The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) has submitted an application to BC Hockey to have the league and its members reclassified as Junior A for the 2023/24 season, the league reported this morning.

If approved, all 20 KIJHL clubs would transition to the Junior A level under a set of newly-adopted operating standards designed to enhance the player experience league-wide, the league stated following its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, June 17 in Sicamous.

The KIJHL’s application to BC Hockey was submitted after an exhaustive consultation process with the league’s minor hockey partners that resulted in letters of support from all four of the regional minor hockey districts in which KIJHL teams operate, as well as 19 separate minor hockey associations.

“The reality for our league is that the departure of the BCHL to independent hockey has left a major hole in sanctioned junior hockey programming in our province,” said KIJHL Chair Brett Holt.

“The KIJHL has continued to thrive in large part due to our reputation for offering a highly affordable development path to higher levels of hockey. Not having a sanctioned Junior A league in B.C. creates a significant void that we are well-positioned to help fill. It was very exciting to witness the positive feedback from our partners at the minor hockey level and their enthusiasm to see increased Junior A playing opportunities for B.C. athletes.

“We’re looking forward to further dialogue with BC Hockey on our application and our desire to further the growth of grassroots junior hockey in our province, and ultimately a vote by their Board,” said Holt, who is also Columbia Valley Rockies club president.

Holt will also continue as KIJHL board chair through to June 2024, with Jake Swanson (Beaver Valley Nitehawks) and newly re-elected Mark McNaughton (Princeton Posse) and Matt Kolle (Kamloops Storm) forming the league executive committee.

The KIJHL’s Board of Governors also approved a number of new regulations during the recent AGM, including a waivers process that will apply to all out-of-league transactions in which a participant is dealt in return for a Player Development Fee only from September 1 to January 10.

Also ratified were the formal creation of a Hockey Operations Committee and a Marketing Committee that will help consult league office staff on matters in their respective areas, the league reported.

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