WILLMAR — The Willmar School Board and BOLD School Board voted unanimously to move forward with a girls hockey co-op during the schools’ special school board meetings Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. The co-op will allow students from BOLD to participate in girl’s hockey despite not having enough players for their own team.
The agreement would not move the Willmar Cardinals girls hockey program into a new division. Divisions are based on school population. When two teams co-op, half of the smaller school’s population is added to the larger school’s population in order to determine what division they will play in.
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The co-op would affect girls hockey and youth programs. Each player’s eligibility for the program would be determined by the school that they come from.
Expenses for the program would be split between the schools based on the number of participants from each school. Currently, BOLD expects to have 3 students participating in the program, two freshmen and one sophomore. These students would combine with Willmar’s team of around 30 students.
Co-op agreements have a two-year minimum, after which point it would continue until dissolved. Dissolution is allowed immediately if both school boards agree to it. If one school board votes to dissolve the co-op will end after a year has elapsed.
The Willmar school board, which met Monday afternoon, added a term to the agreement that would require immediate notification if a player from BOLD becomes ineligible for play. This portion of the agreement was included in the copy which BOLD board approved Monday night in Olivia .
The exact terms of the agreement have not yet been released.
BOLD’s boy’s hockey team is co-oped with Redwood Valley Public Schools and would not be affected.
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