Clarification on Rules Regarding the Transferring of 50/50 Credits

 In recent weeks, the Dartmouth Whalers organization has received a number of questions from parents / guardians regarding player credits from the Whalers 50/50 draws.  Specifically, parents / guardians have expressed concern with the communication from the Whalers that if their child makes a 'major' team (eg: U15 AAA) or if their child leaves the Whalers (eg: moving to another minor hockey association / no longer playing hockey) they are no longer eligible to receive the credit from their participation in the previous season's Whalers 50/50 draws.  Given these concerns, the Whalers would like to offer the following information in hopes of providing increased clarity: 

 In advance of the 2021-22 season, the Dartmouth Whalers changed its rules regarding the transfer of 50/50 player credits to ensure the Whalers organization was in compliance with Nova Scotia's Alcohol and Gaming Division Policy for Youth Sports Lotteries Use of Funds.  This policy falls under the Gaming Control Act.

 The Whalers Association provided written guidance on this issue at the end of last season.  The guidance was sent to the participants in last season's 50/50 draw who were eligible to receive a credit from their 50/50 sales during the season.  To be fair, the communication regarding the transferring of the 50/50 credit wasn't completely clear and thus, the Whalers will be tweaking the language for this season.  Nevertheless, despite the communication challenges, the province's policy is clear and is backed by law.  

 The Whalers Association has read the policy and received guidance from staff at the province's Alcohol and Gaming Division (AGD) regarding what is allowed and what is prohibited with regards to 50/50 credits.  Please see the information below: 

 50/50 credits can be used as follows:

- The 50/50 credit can be used within 'minor' hockey associations to discount the receiving player's registration for the following year.  

- The funds can be directed to a sibling within the Whalers organization but these funds must be used towards the registration of the sibling.  

- The funds can be directed to the Mary Beth Chaulk Fund (MBCF) but these directed funds can only be used to provide a discount on registration for Whalers players that qualify for assistance under MBCF.  

 50/50 credits cannot be used in the following ways:

- A player leaving the Whalers cannot have the credit transferred to them as it has to be used for Whalers registration. 

- The credit cannot be transferred to 'major' teams or to a former Whalers player who is now playing on a 'major' team. 'Major' teams do not qualify because the government policy only allows the credit to be used within a youth sports organization. The policy's definition of 'youth sports organization' states that the organization (aka: team) cannot be owned in any way by a business and must be registered with Joint Stocks and recognized by their appropriate provincial organization. Although, the 'major' teams are technically sponsored by individuals / entities outside of the Dartmouth Whalers, they fall into this category.  Thus, AGD stated specifically that neither these teams, nor the players on these teams qualify to receive the 50/50 credits from the previous year.  

- The funds cannot be transferred between minor hockey associations without prior approval from AGD (the Whalers organization does not have prior approval).  

 Given the confines of the government policy, the Whalers Board made the decision leading into last season that if a Whalers player fell into one of the  scenarios (listed above) where their parent / guardian could not access their remaining 50/50 credit, the credit would be directed to the Mary Beth Chaulk Fund.

 We hope this explanation provides additional clarity to members of the Dartmouth Whalers.