Competitive Team Budget Policies (revised June 2025)
Responsibilities
The budget and finances of the team are the responsibility of the team officials and the parents. Specific responsibilities regarding team budgets include:
- The Coach and Team Officials are responsible for developing a team budget at the beginning of the season reflecting on the program outlined by the Coach and presenting it to the parents for approval.
- The team Treasurer is responsible for tracking and controlling the financial transactions of the team as per the Team Bank Account Policy, summarizing actual results compared to budget and presenting the summary to the parents for their review on a regular basis. The treasurer must not be related to or reside within the same household as the head coach/manager.
- The Parents are responsible for approving the Initial team budget at the beginning of the season and any subsequent changes and reviewing the summary of actual results compared to budget provided by the Treasurer. The initial budget and subsequent adjustments must be agreed upon by the majority of the parents. Any decisions regarding adjustments to or specific details or line items in the budget are made by way of voting.
- The NMHA is responsible for setting policy regarding team budgets and providing direction to Coaches, Team Officials and Parents regarding application of the policy. For greater clarity, the NMHA does not directly manage the financial activity of the team and any issues or discrepancies that may occur regarding team finances are not the responsibility of the NMHA.
Team Fees
Team fee limits are set for each season for competitive teams. Coaches are directed by the NMHA to ensure when developing the budget, they should be mindful of the total cost being incurred by families and should make all efforts to keep team costs and the team fees charged to the player’s families to a minimum. There are separate fee maximums for non-parent and parent- coached teams.
Fundraising is encouraged to mitigate the amount of team fees charged to players. For greater clarity, the purpose of fundraising is not to allow additional expenses to be added to the budget. Successful fundraising or lower spending may result in a budget surplus which is to be refunded to parents at the end of the season. Upon consensus from the parent group, small surpluses may be donated to charity to reduce the administration of refunding small amounts to parents.
Teams deciding not to fundraise must vote unanimously, as a team to forego fundraising for the entirety of the season (all team staff and families must agree). Should it be decided that a team choose not to fundraise, the maximum team fee amounts are slightly hirer to reflect this.
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Division
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Non-Parent Coach
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Non-Parent Coach (No fundraising)
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Parent Coach
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Parent Coach (No fundraising)
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U9
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N/A
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N/A
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$2,000.00
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$2,200.00
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U10 - U18
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$2,700.00
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$2,900.00
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$2,500.00
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$2,700.00
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Team Expenses
The total budgeted expenses for any particular team will reflect the program outlined by the Coach for the season and is influenced by several factors including additional ice time requirements, specific skill and player development or off-ice training activities.
In addition, non-parent coaches are often assigned to competitive level teams, and travel expenses for these coaches are included in that team’s budget – see Non-Parent Coach Expense Policy.
Expense items included in the budget should be focused on required items to operate the team such as tournament and league fees, ice costs, referees etc. and player skill development activities. Other items not directly related to team operations or player development such as team bonding activities should be kept to a minimum and focused on the players only – not family members.
*The NMHA will cover the cost of insurance for five team officials. Any teams with staff above five will incur an additional cost.
Team clothing or equipment such as tracksuits, hats etc. should NOT be included in a team budget. Procurement of these items may be coordinated by a team official or parent but should be settled on a cash basis with the player and his family and not transacted through the team account.
Please note that teams are not permitted to purchase items that at the end of the year would be considered a 'team item', such as a tablet or tripod.
Teams must allocate budget for:
Goalie Development - $2,500
Player Development - $2,000
Teams must set aside funds to pay the competitive surcharge, for their team, below is an approximate amount to allocate for:
U9-U13 - $250-$300/player
U15-U18 $300-350/player
Budget Format
All Initial Team Budgets and Actual Budget Summaries must be prepared using an Excel spreadsheet – see Budget Template - NMHA Competitive. The line items in the budget and summaries must be in sufficient detail to properly describe the nature of the income or expenses included.
Supporting schedules providing further details of transactions or activity related to an item should be included where necessary.
Key Dates and Deliverables
**All the below steps must include notification to the Director of the Division and Vice-President of Programs and Development. **
- Initial Budget approved by Parents no later than September 30th, for competitive teams not formed before September 30th, this step must be completed by October 15th.
- Actual vs Budget Summary #1 provided to Parents no later than November 30th.
- Actual vs Budget Summary #2 provided to Parents no later than January 31st.
- Final Actual vs Budget Summary provided to Parents no later than March 31st, or within 1 month of last ice time, whichever comes first.
- Final budget settlement and bank account closure no later than May 31st.
Best Practices for Treasurers
- Communicate budget status to parents regularly and often
- Obtain parent approval prior to incurring significant unbudgeted expenditures
- Record transaction activity as it occurs and retain supporting documentation
- Ensure cash-based transactions are accompanied by receipts or a sign-off list
- Ensure bank reconciliations are performed monthly
- Follow up and escalate issues with delinquent fees early
- Document each parents acknowledged receipt of Initial Budget, Interim Summary Reports and the Final Summary
Responsibilities
The budget and finances of the team are the responsibility of the team officials and the parents. Specific responsibilities regarding team budgets include:
- The Coach and Team Officials are responsible for developing a team budget at the beginning of the season reflecting on the program outlined by the Coach and presenting it to the parents for approval.
- The team Treasurer is responsible for tracking and controlling the financial transactions of the team as per the Team Bank Account Policy, summarizing actual results compared to budget and presenting the summary to the parents for their review on a regular basis. The treasurer must not be related to or reside within the same household as the head coach/manager.
- The Parents are responsible for approving the Initial team budget at the beginning of the season and any subsequent changes and reviewing the summary of actual results compared to budget provided by the Treasurer. The initial budget and subsequent adjustments must be agreed upon by the majority of the parents. Any decisions regarding adjustments to or specific details or line items in the budget are made by way of voting.
· The NMHA is responsible for setting policy regarding team budgets and providing direction to Coaches, Team Officials and Parents regarding application of the policy. For greater clarity, the NMHA does not directly manage the financial activity of the team and any issues or discrepancies that may occur regarding team finances are not the responsibility of the NMHA.
· Two signatures are required for all team transactions; this is typically the responsibility of the team treasurer and manager.
**Please note that the treasurer/manager or anyone with signing authority on the bank account must not be related to or reside in the same household.