A proposal to expand opportunities for female student-athletes in the region moved forward this month, as both the Hudson and Londonderry School Boards reviewed requests to join a cooperative girls hockey program beginning in the 2026–2027 winter season.
At the Hudson School Board meeting, Alvirne High School Athletic Director Justin Hufft outlined a plan for Alvirne to join an existing girls hockey coop led by Salem High School. Salem currently operates a girls program but has struggled with low participation numbers in recent years.
“Alvirne may join the Salem girls’ hockey team as part of a cooperative arrangement starting in the 2026–2027 winter season,” Hufft wrote in a memo to the Board. “Salem’s girls’ hockey team is an existing program that has struggled to maintain adequate participation numbers for the past couple of years. They would like to have Alvirne and Londonderry join their team to strengthen their program participation. In discussions with our families, we project that Alvirne would send 3 students per season.”
Hufft noted that the NHIAA has established procedures for cooperative teams, particularly in ice hockey, where roster sizes and ice-time costs often make coops necessary.
Under the proposed arrangement, Alvirne would be a “sending school” to Salem. Practices would be held at the Salem Ice Center, with families responsible for transporting students to practices and games. Salem, as the lead school, would provide transportation to away games.
Program expenses include ice-time, transportation, coaching stipends, officials’ fees, and NHIAA registration. Salem has proposed a flat fee of $1,500 per student from each sending school.
“This is in line with our expenses per player for our cooperative team,” Hufft said. He added that Alvirne would collect the same fee families pay for the boys hockey program, currently $1,000, with the remaining $500 per player covered through the athletic department’s budget for officials, transportation, and fees.
One distinction, Hufft said, is that the boys program’s fee is collected by the Friends of Admirals Hockey booster club, which pays for ice time. For the girls program, the fee would need to be collected directly by the Alvirne athletic department.
Hufft also noted that interest in a girls hockey option is not new. Families had previously approached the former athletic director about forming a coop, but the school was unable to find suitable partners at the time.
“Providing female student-athletes the opportunity to play with their gender peers has always been our goal in hockey, due to the physicality of the sport,” Hufft said.
The Hudson School Board voted to move forward with the coop.
The proposal was also discussed at the Londonderry School Board meeting, where Business Administrator Amity Small explained that Londonderry previously participated in a girls hockey coop but discontinued it when participation numbers dropped.
Small said the athletic director has identified several current eighth grade girls who are interested in playing if the coop is reestablished. Like Alvirne, Londonderry would be responsible for a $1,500 per-player fee.
She noted that future costs would be incorporated into the district’s annual budgeting process based on the number of participating students.
The Londonderry Board also approved joining the coop for the 2026–27 season.