There will be no mini-hockey merger between Windsor and LaSalle.

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There will be no mini-hockey merger between Windsor and LaSalle.

A proposed merger between the Windsor Minor Hockey Association and LaSalle Minor Hockey Association failed to meet the two-thirds majority needed to move forward.

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“It's disappointing because what we were trying to do was the best thing for our future, but we respect the outcome,” WMHA President Kip Van Keulen said.

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With enrollment in the state's hockey associations declining, Windsor and LaSalle wanted to combine the two associations to provide a better playing experience for players. Several other associations in the state have already completed similar mergers.

La Salle has 874 players in the association and Windsor has 730 players. Combining the two was expected to create a strong travel team on the ice in the Bluewater League while also creating more teams and more depth at the house league level.

“People are thinking about the current situation and maybe not thinking so far into the future,” said Mike Seguin, a former LMHA president who just finished eight years as president. “We've tried to educate people about what's going on locally and in Ontario, but when you're complacent, it's hard to change that, and both are good relationships.”

Members of both associations voted in favor of the merger, but LaSalle and Windsor both had 53% votes, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to move the bill forward.

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One disappointing point for the associations is that only about one-third of all members voted in LaSalle and less than 50% in Windsor.

“I respect the decision, but I'm disappointed that more people don't have an opinion,” Van Keulen said. “At the moment we're going to focus on the AGM (annual general meeting) in May because of the executive elections and small bylaw changes. We're going to focus on a year-to-year and year-to-year basis.”

Van Keulen said a lot of time was spent filing the motion, but some voters may have felt the process was rushed. He said one reason for the accelerated schedule was that the vote was only the first step in the process. For the vote to pass, it had to clear several other hurdles, as it had to be approved by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and must comply with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.

“We had a schedule that required us to work together behind the scenes,” Van Keulen said.

Similarly, with the creation of a new association, entirely new bylaws, new board members, and advisory roles had to be established.

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“A lot would have gone into it,” Van Keulen said.

At this point, neither side is talking about revisiting the issue anytime soon.

“I don't know,” Seguin said. “Let's see how things turn out. Nothing is forever, but you never know.

“It is possible, but an extraordinary amount of time has gone into this work and I have nothing but great respect for Windsor for moving forward with the process.”

However, as the game's registration numbers continue to decline, there is little doubt that this issue will resurface at some point in the future as other associations strengthen through mergers.

“I think there's a chance we'll come back,” Van Keulen said. “Other associations have tried it and succeeded. There is a possibility (of revisiting it), but I don't want to say it's a certainty.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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