Jr. Pioneer Hockey Scheduling Philosophy
The Joy Burns Arena is among the dynamic and multi-use venues within the Ritchie Center. As such, this venue is utilized to meet the following programmatic needs (in no particular order):

-NCAA Hockey Practice
-Jr. Pioneer Hockey
-Student Club Programming (Men’s Hockey, Women’s Hockey, Curling)
-Student Intramural Programming (Broomball, Hockey)
-Learn to Skate
-Learn to Play Hockey
-Competitive Figure Skating
-Public Programming (Public Skating, Stick & Puck, Drop in Hockey, etc.)
-Field Trips
-Youth Programming (School Days Off, PASS Camp)
-External use/Ice rental

Given the programmatic demands of this varied user group, it is essential that ice scheduling be proactive, team oriented and deliberate. Jr. Pioneer Hockey scheduling has adapted the USA Hockey ADM Model for practice structure. This structure recommends the following minimum number of practices per week:

Team Level	# of Practices	# of Teams	Total # of Practices
8 & Under	2	6	12
Squirt	3	3	9
Peewee	3	3	9
Bantam	3	3	9
Midget	3	3	9
Total	14	18	48

Scheduling Changes
In order to better maximize all ice time and enhance programmatic opportunities, the following changes were made for the Jr. Pioneer Hockey Season:

1.Learn to Skate: Learn to Skate sessions were moved 30 minutes earlier on Monday and Wednesday to generate additional practice time throughout the week.
2.Student Programming: Student Programming was moved to start 30 minutes later Monday – Friday to generate additional practice time throughout the week.
3.Learn to Play Hockey: Learn to Play Hockey was added on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to build a feeder system into the Jr. Pioneer Hockey model. By growing the next generation of athletes at the University of Denver, the Jr. Pioneer Hockey Program will be better able to sustain talent and success levels over the long term.
4.Early Morning Practice: Initial proposals included an early morning (6 am) practice time throughout the week. Due to customer and staff feedback, this was not fully implemented. While this change would provide greater flexibility and increase the number of available practice times per week, adjustments were made to eliminate this time.
5.Early Afternoon Practice: Initial proposals included an early afternoon (4:15 and 4:30 pm) practice time for 8 & Under teams on Tuesday and Thursday. This model was implemented as a trial for September and October. After receiving customer and staff feedback, these times have been eliminated from future scheduling beginning in November 2009. While this change would provide greater flexibility and increase the number of available practice times per week, adjustments have been made in response to feedback.
6.Scheduling Protocol: The Ritchie Center Scheduling Guide protocol is being upheld for the first time related to ice arena scheduling. The primary impact of this dictates that schedule changes are not permitted within 10 days of the event/program and that schedules will be up to date a minimum of 45 days in advance. This change provides increased communication to all program participants, reduction of last minute scheduling conflicts/issues and improved staff knowledge of facility programming.

In a meeting on October 16th further decisions were made regarding Jr. Pioneer Hockey scheduling for the remainder of the 2009-10 season. These decisions were made with full consensus of the group that consisted of these individuals:
-Stuart Halsall, Assistant Vice Chancellor
-Tiffany Ulatowski, Director of Membership & Programming
-Matt Gohl, Director of Ritchie Center Operations
-Lucky Rai, Asst. Director of Membership Services
-Alie Koch, Rental & Scheduling Manager
-Graham Johnson, Youth Hockey Manager

The decisions made include:
1.Utilization of the 4:15 pm and 4:30 pm practice slots as full ice practice times for teams able to practice at these times. Times will be provided to Graham Johnson to determine use of these practice slots.
a.With the exception of the times shown above, full ice practices will be reserved only on weekend times. Practice times throughout the week will consist of shared ice practices.
b.Early morning practice times will also be made available for full ice practices as this time is available. 2.Schedules will be created to accommodate more 90 minute shared practices for teams at the PeeWee AA level and above.
3.Wednesday practice times were originally scheduled as ADM Model Skills Clinic Sessions. Due to difficulty at the older age groups, Bantam and Midget level teams will share ice with only one other team for these skill sessions.
4.Home Tournament Schedules will be developed by Graham Johnson for the remainder of the season and input into the scheduling system in advance.

Scheduling Process
Historically, the ice schedule was developed by one individual. In order to ensure that all programs are represented fairly, that issues are addressed fairly and that all parties agree to the ice schedule, a new team approach to scheduling has been developed. This team consists of:

-Matt Gohl, Director of Ritchie Center Operations
-Alie Koch, Rental & Scheduling Manager
-Tiffany Ulatowski, Director of Membership & Programming
-Michael Simon, Director of Gymnastics & Figure Skating Programming
-Graham Johnson, Youth Hockey Manager

After receiving program schedule requests, a draft of the schedule is generated on a day by day basis in order to represent the daily business fluctuation of the Ritchie Center (Hockey/Basketball Competition, Concerts, etc.). This schedule is then available for review by the entire scheduling team. After each individual has had an opportunity to review the draft, a meeting is held to address issues, concerns and to come to consensus with the entirety of the schedule. After consensus is attained, the schedule is approved and input into the University of Denver Scheduling System which updates online calendars and serves as the official facility schedule for the Ritchie Center.

This process began on September 9, 2009 and will be continued for the remainder of the Jr. Pioneer hockey season. Additionally, tournament schedules, game schedules and any other scheduling needs are addressed through this process of overall ice time scheduling.