At the January, 2009 Winter Meeting, the USA Hockey Board of Directors reviewed the recommendation of the District Registrars to change the USA Hockey registration season to May 1 through April 30. This recommendation was approved by the Board of Directors and will take effect for the 2009-10 season.
Rationale:
This change will conform to current practices of member registration and team formation for the majority of programs around the country.
· Most programs consider mid-April to be the end of the season and some begin tryouts for the upcoming season during the summer.
· Many teams form for the upcoming season in May, June or July.
· There will be no need to have two seasons open for online registration at the same time thereby streamlining the process, eliminating confusion and refunds for wrong season registration.
· The Junior program currently uses May 1 as their beginning registration date.
Additional benefits to a May 1 season-start date:
· With a May 1 start date, programs have the opportunity to hold learn to play and short term introductory sessions at a time of the year when ice is less utilized. The 4 ‘extra’ months from a year’s registration will be at the ‘front end of the season’… allowing people to try hockey during the summer and then be able to join a team with their registration for the season already paid.
· Participants will process their USA Hockey registration for summer programs and not have to register again to be able to join a team for the ‘regular playing season’ (Sept/Oct to Feb)
· This change will benefit programs in markets where facilities are open year-round.
The season date change will have no impact on programs that operate during the ‘traditional playing season’ (Sept-April).
Participants in District and USAH Player Development Camps will not be required to register for the next season to participate in those events. Participation will be based on registration in the previous season if the event is being held after May 1.
Transition year considerations:
Online registration for the 08-09 season will cease on April 30, 2009. Online registration for the 2009-10 season will be available beginning May 1, 2009.
All 08-09 registrations will continue to be in effect for those teams to participate through Aug 31, 2009.
Therefore, people currently registered for 08-09 will continue to have that registration in place for events associated with their 08-09 team. However, if they are participating with their ‘next season’ team, they will need to process the registration for the 09-10 season.
