The Norman Northstars' season may have just begun, but they're already making their mark in the community.
During the regular city council meeting on Oct. 6, Kathy Valentino, long-time volunteer with the Northstars, and the team presented a report to council. In this report, it spoke about community involvement, revenue, education, as well as sharing a brief history on the team.
In 1985 an elite league of 15-17 year old hockey players was formed, and with that the Norman Northstars were named. In 30 seasons over 660 players have worn a Northstars jersey. In 1995 the Northstars won the league championship with the help of coaches Doug Korman, Kelly Davis, and Gary Ceppetelli.
Every year on the third weekend of August approximately 70-100 players travel to Thompson from across the Norman region and Nunavut to try and make it onto the 24-person roster. A family pays $4,000 for their son to play on the hockey team, but different fundraisers throughout the season help with those costs.
Operating costs for the Norman Northstars are $200,000 a year, with the biggest cost being travel expenses. The team does, however, buy supplies locally to help benefit Thompson, which includes ice rental, jerseys, and other types of clothing purchases.
The report given to councillors spoke to the revenue that the city has received due to out-of town teams visiting. Over 30 years, there have been 750 days where a visiting team has stayed the night in Thompson, with usually six hotel rooms a night. That totals $337,500, if each room was $75 a night. Including five meals a day, for 30 people for 375 weekends is 56, 250 meals bought. At $10 a meal that would total $562,500 for local restaurants.
Extra expenses for travelling teams include ice time at the arena. If one time each year, a team rented one hour of ice for 30 years it would have totalled $1,500. Plus if 30 people on the visiting team spent at least $15 a day for 375 weekends in Thompson that's another $1,687.50 in miscellaneous expenses. The total revenue that has been brought back into the city for the past 30 years from visiting hockey teams is roughly $1,070,250.
Along with out-of-town teams coming to Thompson, having out-of-town players stay in Thompson for the team also benefits the community. On average the Norman Northstars have 11 out-of-town players a year on the team. Over the 30 year time period, that is 330 players and their families. When estimated, parents spend two nights at $75 dollars a night for 750 days, which equals to $56,250 in hotel expenses. With food and miscellaneous costs it would total $496,000. After everything is added the total revenue for the City of Thompson in the past 30 years because of the Northstars is $1,711,390.
The report also talked about the Northstars' commitment to community organizations and events. The team took part in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, the Terry Fox Run, the bike rally for mental health in September, and they will be helping with school activities like intramural sports and gym classes.
“The demands of a AAA midget hockey player are no excuse for poor effort in school,” states the report. An education chairperson monitors school reports and attendance, and team players attend a one- to two-hour tutoring program every week to keep education number one.
Players on the Norman Northstars have gone on and attended Canadian or United States colleges through scholarships and several have played in the Western Hockey League. When a player makes it onto the team, they are always reminded that it's not just about hockey. It's about education, leadership, commitment, and friendship, too.
