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History of Minor Hockey Volunteer Work Of Jim Mac
Donald
Was told the following or parts of was submitted to the Royal Bank of Canada Hockey Leaders... in Canada's towns and cities across Canada. It was to give recognition to hockey volunteers.
Didn't win RBC Hockey Leaders both years - 2005 and 2006 and that's ok. But... prize was ten thousand dollars of new hockey equipment for the kids. It was a very fun time.
Hockey Pioneering Days
Jim MacDonald a hockey volunteer, who has helped hockey develop in the community of Rankin Inlet as a member of Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association for almost two decades.
This leading hockey association of Rankin Inlet is located on the West coast of the Hudson Bay, in a region called Kivalliq. There are no roads leading in or out to the other Kivalliq communities, everything is by air transport.
Jim begins with a little story of the pioneering days when he first started to help to form hockey teams for kids aged ten to fourteen in Rankin Inlet back in the early eighty's. "There were about six of us, Joe Kaludjak, Johnny Kusugak, Justin Merritt a teacher named Kennedy, Yvon Kubluitok and a couple of others", he recalls.
Goalie Plays With Wood Equipment
"Back then the goalie's blocker was a piece of scrap plywood wrapped with rope and tied to a sealskin mitt. The catcher glove was an over sized seal skin mitt stuffed. The ice surface was inside a tiny dome building lit by one street lamp. The ice was made with spaghetti to stop the large cracks from forming in the -40 temperatures. It was great bonding material." Jim says.
The Dome hockey fun lasted a couple of years until the building was condemned because of a toxic foam insulation which was a fire gas hazard and was immediately closed. The Dome would be packed with spectators during games and tournaments.
Rankin Minor Hockey Birth
In 1989/ 90 Jim again was involved with minor hockey when a few teachers and business people formed the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association lead by Henry Nicolas, Margo Aksalnik and John Todd. These people believed it was time to offer yearly-organized hockey in Rankin Inlet for the youth as the community had a natural ice arena inside a steel shell of a building built in 1985.
Jim quickly became a major player over the years with RIMHA. He, being the treasurer, registrar and one of the main fund raisers helping to raise funds for the players to travel to other communities to play in games of hockey.
Jim wants you to understand. "There are no simple, jump in the car and go on a "Hockey Road Trip" and be back that evening. Everything is an "Air Trip" here in the Arctic. RIMHA tries very hard each year for every age group to either go out to one tournament or host's one tournament. And that is it and totally depends on if other teams can afford to "Air Trip".
RIMHA, being one of the earlier minor hockey groups to be organized, found it had to either travel to Yellowknife or Iqaluit to play competitive aged hockey teams while it's own Kivalliq back yard rose in hockey skills.
Newspapers Used For Promotion
October 1994, MacDonald started promoting Minor Hockey via published Nunatsiaq News letter to editor. He first challenged John Amagolik (a.ka. father of Nunavut) to go see for himself and cheer for your own local minor hockey talent then worrying about what Mr. Betman was doing with the NHL.
Jordin Tootoo Emerges
March 1995, Rankin Inlet hosted the Atoms NWT Air Territorial, where Yellowknife, Iqlauit, Baker Lake, Arviat and Fort Providence attended. This tournament MacDonald says, "was the best he had ever seen Jordin Tootoo play. It was extremely fast."
The top three scorers of the NWT Air Tournament were; Jordin Tootoo, Justin Todd and Troy Aksalnik, all Rankin inlet players. Macdonald kept simple hockey stats.
Jordin Tootoo went on to play in Fort Providence, Edmonton, Thompson, The Pas- JR A, Brandon WHL, Nashville - NHL, ECHL
Terence Tootoo went on to play in Thompson, The Pas and ECHL.
Team mate Pujjiit Kusugak went on to play Jr hockey in Ottawa district.
Team mate Kyle Tattuinee went on to play Jr.A hockey in Manitoba.
Team mate Justin Todd went on to play Jr.A Hockey in Alberta and Manitoba and went Pro in 2007 with Indian Ice Miners of MAHL.
Team mate Goalie Dustin MacDonald (First Inuk Pro Goalie) went on to play Midget AAA and Jr.B and Jr.A Saskatchewan then Pro for MAHL, Mon Valley Thunder
Team mate Troy Aksalnik plays in Rankin Inlet and is emerging as top midget / juvenile coach.
Two players Niceo Towtouniee and Oscar Airut from RIMHA played in the south years before Jordin went south.
It was a much tougher time back then as it was hard for a Inuk hockey player to be accepted on a southern team.
Good things times have changed.
Rankin Inlet Winning In Manitoba
February 1997 saw the RIMHA Atoms go on a major air trip to play in the Thompson Manitoba Munn Cup. They won the Munn Cup that year.
NHL Hockey Star Larry Robinson
Summer of 1997 MacDonald swung a deal to have Larry Robinson, his brother Moe, Brian and a family friend Doug Harvey put on a dry land hockey school for free, if he could arrange to get Larry's crew out fishing.
Jim managed to get a local airline, a fishing camp and the local government to finance the fishing expedition for the NHL star. Jim was offered a free seat to go with Larry but instead he gave the seat to a local coach.
Hockey Registration Pioneering Days
Jim attempted a player registration disc with the assistance of Marcel Mason of Iqaluit to make it easier for local communities registering their players. " It wasn't successful as few at this time had a computer or knew how to operate one." Jim says.
Software Developing As a Free Beta Tester
With the introduction of the Internet in 1996 in Rankin Inlet, MacDonald started to post for hockey registration and tournament stats software. He soon teamed up with a software individual out of Pittsburgh, which ended suddenly when the person suddenly disappeared.
Jim says he wasn't surprised or disappointed, as he understood he was trying to develop a hockey registration program for free and without any up front capital only his volunteer time.
Jim kept moving forward, re posting for a software developer and soon became one of the major free beta testers with an individual from Vancouver who was developing SnapShot! . Jim tells the story of doing a ton of testing and made major development suggestions for the development of the product and is proud of the product as much came from his input.
Shaun Walker the software developer says of Jim Mac Donald on his website:
"Through the life of the application, many friendships have been created and I owe my gratitude to those who shared their patience, expertise, and loyalty in making this application what it is today. Names such as Jim MacDonald, Bruce Wawrzyniak, and Gary Millsaps mean nothing to most of you but I tip my hats to all those who volunteer their own personal time for the sake of their children and others."
"The first release was named SNAPSHOT! Hockey Statistics Manager and I still remember the excitement of the first sale to Jim MacDonald from Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories."
Unfortunately the software become too big, complex and ended up defeating Jim's original purpose on what the software would be. Simply easy to use by any hockey volunteer in any remote community in the arctic with out a large learning curve if any.
The author of the software needing money for his life and to keep his family together ended up selling the product to another company, as marketing to the hockey registration niche market was very difficult for the developer.
Birth of Many Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Web Sites
Jim put many hours into creating a couple of Rankin Inlet Minor hockey websites. He wanted to get minor hockey information out to the people as he was frustrated on the lack of information people had or knew about hockey in the Kivalliq and Baffin regions.
Jim says "this was semi successful in the beginning as few had Internet access. However Jim smiles, it did start getting the information out to the press who used it in their radio broadcasts or newspapers. The information was getting out."
Jim currently is seriously looking at a private online hockey data registration and hockey stat's website for RIMHA to use and be used by the 7 Kivalliq communities. "It will save many, many hours of a volunteer's time. It will be accurate and consistent year after year giving coaches and hockey boards instant player information. It's 2005 and that is the direction hockey registration must go."
Filling A Hockey Skill Void
In the fall 1997, Jim slowly started introducing midget aged players in with old timers and adult recreation players. As at this time there was a void by a couple of years after minor hockey to adult recreation hockey.
Much ground breaking work is credited to Justin Merritt of the Adult Recreation league for opening the door to minor hockey to make hockey development possible by playing together with midgets, old timers and adult recreation hockey players.
By 2000 both minor hockey and adult recreation hockey were seeing the benefits of each other's play. It just kept raising the bar of play for everyone involved.
Nunavut's Capital Follow Rankin Minor Hockey
Iqaluit Minor Hockey followed RIMHA lead a year later after seeing first hand how Rankin player development was simply solved. Yellowknife followed a year later after Iqaluit.
1998 started hockey trips to Hay River NWT.
Request For Hockey Equipment Sent To Arctic
1998 stared online posts for hockey equipment and to his surprise hockey equipment started to arrive. Though by 2002 hockey donations were being discouraged by the kind hearted southern souls, as airfreight charges on the used hockey equipment made it not worth the expense.
Most of the equipment was old and unsafe for any hockey player to use. This was very hard for southern people to understand when RIMHA was saying hockey equipment is desperately needed here and in the Kivalliq. Yes, the plywood blocker days were long gone.
Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Gets Credit
1998 News North, November 2, 1998 Editorial on the Tootoo brothers playing Jr. A hockey in the Pas said, "it also says a lot for the minor hockey system in Rankin Inlet."
Push For Artificial Ice In Arctic
1998/1999 Becoming more outspoken for artificial ice in Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Bert Dean, Brian Zawadski, Jim Ramsay and Jim were becoming very public in asking and demanding for artificial ice. Darrell Greer in directly and Ron Roach and Justin Merritt made the dream come true in 2003.
Polar Bear Plate
February 1999 he came up with the name of the Polar Bear Plate, for a midget juvenile tournament to keep attracting teams year after year to come to Rankin Inlet to play. At this time air ticket prices were starting to rise considerably and regional tournaments were disappearing rapidly.
Kivalliq News February 24/99 "Long standing (RIMHA) member Jim Mac Donald says kids are in their prime all across Nunavut and NWT and this gives them a stage to showcase their abilities."
"Jim Mac Donald and the entire Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association deserve a lot of credit for their efforts in bringing this tournament together", Donald Clark coach at the Polar Bear Plate. Kivalliq news March 24, 1999.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Want Arena Open
1997, 1998, 1999 RCMP would ask Jim their standard question: "When will the ice be ready for skating and hockey?" They explained their question Jim says, saying, "by having the arena open for hockey and spectators it seriously helped stop the petty mischief crimes."
Global Warming Decade Ago
He's unsure of the date Mother Jones magazine included quotes from him about the effects of global warming on hockey of all places in the arctic. How the natural ice hockey season is shrinking dramatically by months.
Giving Thank-You's
March 1, 2000, Kivalliq News, "Jim MacDonald says a successful local hockey program depends on the efforts of many people. A lot of people do a lot of work behind the scenes which people rarely see or hear anything about."
"Two more important parts to a strong program are business sponsors - if it wasn't for them, amateur sport in any community would be hard pressed - and coverage of our efforts in local media. Macdonald says it's important for all the communities to work together improving hockey in the Kivalliq."
Artificial Ice Back In the News
April 10/2000 News North/Kivalliq News "Rankin Inlet leads charge for Artifice Ice." Jack Anawak Nunavut Minister For Sports, Jack Anawak "we have to start responding to the global warming issue… when you look at Rankin Inlet for example they used to be on the ice there in October, now it's December if they're luck and it's gone in April.
Lots of Rankin Hockey Players At Arctic Winter Games
April 12, 2000, Kivalliq News "The Keewatin (Kivalliq) especially Rankin Inlet had a large contingent of players, coaches and parents who went to Whitehorse for the Arctic Winter Games.
Rankin Minor Hockey In Montreal Museum
2001 Submitted a RIMHA player team photos display from across Canada at a Montreal Museum online exhibition viewed online and at the Museum.
Dreaming For Hockey Equipment
Fall 2001, Wrote proposal for NHLPA's goal for dreams hockey equipment for all 7 Kivalliq communities.
Wrote submission for the John Long Boat award, an outstanding Canadian aboriginal sport award. Jordin Tootoo name entered and was awarded.
April 2001 Dustin MacDonald Second player from Rankin Inlet and Nunavut listed with a WHL team, declined and went Jr.A route.
Tootoo Brothers Hockey School
January 2001 Steer headed the Tootoo brother's first hockey school in Rankin Inlet. Jim smiles as a memory floods into his mind. He explains how happy and excited Terence Tootoo was to be asked to do the hockey school in Rankin Inlet for RIMHA.
Jim designed and had printed blue t-shirts with a picture of superman below the words Tootoo Brothers Hockey School. Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. These t-shirts were given away free to the hockey players attending.
Jr. B Ahead Of It's Time
Introduced the idea of a full-fledged, by the CHA rule book, Jr. B teams in a NWT / Nunavut wide league.
Four teams, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Yellowknife, and Hay River playing 12 games each plus play offs to start. Joe Walsh find tuned the frontier schedule. Jim says in hindsight it was years ahead of it's time in both player / coach development and people understanding the concept of a junior teams and league. Simply the large amount of funding needed by each team just wasn't there or yet the drive to get it.
Jim still believes it will be and states, "Oh yes it's coming, but first the minor hockey yearly regional tournaments for Atoms, Peewee, Bantam, and Midget have to be put solidly in place. Then Jim smiles and say's it will be awesome. He asks you to imagine the future Adult Recreation teams, even old timers. By then there will be Senior Hockey Teams, that's adult hockey teams who check Jim says. A great hockey feeder.
Rankin Minor Hockey Goalie Makes News In Western Canada
November 27, 2002 Rankin Inlet product Dustin MacDonald, Initiation through to Bantam is top goalie in Saskatchewan midget AAA league. 2004/05 in top ten in Jr. A, Canada wide for goals against and save percent.
Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Players Fill National Championship Rosters
April 2001 News North reports many coaches and players from Rankin Inlet on the Hockey North teams playing in the Western Bantam Championship and Air Canada Cup CHA tournaments.
(Nunavut's hockey future is very sad as now no Nunavut hockey player gets this opportunity any more to play at a Canada National Championship.)Another Award For Tootoo
Wrote submission for Canadian National Aboriginal Achievement Award. This award is a very important aboriginal achievement award, which comes with ten thousand dollar education assistance.
Jordin Tootoo entered and was awarded it live on CBC.
Fishing For New Ice Making Thinking
Wrote a paper to the CHA for university students to study 'how to make ice in the arctic without using artificial ice plants. Here Jim explains he was truly fishing for new thinking and new technologies to emerge and he knows it's out there yet to be discovered. "Lets go beyond spaghetti and ice plants."
Unfortunately Macdonald says he poorly primed anyone to understand the concept he was after, as few in the Canadian Hockey Association, Hockey Development Council understood hockey in the arctic is played on natural ice and is totally depended on the weather.
Jim also admits he didn't know it would be short tracked direct to CHA, Hockey Development Council meeting for approval for further study or canned. Jim is still encouraged to keep on fishing as he says, "someone there must have seen what I was fishing for."
Plastic Ice For The Arctic
In the same request for study report he also touched on how to get plastic ice to smaller communities who cannot afford artificial ice plants. Again few ever heard of full plastic ice arenas the way of the future Jim believes.
Check out
The Ottawa Citizen talking with Jim about plastic ice on Friday 06 Dec 2002.
Artificial Ice On It's Way
June 11, 2003 Kivalliq News reports, "Artificial ice contract awarded hamlet of Rankin Inlet says."
October 8, 2003, 2004 organized and took five to seven players to the Thompson, Manitoba midget fall tryout camp. Each year at least or two players makes the team
Ken Tonner Gets Loads of Hockey Skates
May 7, 2003, Kivalliq News, Hockey Skates for little players. "Ken Tonner - If everybody stood up and tried to make a difference we could help out young people out a lot more then we are right now. After consulting with Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey president Jim Mac Donald, the two focused on getting smaller skates so kids could get on the ice at an earlier age. …. Eighteen boxes of skates arrived. "Macdonald says he was overjoyed to receive the smaller skates because getting good equipment on younger kids is still a problem in Rankin Inlet."
Powerful Peewees Explode With Todays Stars
March 31, 2004 Kivalliq News reports: "Kyle Seeley says it's important for people to accept the fact Peewee hockey is gone form the Arctic Winter Games. He says it's vital for the Kivalliq to have successful community-based initiatives such as the Powerful Peewee and Polar Bear Plate events. "These events get the kids out there and playing."
Rankin Inlet Player Tries For NHL
June 21, 2004 News North, Past Rankin Inlet player Pujjiit Kusugak draws excitement being accepted and playing in the Bell Xpress Making the cut TV show.
Remember No Roads Only Expensive Airplane Tickets
Jan 21/2004 Kivalliq News, Chesterfield Inlet Minor Hockey, Roy Mullins: "We had the peewees out for a tournament in Rankin (Powerful Peewees).getting the players out for a tournament shows them how far they have to go they mostly practice here. They rarely get to play organized games.
Players Becoming Hockey Officials
Jan 28, 2004 Kivalliq News. Max MacDonald is first player in RIMHA to be certified as hockey referee and join officials mentor program.
Pounding More Tournaments A Must Message
Jan 28, 2004 Kivalliq News "we're also going to continue to push for more regional tournaments."
"You have to give the players something to look forward to, rather than playing against the same old faces every practice" Mac Donald said. "When we travel south to compete we keep hearing our kids are very talented but they really lack game experience."
Feb 4, 2004 Kivalliq News, Jan Devana, Arviat Minor Hockey Association: "Regional tournaments are better than going down south to compete on a number of different points, including the cost factor which is huge when traveling to the south.
Radical Or Smart Thinking
March 19, 2004 Nunatsiaq News, Commentary by Jim Mac Donald.
Possibly viewed as a radical out look Jim requesting people to rethink the Arctic Winter Games funding every two years. Spend it on leagues. And did question why "throw buckets of cash towards suicide meeting, mega conferences and suicide advertising while many communities struggle to find funds to purchase a single ball or hockey net."
Mining Companies Not Doing Their Corporate Duty
Jim also wondered out loud if the mining exploration companies are "community helping" as much as they should be while spending millions of exploration dollars in the area.
Take Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit Out
January 2005, Jim questions and really puts forward a Kivalliq minor hockey tournament idea where it's not Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit getting all of the events. Getting all Kivalliq road less communities involved in taking the destiny of hockey in the Kivalliq in their own hands by hosting a yearly tournament in their own backyards.
It seems to be working as Baker Lake has now joined in with a Bantam Blizzard Tournament complementing Rankin Inlets Powerful Peewees and Polar Bear Plate hockey tournaments.
Jim said he rejoiced then contacted Arivat to see if they can get in on the exciting hockey action by thinking about hosting an Atoms tournament this season or next. He says they are very interested and just may do this year or next. Boils down to will any one have any money after going to Baker and Rankin?
Now imagine if Chesterfield Inlet would be interested in hosting a novice tournament.
"Sure" Jim explains, "it's like building a glass house by a ball park. It easily can come crashing down the very next day because of lack of fund-raised travel dollar for teams or volunteers to make it happen."
Let Ideas Bloom Now and Years To Come
"In the end, really all I am doing is helping to light an idea, to get people thinking about it and encourage people to criticize it and make it better and make it their own. Like many of my ideas over the years they are dropped and then months or years later come back to life. Not as my idea or my way but as the way of every one - a team. That is when the real minor hockey fun starts for the kids, parents and fans.
It makes you feel good."
The End.
2007 /2008 Still Pushing Upward
Got Road Hockey Rumble TV, Come To Rankin Inlet to film show in summer of 2007
And even given credit for it in the shows ending credits.
On April 16, 2007, Lewis Bennett wrote me saying:
Hi Jim
Wow! I think you may have just done all of my work for me! Once I get
the
go-ahead that we are indeed planning on shooting in Rankin Inlet I will
start calling these people. Hopefully it goes through as your community
sounds like a very fascinating place.
I'll let you know when they finally make the final decision. It wont be for
a month or two but eventually I'll figure it out.
Thanks!
Lewis
Disempowering Arena Music
Check out my letter here, scroll down and see the letter called "Biting Back At Arena Music."
15 Musicians who never won a Grammy Interesting list of names you know.
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