History (Clarington Zone Hockey)

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Clarington Zone Origins


In 1999, the Clarington Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) applied to the OMHA for permission to operate a AAA centre in the town of Clarington. At the time, AAA hockey was only available to Clarington residents by playing in the Central Ontario Wolves organization. This designation was granted to the CMHA, but AAA hockey was only available in Clarington to those players that lived in Courtice and Bowmanville. The Toros competed admirably within the Eastern Triple A Hockey League (ETA), yet did not fully represent Clarington as those players that resided in Orono or Newcastle were still not able to play for their home town.

During this period, many Clarington players and parents living outside of the Courtice/Bowmanville boundaries expressed a desire to be a part of the Toro organization. In 2004, the CMHA executive worked with the OMHA to find a solution and the Clarington Zone was formed. The formation of the zone saw an opportunity to allow the separate centres comprising the zone (CMHA, Orono, Newcastle, Port Hope and the Clarington Recreational Hockey League) to retain their individual identities and continue to operate separately while at the same time making AAA hockey available to all of the members of those organizations.

The development of the zone has not been without it's growing pains and we owe a debt of thanks to the CMHA and our other partners for working with us to develop a constitution, find ice and even to get started with developing our own operating guidelines and set up our first executive.

Going forward, we will continue to have our challenges. But with the combined efforts of our executive, our parent group and our partner centres, we will continue to grow and improve our organization for the betterment of AAA hockey to all of those who are eligible in our Zone.