The Olds Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) has been awarded a bantam elite female team for the 2016-17 season and is currently seeking a high-level head coach.
Rod Bischke, now past-president for OMHA, said they made a strong push to Hockey Alberta to ice the team.
"We have a huge number of girls that would make this team in the next few years coming up and it will save finances for our girls. But it's mostly a display of the Olds Minor Hockey female program that we currently have and what we're building to," Bischke said.
Bantam elite is a new stream of hockey under Hockey Alberta's revamped development model for girls.
At the highest level will be Midget AAA and there will only be six teams in the province, located in St. Albert, Edmonton, Lloydminster, Red Deer, Calgary and Okotoks. Players can try out for any one, regardless of where they live.
That was one of the recommendations from an independent study conducted in 2012-13, said Brad Lyon, senior manager of communications at Hockey Alberta.
"We were told that the number of teams at the highest level of midget hockey had to decrease," Lyon said. "So we've reduced midget AAA to six teams and then created the new-look midget elite and bantam elite as that next level to cover the province."
There will be 12 teams each at the midget Elite and bantam Elite levels. Girls playing at those levels can advance to midget AAA.
Teams at both elite levels draw from their own recruitment areas. Olds belongs to the South Central zone, pulling players from: Airdrie, Banff, Beiseker, Bowden, Canmore, Carstairs, Cochrane, Cremona, Crossfield, Didsbury, Drumheller, Hanna, Kneehill County, Mini Thni (Morley), Morrin, Olds, Oyen and Sundre.
"We were looking for centres that had or have a strong presence and history with the female game. Also, looking for associations and communities that work geographically," Lyon said.
According to the model, grassroots bantam feeds bantam elite, midget elite and grassroots midget. Grassroots midget feeds midget elite.
"If you're interested in progressing to a higher competitive level, you would have the opportunity to try out for a midget or bantam elite program within your recruitment area," Lyon said. "And if you're part of that percentage that has the skill and ability for AAA, then you would look to progress to there."
Hockey Alberta also has a committee that operates the Alberta Female Hockey League (AFHL). It will be the only sanctioned league in the province to operate AAA and Elite female hockey.
"We have a huge number of girls that would make this team in the next few years coming up."ROD BISCHKEPAST-PRESIDENT OLDS MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
