While most people are still enjoying summer vibes, the Weyburn Red Wings and Gold Wings are looking ahead to the fall and hockey season. 

As they gear up for an influx of players to Weyburn, one thing takes precedence. 

“We are still looking for more billets,” said Alyssa Hanson of the Weyburn Red Wings Board. “We will need some temporary ones and full-time billets.” 

Hansen noted that temporary billets are more for during the preseason and are a good way for families to give billeting a try. 

"If families out there have ever thought about billeting, or maybe would like to consider to get into it, maybe the preseason experience is best.” 

Chandy Kaip, from the Weyburn Gold Wings, noted that billet families are incredibly important to the organizations. 

“I guess just with our program alone, community is what brings us all together and allows these young females to be able to study and strive for their academic and their athletic aspirations. And in doing that, they have to leave home at a young age and be welcomed into a family home. So for here, for Weyburn, we've had such great success with so many amazing billet families that have opened their homes for our players and athletes.” 

Both Hanson and Kaip noted that helping the organizations is not the only benefit for billet families. 

“My husband and I do have a young son,” said Hansen. “He looks up to our player who we happen to have, we've had numerous players, and he looks up to every single one of them as kind of a role model and they're like a hero in little kids' eyes. So for young families that maybe possibly thinking about it, it's really, really good for the kids.” 

“It's a great experience for families, for athletes,” noted Kaip. “For myself, just having connections still with some of these players and obviously my kids still see them as a big sister, so it's a pretty unique situation for everyone” 

Amy Swayze, who is both a Gold Wing and has been part of a billet family, said there are benefits for everyone involved. 

“Well, I think a lot of us, at our age, are pretty self-sufficient,” Swayze explained. “So having younger kids and all that kind of stuff, it's not really a big issue with us just because we know how to take care of ourselves, and a lot of the time having younger kids as well, it's like having a role model in the house. I know when I was younger and billeting a gold wing, it was absolutely crazy and I wanted to have a billet in my house. Having a billet just seemed like a really good experience and I think it is a really good experience from the younger kids' point of view, just because you have a role model in the house and something to look up to.” 

Both Hanson and Kaip noted that there are certain requirements for billet families to meet, such as having a room for the billets, and they generally do a meeting with potential billet families before placing a billet with them. To become a billet family for the Weyburn Red Wings you can contact Alyssa Hanson at 306-536-7187. To become a billet family for the Weyburn Gold Wings, you can contact Chandy Kaip at chandykaip@gmail.com.