Salmon Arm will soon become a hub for minor hockey organization and training throughout much of the province.
BC Hockey have announced plans for a new regional centre in Salmon Arm.
The centre will provide support for coach and officiating development throughout the Okanagan Mainline Region. The centre and its one full-time employee will also provide administrative assistance to BC Hockey program leaders throughout the region.
The centre will be located in the Shaw Centre.
“The opening of this centre signifies the commitment from BC Hockey to provide resources vital to support the delivery of programming by our members to our participants,” said Barry Petrachenko, CEO of BC Hockey. “We are looking forward to taking this first step in setting up what we hope will be a valuable network of support throughout the province.”
“The Shuswap Recreation Society is excited the Shaw Centre has been selected as home to the inaugural BC Hockey Regional Centre for the Okanagan Mainline division. This initiative has grown from a strong historical relationship between BC Hockey and the Shuswap Recreation Society which I know, from the perspective of the society and the City of Salmon Arm, is valued immensely. We look forward to doing our part to insure the success of this initiative,” said Dale Berger, general manager of the Shuswap Recreation Society.
The Okanagan Mainline region, which the centre will serve, is comprised of 25 minor hockey associations in communities as far away as 100 Mile House and Penticton, with a total of 332 teams.
According to a BC Hockey spokesperson, the centre is the first of it’s kind in the province.
BC Hockey already has a strong relationship with the Shaw Centre; the Male U16 BC Cup has been held in Salmon Arm since 2013 and the Female U16 identification camp has been held at the Shaw Centre for the past two years.
According to the job posting for the new centre’s employee, they will be expected to provide training to local coach leaders which will help them mentor other coaches. They will also train district registrars.
The new employee will also coordinate elite development camps and skills camps for all positions amongst other events in the region.
The employee will also be called upon to support provincial and national hockey programs as well as Team BC.