Area residents and visitors celebrate Hockey Days at the North Thompson Sportsplex in Clearwater January 17 through 26, 2025.
BC Hockey is a non-profit organization and member of Hockey Canada, providing stewardship of amateur hockey at all levels in British Columbia and the Yukon. Approximately 130 minor hockey associations plus junior and senior teams, 60,000 players, 4,500 referees, 10,000 coaches, 20,000 official volunteers and countless others make Canada’s favourite game possible here in B.C.
BC Hockey states its purpose is to work together in the pursuit of their mission, which is to “lead, develop and promote positive lifelong hockey experiences.”
“In doing so we adhere to our values, and we remember that hockey is a form of play,” notes BC Hockey. “Hockey is a game. Participation in hockey adds value to our lives and to our communities. Hockey is a positive contributor to the physical, mental and social well being of those who participate in, and help to deliver, our game.”
BC Hockey’s common purpose includes dedication to creating and maintaining an ecosystem for hockey to grow and thrive, so that the benefits of participating in hockey may continue.
Did you know?
Organized hockey in British Columbia dates back to the turn of the 20th century, though the first amateur hockey league was actually organized under the jurisdiction of the BC Amateur Athletic Union in 1912. Seven years later, the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA – now BC Hockey) was formed at a meeting held at the Daily Province Newspaper offices in Vancouver on Feb. 9, 1919. The secretary-treasurer of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association was in attendance and assisted in the organizing of the association, and John Oliver, Premier of B.C., was named honorary president.
A constitution modelled after the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association was adopted, and the first annual meeting of the association was held on Nov. 15, 1919 with 16 delegates in attendance. Notable from that first Annual General Meeting (AGM) was the defeat of a resolution to adopt the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA – now Hockey Canada) playing rules, due to the fact that the rules called for teams to play with six players. As there were only three artificial ice arenas at the time in British Columbia, it was felt that seven players a side would give the players more ice time.
In recent years
In 2021, following BC Hockey’s Restart Plan from the COVID-19 pandemic, the MML was rebranded as the British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL), which remains the home of the top AAA hockey players in the province at the U18, U17, and U15 level.
At the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Summerside, P.E.I., BC Hockey’s Female U18 Team BC made history, becoming the province’s first-ever women’s hockey team to claim a gold medal at the tournament after they blanked Team Nova Scotia 3-0 in the gold-medal game.
To help lead change in the cultural landscape of hockey, the BC Hockey board of directors launched two new workgroups in 2023, the Safe Sport Workgroup and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup. These workgroups joined the already established Indigenous Participation Workgroup.
Today, BC Hockey oversees approximately 55,000-plus players, 4,600-plus referees, 7,000-plus coaches and well over 20,000-plus volunteers with a commitment to excellence in leading, developing and promoting positive lifelong hockey experiences.
