Charlestown Youth Hockey Hosts Christmas Classic

The 12th annual tournament, which honors the late Dan McGoff, was held Dec. 7-9.

This year marked the 12th annual Dan McGoff Memorial Christmas Classic Hockey Tournament held in honor of a special man who dedicated many years of his life to the youth of Charlestown and especially the Charlestown Youth Hockey Association.  The tournament was held on Dec. 7-9 at the Emmons, O’Neill, Horrigan Rink, the home of Charlestown Youth Hockey. This tournament is held annually in memory of Dan McGoff, who spent many years mentoring young hockey players, coaches and parents about the finer points of youth hockey and he exemplified how one person can make a big difference by giving back to such an important youth program. McGoff not only worked tirelessly during his many years as a board member, coach and hockey parent while …

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CNC Awards 2012 Mitigation Grants

The Townies Association, CHAD, Harvest on Vine Emergency Food Pantry and several youth sports organizations were among those to receive funding this year.

Eighteen local organizations will begin or continue good work in Charlestown with the help of mitigation grants awarded through the Charlestown Neighborhood Council. Council member Peg Bradley announced the 2012 recipients at the Tuesday, Dec. 4 meeting held at the Knights of Columbus.  Every year since 2003, the council has given out $100,000 in grants to local nonprofits through its Mitigation Fund, which was set aside for Charlestown as a sort of compensation related to impacts of the Big Dig, Bradley said. Organizations must apply for the funds and present their projects to the Charlestown Neighborhood Council, which is charged with allocating the monies. The council members then vote on how much of each group's request should be …

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Registration Open for Winter Youth Basketball

Children ages 6-12 can sign up for the program. Coaches are also needed.

Charlestown Youth Basketball Winter 2013 registration is currently underway. Anyone intersted in the program can check out charlestownyouthbasketball.com for information as well as to register online.  Coaches are still needed for the Pee Wee Age Group (ages 6-7). If you are interested in coaching, contact Karen Sullivan at karengsullivan@yahoo.com. Below is a look at the different age brackets (all are co-ed): The official season will begin the week of Jan. 7 and run through the week of March 18. There will be clinics in December for each age group—these details are available online. Games will be played Tuesday and Thursday nights at Community Center and Harvard Kent. Player fees are $45 for the first child and $30 for each additional …

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New Boston Youth Sports Head Injury Rules Start Today

Teams and coaches must be trained in concussion identification and prevention.

Boston's new youth sports head injury ordinance takes effect today. Youth Sports leagues and teams face a set of new requirements to help reduce the number of concussions and other brain injuries caused by contact sports. Youth sports teams must now have in place training for staff to both identify and manage head injuries, according to MyFoxBoston.  The new rules apply to both public and private groups, going a step beyond state law, which requires head injury training for staff of high school and public teams. Community centers that organize games and any group that needs a permit for city-owned property would also have to follow the rules, according to The Boston Globe. Concussions and other brain injuries have been a hot topic of pro …

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This Week on Charlestown Live: Youth Sports Coach Chris Tucker

Watch the local cable show Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

This week's Charlestown Live program will feature host Al Carrier with guest Chris Tucker, the young up-and-coming leader and coach who has made numerous contributions to the youth sports programs in Charlestown. Tune in to learn about this young man’s accomplished sports career and his ideas on leadership and mentoring in youth sports. The show can be seen on BNN-TV on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. on Comcast Channel 9, RCN Channel 15 or online at www.bnntv.org. The program will be repeated on the same channels and website on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 19 at 10:30 a.m.

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CIty Council in 60 Seconds

City Council Pushes for New Voting Precincts, Wards

The council also took steps to reduce the number of injuries and deaths among young athletes with a proposed ordinance.

City councilors voted unanimously on Wednesday to petition the state Legislature to require the city to divide its precincts and wards equally based on population counts from the decennial census. A state law has exempted Boston from restructuring its precincts and wards for the past 80 years, as the majority of other towns do, said Councilor Michael Ross. Council President Stephen Murphy said that some Boston precincts have as many as 6,000 residents and others as few as 1,000. Having the same number of people in each precinct, Ross said, would shorten lines at polling locations, thus encouraging more people to vote. In addition, Murphy said the city might be able to cut the number of locations, staff and other Election Day resources and …

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