1. Supply and Demand. In other provinces they have ONE Junior A league, with a handful of teams. In Ontario, we have four - OJHL, NOJHL, CCHL and SIJHL, with the best Jr. B league in the country. So teams over hear scrape the barrel for sponsors, fans, etc. Not the same in BC and Alberta, for example.RagingBS wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:05 pm Why is it that in Ontario players are asked to fork out thousands of dollars to play but in other provinces they are not? It used to be free, and it included equipment, billets, transportation etc. For the teams that are getting 600+ fans per game they should be asking less or nothing to play. The OHA and GOJHL fees are nothing more than a tax on the players that never existed until recently. It would be interesting to know where it is spent.
2. The teams with real strong attendance (Elmira and Stratford for example in the Midwest) don't charge. In fact, most hardcore fans whisper that they throw out money to help them with school, gas, new equipment, etc. and use that as a recruitment tool to bring in the top rookies from Midget/Jr. C and Jr. A impact players. Teams with mid-range attendance and below (Cambridge, Waterloo, Guelph for example) have to put out minimal charges in the 1500-2000 range, struggle to recruit players versus the other programs and generally have to rely on young players who hopefully don't jump ship to A if they have any dreams of winning.
3. The GOJHL fee pays for Chuck Williams who spends a good deal of his time with the NCAA from what everyone who asks is told by the league.