Minutes of RMLL Junior A Breakout Session

November 26, 2006
Coast Plaza Hotel Edmonton.

In Attendance:	Rioth Jomha; Dennis Malayko;   Bill Sucha;  John Kilbride;	Warren Rendon;  Leslie Churchill;  Greg Lintz.

The following issues were  discussed and there was general agreement.

1.	Greg Lintz was asked to serve as Junior A Commissioner.

2.	There will be a 45 man protected list. There will be no hold-out list. There will be no injury list.

3.	The draft must be held prior to February 1 in each year in order to meet the Feb. 1 CLA deadline for provision of the 25 man list.
(I believe this date may in fact be Feb. 28 which would extend the time for the holding of the draft-we will confirm this)
Five days prior to the draft each team will submit to the Junior A Commissioner the names of those players being protected from last year’s rosters.
There will be a draft of graduating midgets of 11 players, ten forwards and one goalie. Each team must pick 11 graduating midgets.
The team that finished lower in the standings has the option whether to pick first in the midget draft or first in the Junior player draft. The other team would then get the first pick in the other draft. Picks will alternate throughout.
Once the midget players drafted are added to a team’s remaining protected players from last season’s roster, that team then picks the number of remaining junior players necessary to fill the 45 man protected list.
4.	The 45 man protected list will be frozen from July 1 in each year until the    draft the following year; ie, July 1 to February the following year. Players can be dropped from the roster but notadded to a team’s roster during this time. This provision will operate retroactively to July 1, 2006. Any players added to any team’s roster since that date must be dropped from the 45 man protected list.
5.	The interlocking schedule with the Senior Teams will be maintained status quo for next season.
6.	There will be no Friday evening travel games for Junior A teams unless that team agrees or requests that in their schedule.
7.	One day road trips and special scheduling requests are an individual  team decision.
8.	Junior A will not schedule games on the same night as Junior B in order to facilitate affiliation.
9.	There should be no games scheduled for July 9 and july 16, 2007 so that players can go to try-outs for the National Field U-19 teams.
10.	Playoffs will be two best of seven series only if time permits. Should be finished by August 18, 2007. Regular season should en d by July 16, 2007 to permit enough weekends to do playoffs.
If it is a five game semi-final, then it is a 2-2-1 format.
Best of seven series will be a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
11.	It was noted that C.L.A. policy now only allows five “imports”.
12.	With respect to Senior B teams calling up Junior B players, as long as the Junior B coach gives his consent, the consent of the respective Junior A team who has protected that player is not required.
13.	A junior B call-up to a Senior B team cannot play in a game against any Junior A teams.
14.	With respect to Red Deer players, only one team in each zone can protect a Red Deer player, as that is defined in the policy. So Red Deer players are the only players who can be protected by two teams, one in each zone.
15.	The playing rights of a player drafted by a Junior A team and placed on that team’s 45 man protected list,  remain the property of that team for the player’s first three year’s of junior eligibility, as long as he remains on that team’s 45 man protected list. Once a player has been carded by a Junior a team he remains with that Junior A team for all of his Junior eligibility as long as he is on that Junior team’s 45 man protected list. If a player is not carded by the Junior A team that drafted him during his first three years of junior eligibility then that player becomes a free agent for his fourth and fifth years of Junior eligibility.  
16.	The 45 man protected lists shall be published. There shall be transparency of player movement. All additions and deletions will be communicated forthwith to the Junior A commissioner and to the other Junior A teams.
17.	Game Sheets:  there shall be no “stickers” with players names pasted on the game sheet; the players who go on the floor must be on the game sheet for league games; the number of players on the floor must match the numbers of players on the game sheet. We must ensure that players are playing in four league games to qualify for playoffs.
18.	Warren rendon recommendations:
a)	Players on the 45 man roster cannot serve as time-keepers or minor officials in the box; teams should have designated minor oficials at games.
b)	Quality of referees going to Minto Cup. The RMLL should request of the ALRA that there be a different selection process for the Minto than for the Founders or the Presidents Cup.