Hockey dad Jeff Murphy has two sons in minor league sports, and he says keeping them in it doesn’t come cheap. It’s why he and many other parents have utilized the well-known 50/50 fundraiser to help pay for hockey-related expenses. “It helps with the registration fees. It helps with what’s called a team budget…it does a lot to support my kids playing hockey as it does all the hockey parents,” says Murphy. When he learned the Nova Scotia government recently planned to change rules so all proceeds would go directly to associations instead of individual players, Murphy was concerned. “I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why they’re making this decision because it’s really negatively impacting us,” he says. Before the ink was dry on the change, the province walked back their decision. At a cabinet meeting Thursday, Service Minister Jill Balser told reporters she better understands concerns after meeting with minor league associations. “We know now that 50/50 lotteries can contribute extensively to a number of communities and are very important to athletes’ participation in sport,” Balser said. “Being able to have that direct benefit was incredibly important for many associations, and so when they brought that forward to us, we wanted to make sure that our policy aligned to that practice, so that’s what prompted the change.” Before the change was reversed, Robert Nurnber, president of the Sackville Minor Hockey Association, told CTV Atlantic he was worried it would force parents to take their kids out of the game. “The cost of everything’s going up exponentially and families are struggling to keep up with inflation,” said Nurnber. “Sometimes people just think, ‘Oh, it’s just kids out playing hockey with some sticks in a park,’ but that on-ice component is really just a small piece of what it’s really all about. There’s so many life lessons that the children learn through a team sport.” Balser said her department wanted to make sure the “activity” of minor league associations “aligned with their charitable purpose.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
