PrintUse of Team Fees

HOUSE TEAM BUDGET POLICIES

(Revised September 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:

Coach and Team Officials: Responsible for developing a team budget at the beginning of the season, reflecting the program outlined by the coach, and presenting it to the parents for approval.
Team Treasurer: Responsible for tracking and controlling the financial transactions of the team as per the Team Bank Account Policy, summarizing actual results compared to the 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 or manager.
Parents: Responsible for approving the initial team budget at the beginning of the season and any subsequent changes. They must also review the summary of actual results compared to the budget provided by the treasurer. The initial budget and subsequent adjustments must be agreed upon by the majority of parents. Any decisions regarding adjustments to specific details or line items in the budget are made through a voting process.
NMHA: Responsible for setting policy regarding team budgets and providing direction to coaches, team officials, and parents regarding the application of the policy. For greater clarity, the NMHA does not directly manage the financial activity of the team, and any issues or discrepancies regarding team finances are not the responsibility of the NMHA.

TEAM FEES

Team fee limits are set each season for house teams. Coaches are directed by the NMHA to ensure that when developing the budget, they remain mindful of the total cost incurred by families and make every effort to keep team costs and the fees charged to players’ families to a minimum.

Teams can collect a maximum of $450 per player (U11 - U18) and $350 per player (U9) in extra fees (over and above hockey registration fees).
Team fees are mandatory and not optional. Once set, these fees cannot be increased, and additional funds cannot be collected from families.

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 must 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 administrative burden of refunding small amounts to parents.

TEAM EXPENSES

The total budgeted expenses for any team will reflect the program outlined by the coach for the season and are influenced by several factors, including additional ice time requirements, specific skill and player development, or off-ice training activities.

Allowable Expense Items

Budgeted expenses should focus on required items necessary to operate the team, such as:

Jersey deposit
Goalie equipment rental
Additional practice ice
Exhibition games (including ice rentals, officials, etc.)
Tournament entry fees
Team supplies (pucks, pylons, trainer kit, etc.)
Team administration (labels, photocopying, website)
Social expenses (ice breakers, year-end party, player gifts, coaching gifts)

Non-Allowable Expense Items

Off-ice team clothing items are not mandatory and cannot be included in the team budget.
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.

Note: The NMHA will cover the cost of insurance for five team officials. Any team with more than five staff members will incur an additional cost.

BUDGET FORMAT

All initial team budgets and actual budget summaries must be prepared using an Excel spreadsheet. The items in the budget and summaries must be detailed enough 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 steps below must include notification to the Manager Liaison and Vice-President of Programs and Development.

Submit a copy of your preliminary budget to the Manager Liaison no later than November 1.
Prepare a mid-season budget. Share it with parents/guardians and submit it to the Manager Liaison by January 2.
Prepare a final financial statement for parents/guardians at the end of the season. Submit it to the Manager Liaison no later than April 15. This budget must include the amount to be refunded to parents.
All teams must operate their bank account for the current season and are responsible for closing the account promptly once all financial affairs are resolved, by the end of the season, no later than April 30. Year-end refunds must be issued to parents via cash or e-transfer (if available).

BEST PRACTICES FOR TREASURERS

Communicate budget status to parents regularly and often.
Obtain parent approval before 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.
Perform bank reconciliations monthly.
Follow up and escalate delinquent fee issues early.
Document each parent’s acknowledgment of receipt of the Initial Budget, Interim Summary Reports, and Final Summary.

RESPONSIBILITIES (REITERATED)