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Lacoka Female Hockey to be run through Ponoka

The Lacoka female minor hockey program is to be run under the Ponoka Minor Hockey Association.
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Lacoka's female hockey program has developed enough that it's going to be managed under one roof

Kalisha Mendoza/Black Press

Officials from the Ponoka and Lacombe minor hockey associations hosted a family information meeting recently for those wishing to play with Lacoka Female Hockey this coming season.

Since the Lacoka female league inception nearly five years ago, the organization has been jointly run by both leagues.

Peter Hall, a former Lacoka coach and current director, explained this model has been challenging from an organizational view, and a resolution has finally been achieved.

“Originally, we had set up a governance model that has been somewhat cumbersome, for lack of a better term. You’re dealing with two boards and two co-ordinators and there has been a whole lot of back and forth,” Hall explained.

Through discussions over the last number of years, the minor hockey boards decided to look into a single governing model. Currently, the Lacombe AA Selects minor hockey team uses this model, where Lacombe oversees the operations, but children from the surrounding area are welcome to play on the teams.

Now, the Lacoka program will use a similar model, where Ponoka will be the single governing body to manage the league.

“Our meeting was just to roll out what Lacoka hockey is going to look like this year. On the ice, our intent is to make it very much the same as it’s always been we want practices and games distributed between both towns as it has been. We want to keep the program very much the same, because it’s been very successful these last number of years, and it is growing,” Hall said.

“We just want to continue to grow grassroots girls’ hockey the way that we have,” he said, adding that Lacoka has a very good reputation with Hockey Alberta, and they want to continue to build that strong reputation for girls’ hockey.

“We’ve got the makings and foundation in place it was just time to formalize our organizational structure that would allow us to continue to grow.”

Practices and games will continue to take place in both Lacombe and Ponoka in future seasons.