I hope you are enjoying what should turn out to be a great summer and HOW ABOUT THEM BLACKHAWKS!

As John mentioned in his opening letter, I am writing this note to let you know about the Rule Changes adopted by the USA Hockey Board of Directors at the USA Hockey Annual Congress. As a backdrop to all of these changes, you must remember that USA Hockey, AHAI and IHOA are committed to providing a safe and fair environment for all participants. There are numerous changes applicable to playing rules and equipment for the 2013-14 season (with the exception of one regarding progressive suspensions which will not be applicable until the 2014-15 season); therefore, I have created a separate document detailing and explaining these changes. I urge you to take a moment to read about these changes. Please click HERE for complete listing.

AHAI and IHOA are always willing to come to your organization and discuss these issues and others with your players, coaches, administrators and families. To schedule a discussion, please send an email to me at mbarrett@ahai2.org. 

QUESTION:

Why do Girls teams get to play at a lower age level in NIHL?

ANSWER:

This is a good question and one that tends to breed a lot of frustration from both Boys and Girls teams.  We know that girls at 14 are much bigger than Pee Wee boys, and while they do still play "no check" it is not "no contact" and that may give the bigger girls an edge.  We understand the occasional frustration with this disparity. 

First, USA Hockey has ruled that teams with girls only may in fact "play down" an age division. This is due to a number of factors - most specifically the typical physical skill disparity between boys and girls of the same age, and to provide places for the girls to play!  In the whole state of Illinois there are less than 2000 girls (vs. 20,000 boys) playing ice hockey, and most at the younger ages still playing on boys teams. That leaves very few girls to make up teams. There really are not many girls in the game past 12-13 years of age.

AHAI encourages the local leagues to accept the girls teams into youth leagues to allow for adequate teams for the girls to play.  Girls teams do petition to play in NIHL, and NIHL has graciously offered to accommodate the girls teams in a younger age bracket league. NIHL too wants to provide a venue for these girls.  NIHL and Southwest Spring League do make their own decisions on the placement of the girls teams in the different skill levels.

Overall we do think it is a generally fair way to approach the situation.   However, with "Checking" now not played until Bantam, more girls may stay with the boys youth teams through Pee Wee and perhaps eliminating some of the poor perceptions of girls teams "playing down".

STATISTICS

High School:  14 teams

The 17th Annual AHAI Golf Outing is set for Friday, August 16, 2013 at the beautiful Indian Lakes Golf Resort in Bloomingdale, IL. All proceeds for this event go towards assisting the Tomahawks Special Hockey Program, the Hornets Youth Sled Hockey Team, the Hearing Impaired Hockey Team and the AHAI Diversity Hockey Program. Make your plans now to come out and support this wonderful event.

Details

Registration Form

Sponsorship Information 

Every year USA Hockey holds its Annual Congress, or meeting, the beginning of June. Representatives from USA Hockey Affiliates around the country converge in Colorado to represent their home states and districts. The USA Hockey Congress consists of 3 days of meetings from 7am until 6pm. Business at the Congress includes voting on rule changes by the USA Hockey Board of Directors, various committee meetings such as Coaching, High School, Officials, Jr. Hockey, Youth Councils and Marketing, as well as District meetings. Illinois is part of the Central District along with Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. Another important aspect of the Annual Congress is to meet and talk with other USA Hockey Affiliate Presidents and Representatives to see how they administer their programs. The Congress is an invaluable networking opportunity to share and gather ideas. This year Illinois was represented by members of AHAI, Club Presidents, IHOA (Illinois Hockey Officials Association), and NIHL (Northern Illinois Hockey league).

The main topics of conversation at this year's meeting were 2013-14 Rule Changes and the SafeSport Program. Mike Barrett, Illinois Referee-in-Chief and Supervisor of Officials, has summarized the Rule Changes adopted by the USA Hockey Board of Directors in this issue of our e-Newsletter. As for the Safe Sport program, USA Hockey has long had systems in place to protect its participants from physical, sexual and other types of abuse and misconduct, such as Screening, Locker Room Supervision and Hazing Policies, in addition to Codes of Conduct applicable to administrators, coaches, officials, parents, players and spectators.  The USA Hockey SafeSport Handbook is intended to update and collect USA Hockey's various policies to protect its youth participants from all types of misconduct and abuse.   

Much conversation surrounded the direction of the ADM Program and how to best utilize the ADM principals to develop our players. The 2 and 2 Challenge and Try Hockey For Free programs were also highlighted.  These programs are designed to entice new players to youth Hockey as well as retain current players. 

There were two award dinners during the Annual Congress, A Night of Tribute and the President's Award Dinner.  As mentioned in our last issue, several AHAI volunteers were recognized during A Night of Tribute for their years of service and effort to make hockey better at both the local and national levels. Congratulations again to Laura Johnson (5 years), Rich Becker (15 years) and Jim McGlynn (20 years). Click HERE to read last issue's article on these dedicated individuals. Additionally the retirement of Tony Rossi, a member of the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) and USA Hockey Executive Board Member was announced.  Tony was recognized at the President's Award Dinner for his 5 decades of service, dedication and leadership.  

Finally, many thanks to the Illinois natives who represent AHAI at the National Leadership Level:  Jim Smith, USA Hockey Treasurer, Dave Labuda, National Referee-in-Chief, Bob Mathson, National High School Chairman, J.J. O'Connor, National Disabled Chairman and Norm Spiegel, USA Hockey Executive Board Member. Thank you, gentlemen, for your many contributions to the great game of hockey right here in Illinois!  A special thanks to Norm for providing a venue for the Illinois contigent to watch one of the Hawks vs. Kings playoff games.

I will provide additional information on topics from the Annual Congress and the AHAI Annual meeting in future newsletters.

Hope you are enjoying the summer and way to go Hawks!

John Dunne

The Central District holds its own player development camp. The location of the Central District's Boys Bantam Development Camp is at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa from June 16th through 21rd, 2013. The goal of the Central District Boys In-District Bantam Development Camp is to provide a week-long skill development program for boys 14 years of age. This camp will mirror what is offered at the USA Hockey National Camps held in NY this summer for the 3 older birth years. Each State within the Central District is allotted a number of spots in the Central District Boys In-District 1999 Bantam Development Camp depending on the overall number of boys registered in such State. The Illinois allocation was 15 forwards, 9 defensemen and 4 goaltenders. Each State is responsible for selecting boys who will represent that State.

For the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, the selection process was made during the AHAI Boys Player Development Tryout / Identification Camp held on March 22-24, 2013 at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois. Based solely on their performance at this camp, the 1999 birth year players were selected to represent Illinois at the Central District Boys In-District Bantam Development Camp.

Click HERE to see all the players selected to attend the Central District Boys In-District Bantam Development Camp

USA Hockey will host the 2013 Sled Select Hockey Player Development Camp at the Northtown Sports Centre in Buffalo, N.Y., from July 13-18, 2013.     60 male and female sled hockey players ages 13-42 will take part in the six-day camp, which will include daily practices and games. The purpose of the camp is to identify, train and educate the top sled hockey athletes in the United States. During the camp, players are evaluated by USA Hockey's national evaluation staff, while competition gives the players the opportunity to measure themselves against others in the same age group, gain knowledge about their development and be exposed to top-level coaches.     Players attending the Sled Camp will be evaluated for possible selection to the U.S. National Developmental Sled Hockey Team, which will compete in various national and international events during the 2013-14 season.  Click HERE to read full article. 

The City of Chicago will celebrate the 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 28 with a rally in Hutchinson Field in Grant Park following a parade from the United Center. The City of Chicago and Chicago Blackhawks are working to finalize the parade route, which will be released on Thursday. City officials are already encouraging fans to take public transportation, refrain from bringing restricted items such as alcohol and backpacks and take precautions regarding warm weather conditions.