OEM Hockey League approaches Algonquin sports management program

By Matthew Kirkpatrick

kirk0099@algonquincollege.com

When the Ontario East Minor Hockey League approached the faculty of Algonquin’s sports management program looking for a student to act as their new webmaster, professor Dave Best saw it as an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

“We saw it as a chance to get students involved in sports and the business of sports,” said Best.

The second-year AAA league is the top level of hockey in the Ottawa area for player’s 13 to 18-years-old.

According to Best, the old OEMHL website was full of “static information” which made it difficult for them to maintain and keep updated with current data.

“The league’s players are typically very web savvy,” said new OEMHL webmaster and Algonquin sports management student Rebecca Watts.

The league wanted to move forward with a more dynamic website that would be more appealing to its users and looked to Algonquin to provide them with the resources to do so.

“The league needs to get their archaic vision of minor hockey into a web form that kids will understand,” said Best.

Watts maintains the league’s new site, performing regular updates to sections that include web links, news, tournament standings and the alumni section.

With sports management committed to maintaining the website, Best hopes that it will serve as a recruitment tool for the program.

“AAA leagues are not usually run by web developers, so this is an ideal situation for them,” said Watts.

Subsequent webmasters from Algonquin will be expected to do more than just continue the work that Watts has started.

“We will challenge the students to come up with new and exciting ideas each year,” said Best.

Watts and future webmasters will also be given a chance to generate income through their work for the OEMHL over and above the salary they earn from the league by selling banner ads and securing sponsors for the site and taking home one-third of the revenue.