In the fall of 1945, in the backroom of a well-known sporting goods store in Sudbury a few individuals got together and founded a non-profit organization whose aim was to keep the youth of the community preoccupied with sports. The organization, the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association as it became known, originally found its roots with a grand total of four Midget teams playing very early weekday mornings before school in the Sudbury Community Arena, the only arena in existence in Sudbury at the time.

From these rather humble beginnings the SMHA expanded and along with it began to form teams at the Bantam, Peewee, Atom and finally Squirt or Novice levels. Indeed, at one time the SMHA registered no less than 1,000 children in its Association on a total of 66 teams! The SMHA now enters its NOHA teams in the Nickel District Hockey League, and its "AAA" Midget and Bantam teams in the Great North Midget League and the Northern Ontario Bantam League. It's houseleague teams in the Northeastern Regional Houseleague these are some of the largest leagues of their kind in Northern Ontario, and all member teams have enjoyed a high level of competition as a result.

The aim of the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association is as prevalent today as it was some 56 years ago, "keeping boys and girls on the ice and out of hot water", and in order to meet this challenge, the SMHA encourages volunteers from its registered membership to become involved and support the many events which it operates each season to raise funds and subsequently keep fees at manageable levels.

At present, the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association is run by a Board of Directors, including a President, Director of Hockey Operations, Treasurer, and Secretary. In addition, the SMHA has 3 part-time employees, Manager of Ice Allocation, Bookkeeper, and Secretary, to cater to its member teams' needs and attend to the day-to-day administrative functions required for the operation of this large association.

The hockey-related events which the SMHA sanctions are Sudbury 80's Tournament, the Big Nickel Major 'AAA" Hockey Tournament, the Silver Stick Hockey Tournament, the Royal Bank Minor Hockey Fun Tournament, and the regional NOHA Tournament of Champions. In addition, the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association and the City of Sudbury were selected last season to host the 1998 Air Canada Cup, Canada's National Midget Championship.

To complement the aforementioned efforts, the SMHA, under the ever-watchful eye of the Treasurer, undertakes the operation of a number of Bingo's and Nevada's, which are very effective in the fight to raise monies for the Association. These Bingo's and Nevada's are staffed by member team parent members and players on member teams who work together to insure their success. The Association also employs a team of student timekeepers, often present and former players, to provide scorekeeping functions for all league games, a system which a proven to be hugely successful over the years.

The Sudbury Minor Hockey Association is truly a collaborative effort. In the words of a past supporter. "The strength of the Association can be measured solely on the involvement of its members". Should this be the case, the S.M.H.A. will be keeping boys and girls on ice and out of hot water for many, many years to come.