Volunteering (formerly DIBs)

The Volunteer Hours Program enables the association to staff the concession stand and fill other necessary roles the team would otherwise need to pay to staff. It’s critical the roles are filled throughout the season. At the beginning of the season, no charges will be incurred. Throughout the season, there will be ample opportunities to complete the required hours. We strongly prefer families to contribute volunteer time rather than opting for the monetary charge.

If volunteer roles remain unfilled, it results in significant time spent searching for replacements and the association incurs additional costs to pay them. Your participation in volunteering not only supports our community but also helps keep our programs running smoothly.

Each player is assigned the requirement of 14 hours at the start of the season, with a maximum of 24 hours for multi-player families. 

If you have 2 players, you will receive a “multi-child credit” for 4 hours against the second player.

Both players will show a requirement of 14 hours (28 total), the credit will show 4 hours against the second player leaving 24 hours for your family to fulfill. You should show BOTH players completed 14 hours each at the end of the year to meet the requirement.

If you have 3 players, you will receive a “multi-child credit” for 6 hours against each of your 3 players. All 3 players will show a requirement of 14 hours (42 total). Each player will show the 6 hour credit and your family will be responsible for fulfilling 24 hours. All 3 three players should show with 14 hours complete at the end of the year to meet your requirement. NOTE: for mini-mites and junior gold, your accounts will be credited as well, so it will show you need 14 but after the credits it will adjust to 2 and 4 respectively.

• Your email must be tied to your players profile in order to sign up for DIBs.
• Helping with team activities (i.e. always doing clock at home games, ordering team apparel, etc) DOES NOT count for Volunteer hours. 
• Tryouts are the first offered DIBs hours every year, these go fast. Don’t worry if you cannot get your hours in during Tryouts, there are plenty of other opportunities throughout the year. 
• If you plan on Managing or Coaching (Head or Assistant) please consider leaving the early Tryout Dibs for other families who don’t typically fill these roles. 
• Managers must submit the distribution of Team Staff Hours to the DIBS Coordinator by December 15th. 
• ALL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM HOURS MUST BE RECONCILED BY END OF THE SEASON, NO ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE MADE AFTER THE SEASON HAS ENDED.

Q: What is the Volunteer Program Fee if you do not fulfill your hours?

A: The fee is $900 per player or $1550 family maximum (for multiple players). The fee is charged if the required volunteer hours are not fulfilled by the end of the season.

Q: Why did the Volunteer amount increase?

A: Up to this point, we have only collected checks for traditional DIBS Hours. When we took over the concession stand, we did not increase the requirement even though there was an increase in the volunteer hour requirement. With the higher requirement, there is an additional risk of families not volunteering, which results in us having to pay someone to fill the shifts. Previously, the burden of tracking has heavily relied on managers and the concessions team.

Moving forward, instead of penalizing a team for families not volunteering, the responsibility is shifting back to individual families. This change aims to ensure that we can adequately staff volunteer roles and maintain our programs effectively.

Q: What level teams are required to participate in the Volunteer Hours Program?

A: Mini Mites through Junior Gold teams are all required to participate. Total hours required may vary by level.

Q: Why do Junior Gold families have to volunteer?

A: Last year, we were unable to open the concession stand as frequently as desired, which also affected its availability during all Junior Gold games. To ensure the stand is open more consistently, we are asking all Junior Gold families to commit to 4 hours of volunteer time.

Note: Seniors on JGold will not be required to fulfill any hours.

Q: DIBS was tracked by hours and concessions was tracked by shifts. How are these being combined?

A: All volunteer items will now be tracked by hours. A single concession shift that is two hours will count as two volunteer program hours. Similarly, running the clock at a tournament during a 60-minute ice time will count as 1 volunteer hour.

Q: If DIBS checks are going away, how will families be held accountable?

A: Families will need to complete a separate registration process for Volunteer Hours. A credit card will be put on file during this registration. Once your volunteer hours are fulfilled, the card information will be deleted, and you will not be charged (You will also receive a confirmation email when your hours are completed). However, if you do not fulfill your hours, the card will be charged at the end of the season.)

Everyone is required to fill out the separate Volunteer Registration to receive a tryout jersey and participate in the season.

Q: In the past, teams were assigned a concession window. Will families only be allowed to sign up for concession hours during a specific window?

A: There will no longer be a window of time assigned to teams. Any family can claim concession hours, regardless of team affiliation. You are free to choose and sign up for concession hours that fit your schedule and availability.

Q: If I get full DIBS for coaching or being on a committee, does that cover ALL my Volunteer Program hours?

A: No, while we would love to give exemptions to cover all volunteer hours for specific roles, especially those that demand a lot of time, the math doesn’t work out to ensure all jobs are filled. Therefore, everyone will be required to complete an additional 6 hours (or a family max of 12 hours) to cover what used to be required specifically for concessions.

With that said, you can now choose to fulfill the hours by working any of the available volunteer hour alternatives.

Q. What are the Volunteer Hour Requirements?

Q: How do I earn Volunteer Hours?

A: Volunteer opportunities will be posted on our website. Families can earn hours by working at tournaments, tryouts, jamborees, the concession stand, and more—generally, families will earn one credit per hour. Credits can also be earned by serving on a committee, on the board, or in other association roles.

Q: Why is there a range in Credits for Assistant Coaches and Managers/Scrimmage Coordinators?

A: In the past, we specified exactly how much each person would receive. This year teams will receive 60 hours to split among the team staff (30 for Mini-Mites), with an individual maximum of 12 credits. Head Coaches and Managers can choose how to distribute the credits. Please note, all coaches, managers, and scrimmage coordinators must fulfill all USA Hockey and FLHA requirements and be on the official roster to qualify for the Volunteer Credits. These credits must be forwarded to the DIBS Coordinator by December 15th. 

We will be utilizing Dibs to help manage our volunteer credits. Credits will be added to Dibs as they become available and a communication email will be sent out.

• Try-Outs (starts late September)
• Concession Stand (starts late September and runs through the season)
• Intro to Hockey (early October)
• Hosted Tournament (several throughout the year)
• Mite Jamborees (Dec & Mar)
• Misc (team pics, Try Hockey for Free, Golf Tourney, etc)
• District 2 / Jr. Gold tournament responsibilities (Mar)
• Spring 4v4 League (starts in March)

Available Dibs Sessions can be found on the Dibs tab above or directly at: TBD

Below is a subset of currently available Dibs shifts. TBD