendar if that helps you remember the times.

Early session (skater signup) (calendar):

  • Wed, May 30th – 8:00 PM (MIA-Main)
  • Wed, June 6th – 6:45 PM (MIA-Main)
  • Wed, June 13th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, June 20th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, June 27th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, July 11th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)

Late session (skater signup) (calendar):

  • Wed, July 18th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, July 25th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, August 1st – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, August 8th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, August 15th – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)
  • Wed, August 22nd – 7:45 PM (Hartmeyer)

On behalf of your 2017-18 Board (Matthew, Shelly, Sara, Tim, k8, Amanda and myself),
Your friendly local hockey Viking princess,
-Randi

she/her/hers

Town Hall – Rescheduled!

Hi all,

The MGHA Town Hall will be held Wednesday, February 28th at 7pm at Glass Nickel East. We’ve reserved the basement room; stairs are at the front of the restaurant, to the side of the front door. The Town Hall is a place to get together and chat about the league and this season, get to know your board and fellow league members, and eat pizza! We will provide pizza, and drinks will be available for you to purchase.

As always, if you have anything you’d like us to discuss, please shoot a message to the board!

Take care,
-k8-
they/them
on behalf of your Board (Amanda, Matthew, Randi, Sara, Shelly, Tim and myself)

Board meeting minutes – December 13, 2017

MGHA Board meeting notes 12/13/2017
Location: Matthew Doris abode

HOPS

  1. January Clinic – Sara is organizing. Mark will be teaching the beginners clinic. Limit to 15-20 people. Goalie clinic – Sara will finalize who is instructing. Mary and Berlie are unable. Nikki tentatively able to lead it. Have asked MGHA goalies to provide gear and assist if able. Will finalize soon.
  2. Ice Time – Group before us seems to be getting better. Time for resurfacing is a contributing issue. Tim will talk to Stu. Shelly will reach out regarding ice sales.
  3. HOPs will re-evaluate skill levels in the near future

Sub-desk

  1. Will emphasize to captains to choose appropriate levels and people who haven’t subbed much.

Website

  1. Donations: Not currently set up to take donations. People do donate but nothing consistent. Would be ideal to make this process easier.
  2. Website performance issues: Running slowly. Have discussed with 5Nines how to improve, but will likely need to re-visit again.

Town Hall

  1. Planning for Monday, January 22nd tentatively.
  2. K8 will arrange with Glass Nickel

Annual Member Meeting

  1. Discussed sending email to members to remind them that they can become members
  2. Tentative meeting date May 6th 5-7 pm at Glass Nickel

Captain’s Meeting

  1. Tentatively planning for January 31st or February 1st
  2. Will put subbing process on the agenda as there have been a lot of questions/comments about sub-selection this year.

Merchandise

  1. Sock-sizes were inaccurate for Tim’s team
  2. Jersey’s: May be helpful to ask in year-end survey what your “ideal jersey size” is to get a better estimation for ordering. Many teams had not enough on the big or small end.
  3. Scrimmage Jerseys: Amanda. We have them. Sorting out the cost/when to sell them.
  4. Sweatshirts: Logo was designed by Peter Streicher

Storage Box

  1. Falling apart and over-full. Lots of extra gear in K8’s possession. Discussed options for storage including building a new box, storing at someone’s home, storage shed, etc.

Championship Night

  1. We should have enough 5 & 10 year pucks for this year

Financials

  1. Philosophy: Money in, money out
  2. Scholarships: Discussed the process by which scholarships are given. Currently based on self-proclaimed need. Generally able to give reduced dues if there is a financial need.
  3. Dues: Still a handful of people that have not paid final dues. Giving a final deadline of January 21st .

Blades Against AIDS

  1. Ashleigh and Alpha are currently in charge of the event. David Hafner has offered to assist them if they have questions but not lead the event this year.
  2. There will be a drag show in advance of the event to help raise funding.

Other Issues

  1. On-boarding and documentation: Discussed that we will be needing a new treasurer for next season. Had a broader discussion on the need for on-boarding new board members to ensure success in new position.

2017 Evaluation Scrimmages – October 8, 2017

Thanks for being patient as we put together some teams for the evaluation scrimmages for Sunday, October 8th. Please take a look at the rosters in your inbox and find your name. Please show up at your requested time.

We did our best to honor must-play-with requests and other asks, but please let us know if we need to make a roster swap for some reason. Remember, play-with requests are meant to be for people who are consistently riding together.

As far as the scrimmages go, please try to bring the jersey listed in the email for your scrimmage team, if you have it. You’ll see either dark or light at the top of your rosters below. Jerseys with numbers are ideal for evaluation purposes.

If you have questions, please let HOps know.

See you all on the ice on Sunday!

New Player Orientation 2017

We will be having MGHA New Player Orientation on Sunday, September 10th from 4pm-5:30pm at Kavanaugh’s Esquire Club.

This orientation is for new players and their mentors.  The eagle-eyed among you have likely noticed that this is the same day as our first on-ice clinics; orientation is an off-ice introduction to the culture and quirks of our league. We strongly encourage you to attend. You do not need to bring anything with you, although we recommend you have your gear with you and ready for on-ice practice, which starts at 6pm (5:30-6pm will be for folks to get dressed to get on the ice).  We have a guest speaker, Erica Hagen, to talk about implicit bias, and we’ll also cover what makes our league different from traditional leagues.

Kavanaugh’s is a supper club located at 1025 Sherman Avenue, just around the corner from Hartmeyer. We will be providing light snacks; please feel free to purchase your own refreshments. We strongly discourage you from drinking any alcohol prior to getting on the ice for clinics.  There will be time to get to Hartmeyer and change immediately after orientation, for those of you going to the beginner clinic.

The Ironman is taking place on Sunday, so many downtown streets will be closed through midnight.  Avoid downtown when traveling to / from Hartmeyer!

Fruit Fest 2017 Volunteers

Join us on Saturday, June 3rd in celebrating the Madison LGBTQA community at Fruit Fest! We need enthusiastic volunteers to spread the word about our wonderful organization. Volunteers would be setting up/taking down our table, talking to festival goers about playing hockey, the history of the MGHA, and recruiting new members. There will be food, live music, and plenty of vendors to explore before/after your volunteer shift.

If you have any questions please do don’t hesitate to ask! Email me, Rainbow Kate, at sorceressrogue@gmail.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Location: 924 Williamson St, Madison

Volunteers are needed from 12:30pm until 10pm (I will be on site all day). Please wear your MGHA t-shirts or jerseys!

You must be logged in to a valid account to view and sign up for scrimmages and clinics.

2017-2018 League Deposit

Player deposit for next season is now available. The deposit is $75 dollars and due by the end of the business day on Monday, June 12th. After that, returning players will be treated as new recruits. If you are unable to pay the deposit by June 12th but intend to play with us next year, please contact Shelly (treasurer@madisongayhockey.org).

As a reminder, we will be maintaining 10 teams and expect to fill up. 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.

As a reminder, 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

2017-2018 Board Announcement

We’re happy to announce the MGHA Members have elected a new Board of Directors for 2017-2018.

Specific roles and responsibilities will be announced over the summer, but here’s the folks in charge!

Many thanks for the service of outgoing Boardo’s – Brian Bischel, Nichole Whetter, and Christina Libs.

Next up – a league-wide survey will be sent to all players to collect feedback on the past year and help the new Board make improvements for next year.

Thanks,
The 2016/2017 MGHA Board of Directors

Skye Zitkus – 2017 Essay

I have tried to write and rewrite this. What MGHA hockey means to me is a very real acceptance, encouragement, support and a caring community that I have never experienced before. Ever. Really, I mean it! It has been absolutely amazing and I have grown as an individual that I never thought possible without the support and encouragement of everyone I’ve met through MGHA. I hope everyone can see it beaming through my grin every time I’m at the rink and on the ice!

I came out as trans over 15 years ago and before that I struggled with understanding and accepting my self identity. Prior transitioning I have been the butt end of lifelong intense bullying besides being raised by ultra conservative & religious parents whom continuously write me out of their life. Severe social anxiety and depression have always been my companion because of this. Just how I survived my teen years is still a mystery to me and I almost didn’t, I will always bear the scars of survival. My saving grace may have been my naturally introverted self, happy to wander the world on my own and finding solace in nature all around me. But it has also been my burden to carry all those hurtful years and not shed those harmful layers of myself. It has held me back from living a full and beautiful life that we all are capable of, that includes feeling that I could safely participate in team sports and interact as a social being.

As a trans individual, nothing about team sports screamed safety. The locker rooms alone were a terrifying experience that I still have nightmares about, so I tended to avoid most sports activities despite my interest. I played briefly in HS softball only to be kicked off due to depression at the time and again picked it up later in life, but I never really felt I fit in with the all women team I was on.

That said, I had also never even watched a full game of hockey, let alone play. Yet, I immediately fell in love with the game after a friend invited me to watch her play, thank you Michelle, I am eternally grateful!! Sitting in the bleachers I felt a camaraderie on the ice that I never was able to experience before. Plus the sounds of hockey were amazing! Skates on ice, puck hitting sticks and goalie pads, players whizzing by, it all lulled me in before I even knew what hit me.

As soon as I signed up, I was welcomed to a community that not only promoted, but actively engaged with members in a healthy and caring manner. From teaching how to be inclusive amongst ourselves, to watching experienced players encouraging and teaching the new members that were learning how to skate from scratch. Never have I ever experienced such compassion from a diverse community like ours. I dare say that after the first day orientation, I went home and cried. Cried from relief and realization that this is truly a safe space and I really did feel this was home.

After my first game, which I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time, hockey became a metaphor in the rest of my life. If you fall, and yes you are going to fall ever so ungracefully, then just get back up and play on. No one ever ridiculed the fall, but instead will cheer your effort. Miss the puck, try again and again. Sooner or later it will connect and damn, it feels good! Going through a tough divorce and struggling with finding a community it was perfect timing and just what I needed.

Out on the ice, I was nervous beyond belief, but somehow I managed to stick with it, keep showing up to try again and I actually started to listen to the encouragement of my teammates. No one in my life really told me that I was good enough or supported me through the tough moments. To hear fellow teammates cheer me on was nothing I was prepared for and I loved seeing how we all progressed as players, by simply enjoying playing hockey together every Sunday night.

I realized how much we all can accomplish through supporting each other, showing that no matter where you came from we all matter to the team and community. My first season was full of personal triumphs and I’m truly thankful for all of my teammates helping make it an amazing hockey experience. This is what true community is, and it resides right here with the MGHA.