Some Saint John families are worried about the future of school hockey now that the Anglophone South School District plans to cancel the program.

The school district wants to remove itself from any liability and responsibility, confirmed superintendent Zoe Watson.

But the program will be protected for one more year, until a community organization can take over, she said.

School district superintendent Zoe Watson says registration forms for this year are being prepared. (Anglophone South School District)

"The word that is out there now is that it’s cancelled. but it's not cancelled," Watson told CBC News on Friday.

Eight-year-old Riley Martin, who plays for the Forest Hill Falcons, said the story he had heard was that the program had been spiked.

His mother, Angel Martin, said she was convinced she'd lost the only option she could afford.

"There's absolutely no way, with the price that they want for minor hockey," she said.

Retired teacher Art Comeau, who has coached school hockey since 1971, says it would be a real loss.

'If we're not able to make this next league work, you're going to have approximately 500 kids, not playing hockey.'—Art Comeau, school hockey coach

"If we're not able to make this next league work, you're going to have approximately 500 kids, not playing hockey," he said.

Comeau, who played so-called schoolboy hockey himself in 1960, says it's a gentle sport where players get equal ice time and nobody really keeps score.

"I actually had a boy for eight years who's got spina bifida. He played hockey on a sled," he said.

"He played four years of elementary and then three of junior hockey on a sled, playing regular hockey and had a great time."

School hockey registration forms are being prepared and ice time has been booked, according to the school district.

Students will also get to use school equipment and jerseys, said Watson.

Meanwhile, a district phys-ed co-ordinator will help community volunteers understand and meet provincial standards so they can take over the program next year.

"The safety guidelines would give us clear guidelines about things like training of coaches, first aid, a first aider being on site at the games … police record checks, and those types of things," she said.