History
The March, 1935 meeting formed the committee to look into the formation of a governing body for hockey. That committee consisted of St. John's residents Robert S. Furlong, Arthur Johnson, Gordon Stirling, John Tobin and Arthur Rendall, and Ronald Taaffe of Corner Brook. The committee met with Ken Goodyear and Harry Baird of Grand Falls when those two men were in St. John's with the Grand Falls' soccer team. The various preliminary talks were successful and, when the December 19, 1935 meeting was held, it was able to establish the Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association. At its 1999 annual meeting, the name of the organization was changed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Association. Prior to the NAHA being founded in 1935, there was a great deal of hockey in Newfoundland, including competitions and exhibitions between various Newfoundland communities and several involving teams from the Canadian Maritimes. The founding of the NAHA was the most important hockey happening within Newfoundland and Labrador since, for the first time, it put in place a governing body for the sport and established rules and guidelines that would eventually bring hockey into the excellent condition that it enjoys today. While its growth and expansion may have been slow, it was sure and it provided a representative organization at various times in its history when a hockey spokesman was essential.