Tuesday, February 10th, 6:30-8pm (Virtual meeting)

6:30 – 7:10pm: League Updates and Announcements! 

• Quick introduction of the MGHA organizing groups – Kriona
  • Board doesn’t do everything – this league is run by a bunch of other folks
  • HOps, scorebox leads, coaches, captains, crafters, social committee, recruiting, website, sponsorship, Classic tournament
• Highlights from the 2025-2026 season so far – Kriona
  • Expansion (more later)
  • Increased media interest / publicity (more later)
  • MGHA Classic Tournament registrations: 250!! Reg opened last Thurs/Fri. Goalies are already full.
  • New treasurer – Chris Lukas (more later)
• Social Committee updates – Sherry
  • MGHA Open Mic on Wednesday, March 11th 5:30-9pm at Village Green in Middleton
• Hockey Operations (HOps) Updates
  • Tim’s game scheduling updates – Tim
    • Championship schedule coming soon – early start (1:30 PM)
      • All teams will play
      • Entire night at L20 Middleton
      • Look out for an all-league picture
    • Generally a successful season so far
      • Only one team is undefeated (but they have 4 ties)
      • Only one team is winless (but they have 5 ties)
      • There have been 29 ties so far this season
      • Lots of player growth in L1 with a bunch of first goals
    • Captains meeting held last week
      • Locker Rooms: Non-MGHA players/coaches are NOT allowed in the locker room. This includes kids, partners, and friends. Also, captains will have magnetic signs indicating that lockers rooms are for MGHA players and volunteers only.
      • Safety: Skate within your ability and keep your body in control. Just because you can skate that fast doesn’t mean that you should.
      • Subbing: if you signed up to sub, keep your phone near you between 12-2pm to confirm your availability. If a captain doesn’t hear from you, you may be passed on!
  • Score box – Mandy
    • You’re expected to show up to your shift or find a substitute. Emailing the locker-room list isn’t enough… you need to make sure someone can cover
    • Low/no reported issues lately *knock wood*, if you notice issues, keep contacting hops@ and we’ll continue to swarm around the issue to get it resolved.
    • Leads are in charge of retrieving and returning puck bags and scoresheets
  • Puck bags – Mandy
    • Rink A bag is missing
    • Reminder: Game pucks are for games only. 
  • Recruiting – Amanda
    • We’ve gotten 37 new applications since the first of the year! Want to get help get those folks into the league? Recruiting makes first contact with new applicants on behalf of the league and guides folks through the sign up process and also recruits and assigns mentors 
    • Busy time for recruiting is July and August before the season starts
    • Email recruiting@madisongayhockey.org or Amanda Thornton or Mandy Morrow for more info!
• Reminder about our annual Member Meeting in May – become an MGHA member! – AJ
  • Player vs Member?
    • Members have a voice in decisions around running the league
    • Players aren’t necessarily members – minimum of 1 season of playing or volunteering before you can be a member
    • Members don’t have to be playing in the current season
    • Members have additional responsibilities (we can call on membership for volunteers, for example)
    • Want to be a member? Get someone to sponsor you! Fill out the application on the website
    • Lets you have some responsibility for the league without being on the Board
    • Go recruit people!
    • https://www.madisongayhockey.org/resources/membership/
  • Vote on Board in annual Membership meeting in May
  • There must be 10-60 days of notice for this meeting. – MGHA Bylaws
• Summer Ice – Shiny/Avery
  • Summer Skills starting in late June – August, more info coming!
  • Summer scrimmages in planning, more to come!
  • Look for MGHA Skate Nights this summer!
• Financial update / Events / Sponsorships recap and announcements – Chris L
  • Current financial status – league is healthy.
    • We carry over roughly 1/3rd our expenses to ensure stability. What that means is, while our intake equals our expenses, we end the year with a buffer.
    • Ice and referees are the majority of our costs (~70%). The next largest is shirts/jerseys/socks (15%).
    • We’re expecting ice and other costs to continue to increase, but that player dues will increase at a slightly lower rate over the next few years.
  • Tax status update – we are working to restore our non-profit status. This should be resolved in the coming months. The federal government has been slow to review. 
  • Got sponsorship ideas? Send them our way! When attending events hosted by our sponsors (KickBack, Great Dane, etc.) be sure to mention your association with MGHA. Email: treasurer@madisongayhockey.org

7:10 – 7:40pm: Important Topics

• USA Hockey trans ban – Kriona, Avery
  • Per Executive Order 14201, USA Hockey adopted a new eligibility policy in November that:
    • prohibits trans women from playing in women’s leagues.
    • prohibits trans men on HRT from playing in either men’s or women’s leagues.
  • MGHA is not impacted but several other leagues in the area are
  • Next: public response from MGHA (this week)
  • Investigating options to move away from USAH
  • We may send a change to a membership vote
  • Q: Do rinks require USAH? A: Some do but L20 does not
• Increased Media Interest – Kriona
  • Interest
    • Madison Magazine is writing an article
    • Casting interest for a gay hockey show (link)
      • We asked that the MGHA not be named in this article
      • This was the impetus for profile privacy
    • Our Lives published an article about the USAH trans ban last weekend (link)
    • Destination Madison TikTok (link)
    • Channel 15 published a news story Sunday night (link)
    • Two new requests came through just on Monday. The board needs to discuss / investigate / figure out how to respond to these still
      • Grain Media wants to do a documentary. We know nothing about them yet.
      • NBCNews wants to do an article about queer hockey leagues
  • Website Changes
    • Profile privacy
      • New profile setting to make profile viewable by MGHA logged in users only or publicly on the internet
      • Default will be private after a period of time. Can change setting on your profile
    • Game location + time privacy?
      • Bit more difficult to design. More discussion needed.
    • Q: Do we get folks not connected to current players dropping in to check us out? A: Not that we know of, but interested people have been invited when reached out.
• League Expansion – Avery
  • Looking for feedback from the league
  • L1: 8; L2: 10; L3: 6 teams this season
  • Suggestion to have scrimmages on outdoor rink.
  • Q: Do we know how often Caps play on Sunday nights? A: Not yet
  • Q: Is there a way to submit feedback anonymously? A: Yes: https://www.madisongayhockey.org/feedback/
• Alternative platforms for communications –
  • Discord – Bob/Drew/Mod Team
    • Thanks to Mod team, Website crew
    • Progress is going well, usage is rising but mixed by area as expected. Lots of good content and ideas are happening!
    • Reminder – Update your display name to your name so we know who you are and can assign roles for channels you need to see
    • Updates are in progress for Classic information – under wraps right now, still being set up
    • Monitoring ongoing Discord changes, including IPO impacts and potential verification policy for users, unclear how that affects our usage, appears pointed at ‘age restricted content’
    • FYI tip: One suggestion for the Discord is to turn on notifications (especially if you’re not usually on Discord). It’ll help you remember that it exists. If you only turn on one channel, turn on notifications for announcements.
    • Q: Can we have a Discord for Dummies 101? A: Yes can work on setting up
      • Will make a page on the website for Discord, too

7:40 – 7:55pm: Open discussion, the “ask us anything!” part of the evening!

• Open Q&A: Bring your questions, discussion suggestions, feedback, friendship, etc.
  • Q: Can we get more detail about MGHA’s relationship with USAH, what do they provide the league, etc? A: USAH provides player insurance, if a player gets injured will help cover some of the costs. Require 18 years older. If a player is on ice who is not covered by USAH, then no one on ice will be covered. Looking at Beacon insurance, does not ask gender on registration. If the league does change, it would need to communicate with L20 to ensure.
  • Q: Does the switch affect DCHOA reffing for MGHA? A: Could play “unsanctioned” games but not ideal. 
  • Q: Are goalie sub games counted in the total number of sub games that determines priority in getting suggested as sub players? A: The website does keep track. Potential enhancement for the website to not count goalie subbing towards total count of times subbed.

7:55 – 8pm: Wrapping up.

More Announcements!

• MGHA Season Championship night!
  • March 29th
• The Classic Tournament
  • When: April 24th-26th, (always the last weekend in April)
  • In Verona again this year
  • As of Monday evening, we have enough Goalies for 20 teams and are over ⅔ registered
  • We are estimating to have the following:
    Beginner division – 4 teams
    Intermediate – 12 teams
    Advanced – 4 teams
  • Turnabout show on Friday 2/20 (fundraiser for the Classic)
• Craft group
  • Getting organized for the Classic!
  • If anyone is interested in getting involved in any capacity they should reach out to Sil Basten!
• All The Way awards
  • Award given to a member of each team who well represents the MGHA
  • All The Way Award Submission!
• Essays
  • What gay hockey means to me
  • Winner gets published in Our Lives Magazine, gets league fees covered for the next season
  • Is a powerful recruiting tool
  • Has gotten us sponsorship, interest from the NHL

Tuesday, March 11th, 6:30-8pm (Virtual meeting)

This is a summary of the highlights. Click here for the full 2024-25 Town Hall Minutes!

6:30 – 7pm: League Updates and Announcements! 

• Quick introduction of the MGHA organizing groups
• Highlights from the 2024-2025 season so far
  • 18 teams this season!
  • Food trucks were a big hit! 
• Financial update / Events / Sponsorships recap and announcements – Gene
  • Current financial status
    • Financially stable, operating budget 
    • Have an excess of funds (rule is to have always ⅓ operating cost budgeted carry over from year to year)
    • Excess funds can help reduce player fees
  • Tax status update
    • Tax paperwork issue, the State did not get some required paperwork due to a mixup with PO box.
    • Affects tax deductible status with donations.
    • Working with an accountant to get restored; will be retroactive once it gets re-approved.
    • IRS delay is expected to be about six months
  • Got sponsorship ideas? Send them our way!
• Hockey Operations (HOps) Updates
  • Captains meetings updates – Christina Libs
    • Recruiting goalies! There will likely be a summer goalie curious clinic
    • Collecting “the MGHA way” examples from each level
    • Make it to your Team Social! You don’t have to be the captain to organize something. Off-ice connections build community!
    • Players Handbook (coming soon!)
  • Tim’s game scheduling updates
    • Championship schedule (March 30th) – coming out soon!
      • First game at 2:30PM!
      • All league photo on Rink A @ 7:30PM. Please be on time!
      • Q: Will there be a potluck? A: Alpha can help coordinate!
  • Score box
    • Low/no reported issues lately *knock wood*, if you notice issues, keep contacting hops@ and we’ll continue to swarm around the issue to get it resolved.
    • Keep working with captains to open/close the box
  • Recruiting next year’s HOPs
    • Want to get involved next year? Contact Tim, Christina, Greta, Alex, or Avery!
    • HOps are the brains behind season scheduling, preseason scrimmages and clinics, skill evaluations, team creation, and managing game logistics and scorebox assignments. They coordinate with the ice rink about schedule changes, find referees for games, and work with captains to assign coaches and plan practices. Email hockey-ops@madisongayhockey.org for more info!
• Reminder about our annual Member Meeting in May – become an MGHA member! – Kriona
  • Player vs Member?
    • Members have a voice in decisions around running the league
    • Players aren’t necessarily members – minimum of 1 season of playing or volunteering before you can be a member
    • Want to be a member? Get someone to sponsor you! Fill out the application on the website
    • https://www.madisongayhockey.org/resources/membership/
  • Vote on Board in annual Membership meeting in May
  • There must be 10-60 days of notice for this meeting. – MGHA Bylaws
• Summer Ice – Shiny/Avery
  • Summer Skills starting in late June – August, more info coming!
  • Summer scrimmages in June – August in Oregon (5:30-7:30PM)
  • Look for MGHA Skate Nights this summer!
• Request from WI Historical Society for MGHA Objects – Sherry
  • Objects to donate from MGHA past
  • Suggestions or donations reach out to Sherry!
    • Print some essays from Our Lives, a 10y puck, david’s penguin suit!
    • Old T-shirts
    • 5, 10, 15 year pucks
    • 5 year jersey
    • Photos (Facebook Group), print out photo book, album, clips from old games on Youtube
    • Pre-season tournament dance-off winner hat

7 – 7:15pm: Tournament Jerseys

• It’s been an ongoing topic, the creation of a “league” jersey that can be used when MGHA players form a team in an out-of-town tournament
  • These would not be regular season jerseys. Team jerseys would not be affected by this.
• Details still being worked out: Option to purchase, or a checkout system for players, captains to pick up and keep track.
• Q: If given the option to customize, will there be opportunity for new members to order? A: Yes, it would be an annual order. 
• Q: Design submissions? A: Open to the idea. 

7:15 – 7:45pm: League Expansion

• Survey responses, present initial concepts/plan ideas for what an expansion might look like.
• Expansion Document
  • Feedback:
    • MGHA is an “incubator” for hockey beginners.
    • Going to second rink is common among the hockey community
    • Continued expansion, how to maintain the social culture when split at two rinks. How to be open/creative about doing more things (food, gatherings).
  • Q&A:
    • Q: Why L20 in DeForest? A: That L20 owns is a convenience, but not the main reason. New facility, not much scheduled there yet. Can get in the schedule early before fills up.
    • Q: What does Championship night look like if split among rinks? A: Likely be held at L20 Middleton, on one rink.
    • Q: Is it only a Member vote? A: Yes, with the inclusion of participants who attended the Town Hall.
    • Q: Can a place to indicate whether the person voting is a Member be added? A: Would need a clarifying statement about what being a Member is (for brand new players).
• Expansion vote (link will be sent out after the meeting)

7:45 – 7:55pm: Open discussion, the “ask us anything!” part of the evening!

• Working on alternative platforms for communications, stay tuned!
  • Andrew Kohrs, interest in using FB or IG for communicating is losing interest. Other options, Discord, could use different threads to organize different communications/topics. Andrew has started a test site.
  • There is a Discord for the various LGBTQ+ leagues out there. Tim has a link to the old server. 
  • Server should be in control by Board to keep it running, moderating
  • Would need to make sure important communications are included.
  • Andrew taking the lead on setting this up. Contact Zombi and Bob to get info. Thanks!
• Bring your questions, discussion suggestions, feedback, friendship, etc.
  • Q: Subbing algorithm, what is the priority for how subs are chosen for a game? A: Yes, cumulative number of times a player subbed, not the recency. Kriona will supply the logic: https://www.madisongayhockey.org/hockey/scorebox/. But, there is the human factor and sometimes can override the sub desk (ie Captain’s choice).
  • Q: Are we planning with expansion to shrink team size, stay at same size? A: Team size depends on many factors, evals, where players want to skate, etc. Players who are on the bubble of either being L1 or L2. Expanding could mean team size shrinks just a bit due to the need to cram as many players in.
  • Q: How to get new players involved in the various committees. There used to be a survey that went out to collect interest. Would bringing something like this have any interest? A: This time of year could be a powerful time to recruit, as the season winds down, interest to keep playing/be involved could still be high. Set up a table on Championship night? Email Paul Weber if interested!
• Could we set up a monthly summary of events upcoming, what the league did over the past month.

7:55 – 8pm: Wrapping up.