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Dear Members of the RCYH Family,

I want to start by saying how much I care for each and every one of your children and by expressing how much it means to me that your families have joined and become part of the River City Youth Hockey family. If you know me, you know that I have a deep passion for this game and you understand how much RCYH means to me personally. However, that personal passion isn’t necessarily driven by the game itself, it grows from the fact that I know what hockey can do for these kids and our community. I understand firsthand how this game can impact your child for the rest of their lives and I want to help provide a pathway for all of the kids in our organization to have the same meaningful experience.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that the City of LaCrosse Parks and Recreation Department has informed me of their intention to close Green Island Ice Arena permanently. I fear that this will mean the end of River City Youth Hockey as we know it and it saddens me that the City has come to this conclusion. I was informed over Christmas that this was going to occur and I chose not to share the news with the association until the Holidays were over.  Now that you know, I am sure you will feel the same pain and frustration that I have over the past few weeks, and I am sorry for that.

However, in follow up discussions with the City, it has become apparent that the City’s motivation for closing the facility centers around the fact that they simply don’t want to manage the rink and the financial responsibilities that come with it. There is still hope for a solution, however that solution will be a significant challenge for the organization and we will need everyone in the organization to step up if we are going to save our home. I am writing this email to find out if we are up for the challenge.

My biggest problem with this situation is the timing. I firmly believe we can find a solution to keep the rink open if we had enough time to form a comprehensive plan. The City informed us in late December 2019 that the ice will come out June 1, 2020, barely 6 months before the planned closing. In my mind this is an injustice and is the main “wrong” that we have to fight to make “right”. If we can convince the City to keep the rink open one more season I like our chances of survival, but if it closes in June without a change of plans then that may be the end of RCYH as we know it.

What can we do to make our voices heard?

1. Call and write your city council member, focus on the injustice of the short timeline and express how much hockey and the life lessons learned on the ice mean to you and your child.
2. Attend the Parks and Recreation meeting this Thursday at 5:30 at City Hall. Wear your jerseys and sign up to speak about your feelings on the subject. It is our right to be heard and I want every last one of you to stand up and tell the board how you feel.
3. Plan to attend the City Council meeting on February 13 at 5:30pm at City Hall.
4. Share your story and your frustrations on Social Media.
5. Stay tuned in for our internal Green Island planning meetings

I hope we can change the path forward with Green Island, but it is not a task for one person and I am not able to do it alone. Please let me know if you are going to stand and fight for our home!

All the Best,

Ryan Sauter
RCYH President & Proud Hockey Dad 

Good luck and safe travels to the Flames PeeWee A & B teams as they head to Waupaca for the 2020 Pee Wee Face Off tournament!  GO FLAMES! 

The PeeWee team took 1st place at the Baraboo PeeWee C tournament! A perfect way to end our season.  RCYH is so proud of their growth and team work this season.  Great work team! 

River City Youth Hockey (RCYH) is a not for profit, parent-run organization affiliated with USA Hockey, Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA), and Wisconsin-Minnesota Hockey League (WMHL). RCYH is dedicated to providing a fun, safe and encouraging environment for La Crosse area boys and girls to participate in hockey. Our goal is to develop our members not only as individual hockey players, but also as teammates and growing adults. We strive to instill in our players leadership, respect, good sportsmanship, self-discipline, commitment, hard work, personal growth, positive attitude and character. These qualities along with the athletic development of hockey are supported for all players of all skill levels. Most importantly we promote the love of the game.

What a weekend! The River City Youth Hockey families would like to send a HUGE thank you to our sponsors! Kirchner Custom Builders, Pearl Street Brewery, Bean Juice and the parents who dedicated their time to make this an amazing event!