Vote Passes Merging Tilbury and Chatham Travel Hockey Programs

Tuesday in Tilbury, a vote was held based on a proposed merger of the Tilbury District Minor Hockey and Chatham Minor Hockey travel programs. At the meeting, the vote to merge was passed with a majority decision.

The merger of the two organizations will be effective immediately with Tilbury and Chatham travel teams combining next season under the TekSavvy Cobras name. Following a decision earlier this year by the OMHA opening up boundaries for players to move to bordering ‘A’ and ‘AA’ centres if the same level was not available in their home centre, many speculated that Tilbury would be the hardest hit minor hockey organization in Chatham-Kent.

Tilbury Minor Hockey players would have been eligible to move to Essex, Wheatley/Southpoint, Belle River, and Chatham. With the new merger agreement however, Tilbury and District Minor Hockey players will only be eligible to play ‘AA’ hockey in Chatham, however, players will still be eligible to move to Essex or Wheatley to participate in ‘A’ hockey.

With dwindling numbers in minor hockey across Chatham-Kent, the merger follows a trend seen in recent years within girls hockey as organizations from Ridgetown, Bothwell, Dresden, and Blenheim have amalgamated to form the Kent Fillies organization.