Some parents are expressing their dissatisfaction over changes made to the structure of the provincial girls’ U13 AAA program – which has left the Eastern AAA Puffins out in the cold.
Originally, two U13AA teams were established, but the teams in the eastern region were combined into one U13AAA squad. As a result, the season has ended early for 17 players.
Parents have been reaching out to VOCM News to express their dismay over what they call a “flawed administrative process” that is “unfair and inequitable.”
The U13 AAA Puffins won gold at the Sweetheart Tournament in PEI last week – believed to be the first AAA female hockey team to win gold for Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Atlantics are being hosted in NL but this year, but according to a letter received by VOCM News, Hockey NL decided to introduce a pilot project whereby the two teams in Eastern be collapsed into a single team, to align with the team structure in other regions of the province. That means the Puffins can only play AAA, while other teams can play AAA and club hockey as well.
Photo via X
That means many Puffins players would be ending their season in February.
“Nothing was touched with U15, U18, these girls were still having their weekend tournaments across the province, and they’re playing boys, but for whatever reason, for them to change the U13 program in the year that Newfoundland actually gets to host the Atlantics, just seems a bit off there. And to make two teams and to have some girls come February, when the season’s not over…I mean the season’s just over for them, it doesn’t make sense,” one parent told VOCM Open Line.
