The History of the TCHL
from 1960 to the present

The Thornhill Church League

The fall of 1960 was a busy time. Thornhill was preparing to launch a new hockey league formed from among congregations of the community’s churches.

In those early days, Lloyd Davis and Don Macdonell were instrumental in putting the organization together. But by December of that year, parents were loading equipment and kids into cars on Monday nights and driving them up to Aurora. The games were underway.

The Aurora rink burned down after that first season and the intrepid Thornhill parents drove on to Bradford. The Church League played there until 1964 when they moved practically next door to Doublerink. As the number of teams expanded and ice time became an ever more difficult squeeze, the parents added Maple and Markham arenas to their itineraries.

Sponsors became an important part of the league in 1970. Among the businesses who offered their early support are three who are still with us today. They are Thornhill Paint Supplies, Golden Star Restaurant and The Thornhill Lions Club.

The League introduced Select hockey on a limited basis in 1973 and the idea soon spread to all divisions. The teams played exhibition games against other centres with each group arranging their own matches whenever they could. No conflict was permitted with regular House League participation.

Church League becomes the TCHL

1974 saw the metamorphosis of the original Church League into the Thornhill Community Hockey League. In those early days the League drew freely from both sides of Yonge Street welcoming players from Vaughan and Markham without regard for residency. Later, the issues would get complicated between Vaughan and Markham policies. Concerns about where a player lived got politicized by the shortage and rising demands for available ice.

In 1974, the League had grown to about 800 players playing on 58 teams. The proud new venue was the Thornhill Community Centre. The first edition of Bluelines made its appearance.

Mayors Cup

1974 also marked the introduction of The Mayor’s Cup, since rededicated as the Tony Roman Memorial Tournament. First presented to council as a softball competition, the hockey enthusiasts soon purloined the idea for their own sport.

The concept of a cross-town competition to bring the three communities together in a spirit of fellowship and friendly competition was embraced by the house league operations in Markham, Unionville and Thornhill. The idea certainly had legs as this year we will be enjoying the 27th year of the tournament. More than 1600 players participated in the competition that first year and more than 2600 are anticipated this season.

Tony Roman was a friend and strong advocate for the minor sports groups across the town and it is a fitting tribute to him that this event bears his name.

Gender not an Issue

Long before it was popular or politically correct, the TCHL ignored the gender barriers that existed in some leagues. Girls were welcomed as players on our house league and select teams and the number of females interested in playing hockey grew in the TCHL environment. In 1976 there were enough females playing that a four-team girl’s division was formed. Although the numbers have not held up over the year’s, the TCHL continues to welcome interested players regardless of gender.

The Thornhill Select Tournament

Thornhill began hosting its own select tournament in 1978. From those early beginnings, the tournament has grown to be one of the most sought after tournaments in the Select Calendar. The March 2000 version will mark the 22st year for the event.

The TCHL Today

The Thornhill Community Hockey League currently has in excess of eight hundred players registered on 54 teams ranging in age from 3 to 20 years old. We have twelve Select teams playing in the North York Hockey League as well as exhibition games and tournaments.

The TCHL draws most of its players from the Thornhill-Markham area, however, where space is available we also welcome players from outside the catchment's area.

The TCHL is registered with the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Our insurance is arranged and tournaments sanctioned by that governing body.

Our league is governed by an elected Board of Directors. Meetings are chaired by the President who is elected every two years as are the Vice-President House League and The Vice-President Select.

Other members of the Board Executive are the Treasurer, Secretary and Registrar, each of whom are appointed from the elected Directors each year.

Directors on the Board are elected each year at the annual meeting for a two-year term.

The Vice-President House League is assisted by the Conveners in each division.

The referees are managed and supervised by a Board-appointed Referee-in-Chief. Referees apply prior to the season and attend regular clinics as required.

Timekeepers are trained and scheduled by a Timekeeper Coordinator appointed by the Board.