House League Policies

Purpose

The NMHA strives to ensure that all team funds are accounted for and are being spent responsibly

General

Teams are required to open a team bank account with two signing authorities. Personal bank accounts are not allowed to be used.

Team budgets must be approved by the team players/parents and then submitted to the HL Manager Liaison.

Teams can collect a maximum of $400 per player (U11 - U18) and $350 per player (U9) in extra fees (over and above hockey registration fees).

These fees are used by the team for various expenses including but not limited to: NMHA game jersey deposit (refunded to the team at the end of the year), tournaments, team parties or events, extra practice ice, and miscellaneous team expenses such as pucks, or first aid supplies.

Team fees can be collected in one or two installments.

Team fees must be collected by all players by December 15. Team fees are not optional and are not based on player participation in tournaments, fundraising initiatives etc. Teams are NOT permitted to request monies above the $350 team fee. The only additional income for teams must be in the form of legitimate fundraisers and sponsorships (maximum sponsorship amount is $2500). Sponsorships and donations must be reported on the sponsorship form and submitted with the team budget to the HL Manager Liaison.

Allowable team budget expenses (requiring majority consent of players/parents)

• Jersey deposit
• Goalie equipment rental
• Additional practice ice
• Exhibition games (including ice rental, officials, etc)
• Tournament Entry fees
• Team Supplies (pucks, pylons, trainer kit, etc)
• Team administration (labels, photocopying, website)
• Social Expenses (ice breakers, year end party, player gifts, coaching gifts)

Non-allowable team budget expenses

• Off-ice team clothing items are not mandatory and CAN NOT be paid for with team fees. All team clothing purchases are at the individual family discretion.
• Transportation

Approved by Board: August 21 2017

Access the The Coaching and Ethical Philosophy of the NMHA policy here (pdf)

Teams are encouraged to purchase additional practice ice from the NMHA Available ice website. The costs for this ice is charged back to the team.

To discourage large balances, and instances where team IOUs exceed the amount of the jersey deposit that is held by the NMHA, the policy on repayment is as follows.

1. All teams are required to pay off outstanding ice bills by February 1st, regardless of the amount owed
2. Teams who have a balance of $500 owed, prior to the Feb 1st payment date, are required to pay off that balance immediately,
3. Additional ice purchases are to be paid at the end of the Round Robin Playoffs.
4. Teams advancing to the Semi Finals and Finals will be assigned additional practice ice at that time. Payment for those ice times can be deducted from the jersey deposit.

Teams who fail to pay off their extra ice balances by the deadlines, will not be permitted to purchase additional ice from the NMHA. Regular practice ice will continue to be assigned.

Approved: July 31, 2017

Rule:
Any player incurring three (3) minor penalty infraction incidents in the same game will be ejected for the remainder of that game. An infraction for which a penalty shot
is awarded, which otherwise would have resulted in a minor penalty, shall be counted as a minor
penalty infraction for purposes of this rule. Double minors count as one infraction unless otherwise
specified by the referee.

Rationale

1. Players are accumulating repeat penalties that do not carry a suspension and are remaining in
play. By remaining on the ice, they are continuing to incur infractions which results in high
penalty minutes and potential injury to opponents. This rule is intended to hold players
accountable for their behaviour on the ice.

2. We already follow this rule in Juvenile since they interlock with District B and it has proven to be
successful in calming the games, and removing players before further escalation occurs.

3. District B has been using this rule for several years and it was put into effect in order for them to
have a “clear and concise standard by which a player’s participation in the game can be made to
end if they are not behaving.” They also indicated that it provides a coach with a good rationale
for calming a team that is subjected to repeated infractions from that opposing team.

Considerations:

1. Infractions that would count to the 3-game limit include:
a. Boarding and Body Checking;
b. Charging;
c. Head Contact;
d. Elbowing and Kneeing;
e. Roughing;
f. Holding;
g. Hooking;
h. Interference
i. Tripping;
j. Butt-ending;
k. Cross Checking;
l. High Sticking;
m. Slashing;
n. Spearing;
o. Handling the Puck;
p. Unsportsmanlike Conduct;

2. Misconducts are not minor penalties and would not count towards the 3-infraction rule.

3. Penalties as a result of Bench Minors will not count towards the 3 infractions for players
who serve them.

4. Sequential minor penalties would count towards the three infraction rules
Ex. A player receives a penalty for slashing and then argues the call and receives another
penalty for Unsportsmanlike conduct. The player would then have 2 minor infractions
towards the 3 infraction rule.

5. Double Minors – double minors should always be recorded on the game sheet as two
separate minor penalties and but count as 1 infraction towards the 3-infraction rule.

6. Goaltenders are held to the same standard in this ruling. If a goaltender gets ejected for 3
infractions the team can put a backup goaltender in if dressed, continue to play without, or
continue to play while another player dresses in the required goaltender equipment. There
is no time given to allow for changing since the goaltender was not injured.

Passed by the Board: December 30, 2017
To be Reviewed – June 1st 2018

Discipline happens at various levels within the NMHA and outside of it.  This policy is aimed to provide a process for managing discipline at the team level for infractions that are not part of the official game record.  All issues that are part of an official game record are dealt with by the officials at the time of the infraction, and if necessary the Director of Suspensions, and the HEO Minor Code of Discipline.

Players are expected to adhere to the NMHA Code of Conduct.  Any player who fails to comply with the code of conduct may face disciplinary action in the form of the following as deemed appropriate;

- A verbal warning, followed up with an email or communication with the player and parents.
- A written warning given to the player and parents outlining the incident, and/or a meeting with the player and parent
- The player may be benched for a period of time during a game,
- If the incident is considered severe the Head Coach may decide on a team imposed game suspension
- Ongoing violations of the Code of Conduct will result in the player facing an NMHA disciplinary hearing, that may result in further suspensions

All actions taken by the Head Coach against a player for violations of the code of conduct, that result in any missed ice time, must be documented in writing and submitted to the Divisional Director and the VP of House League within 24 hours.  Any actions resulting in team imposed suspensions must be done in consultation with the Division Director and the VP of House League.

Any coach imposed suspensions may be appealed to the NMHA within 48 hours of receiving said suspensions.

Examples of infractions that may result in coach imposed discipline are, but aren’t limited to:

- Incidents of offensive, abusive, racist or sexist comments or behaviours directed towards others including, coaching staff, teammate, officials, opposing players, spectators, or parents.
- Repeated unsportsmanlike conduct such as angry outbursts, arguments, etc
- Repeated incidents of disrespectful behaviour towards others including coaching staff, teammates, officials, opposing players, parents
- Action resulting in property damage or that could endanger the safety of others

Drafted:  September 2018
Approved:  September 24, 2018

Players are allocated to teams based on evaluation results during the sort out process.

Players will be assigned to teams such that the balancing of the teams in terms of skill shall be the first priority. The process to determine the equal balancing of players on teams will include rating of players' skills by controlled scrimmages and/or on‐ice drill stations by a minimum three independent evaluators. Any player who misses the entire sort out evaluation will automatically be placed at the discretion of the director, and will then be evaluated during the balancing process.

To provide the optimum balance between teams, friend requests will not be considered. Volunteer requests will only be considered under the following circumstances:

1. The Head Coach’s player and the requested volunteer’s player both sort to the same level. A player will not be moved either up or down a level to accommodate this request;
2. The request can ONLY come from the Head Coach. Requests from volunteers to work with a certain coach will not be considered;
3. The Head Coach may only request a manager or an Assistant Coach.
4. The placement of this requested volunteer cannot affect the balancing of the team in any way either for team building during sort outs, or team balancing once the season has started.
5. Even if the request is granted by the director, it is not a guarantee that the player requested is exempted from movement in the interest of balancing teams.

The Division Director will monitor and balance teams up until picture day when the teams will be
finalized.

Team Re-Balancing Policy
The NMHA, to the best of our ability, is committed to ensuring all teams are balanced and fair within their respective divisions. It is often necessary to rebalance teams several weeks after the season has started when some teams are proven to be far stronger or far weaker than other teams within their division. It also becomes necessary to move players to other divisions in the event that they have been sorted incorrectly and are not playing in a division to which they are suited. The NMHA reserves the right to move any player to any other team at any time in order to promote team balance, up to the weekend of Team pictures (often mid to late November). By registering with the NMHA, parents and players acknowledge the NMHA’s sole rights in this matter, and agree to abide by any such roster changes. Failure to comply with the move will result in the player becoming a member not in good standing and as such will be suspended from all hockey activities.

Revised: September 24, 2018
Approved: September 24 2018

The intent of this policy is to provide structure to the process of reimbursing head coaches and their coaching staff for expenses incurred while traveling as a result of a team tournament. This applies only in the case of non-parent coaches, assistants and trainers. No travel reimbursement will be paid by House League teams to parent coaches, assistants and/or trainers.

All tournament plans and associated expenses are to be agreed upon by both the coaching staff and the team parents/guardians at the beginning of the season. These expenses must be included in the preliminary team budget presented to parents and submitted to the NMHA.

Tournament Travel:

A local tournament will be considered a tournament for which the team has not arranged overnight accommodations. Expenses for mileage, meals, etc. will not be reimbursed under this policy for local tournaments.

Tournament travel expenses can only be incurred and reimbursed for tournament games for which the team has arranged overnight hotel/motel accommodations.

Non-Parent Coaches:

1. The per-tournament overnight rate is set to: actual hotel cost (including taxes) not exceeding $275 total cost.
2. Meals will not be reimbursed.
3. No mileage rate is provided.

Non-Parent Assistant Coaches and/or Trainers:

1. No travel reimbursement will be paid by House League teams to non-parent assistants and/or trainers.

The NMHA believes strongly in the affiliate program and desires to see affiliated players used as often as possible.

Coaches requesting affiliation player must notify the affiliate player’s head coach prior to asking a player to affiliate. This is to ensure that suspensions and other issues are known and respected. Similarly, coaches using affiliated players must notify the affiliate's regular coaching staff following a game should injuries or suspensions occur. Team officials must respect this policy and make no effort to discourage affiliated players from participating with affiliated teams as a result of its implementation.

To this end the following guidelines must be followed:

• Where there is no event conflict (the player’s regular team does not have a game, practice or other team function), it is not necessary to seek permission from the regular team's coach.
• Where there is an event conflict, the following schedule of event priorities should be used. The team with the highest event priority will take precedence.
• Where the event priorities are the same, the player’s regular team will take precedence.

6. League or playoff game.
5. Out-of-town tournament (where roster is depleted).
4. In-town tournament game.
3. Practice.
2. Exhibition game.
1. Off-ice team event

Each player may affiliate to higher level teams for a maximum of 15 games in any given season. There is no limit for goaltenders. Should a player play a sixteenth (16th) such game with a higher level team, the coach of the higher level team will be suspended for three games and the affiliating team will lose any points gained in the subject game.

OTTAWA DISTRICT MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Rules and Regulations 2011-12
8.0 Affiliated Players

The Affiliation process is used to give players a chance to develop their skills by playing for a higher level team. Refer to Hockey Canada Regulation Part III E (Teams, Clubs and Affiliations) for affiliation rules.

These rules are further supplemented for play between teams in the HEO Minor as per the following paragraphs and as specified in Appendix B

The Affiliation process is used to give players a chance to develop their skills by playing for a higher level team. Refer to Hockey Canada Regulation Part III E (Teams, Clubs and Affiliations) for affiliation rules. These rules are further supplemented for play between teams in the HEO Minor as per the following paragraphs and as specified in Appendix B.

a) Suspensions are to be served with the lower category team, regardless of which team the player incurred the suspension with.
b) Novice players are permitted to affiliate to Atom level Competitive teams.
c) A coach cannot deny a player the opportunity to affiliate
d) When houseleague players (Novice level or higher) are affiliating with competitive teams, they may only affiliate with the lowest competitive category team.
e) Minor Aged Players – A minor aged player assigned to a major aged team may affiliate to a higher category minor team for league purposes only within the HEO Minor Branch. Note that this rule applies only within the HEO Minor and does not apply to tournaments or exhibition games.
f) Supplement to Hockey Canada Policy B 42- 44. As a general rule no replacement can be made for any ill or injured players by a player of the same Division and Category. The only exception to this rule is the emergency replacement of a goaltender from the same division and category, when no affiliated goalie is available. The replacement must come from within the same district. Written permission must be obtained from the District Chairman (or designate) and with a doctor‟s note restricting the team‟s regular goalie from playing for a specified period.
g) A player affiliating to a higher age classification may play below his letter classification at the higher age level except for affiliating to the house “C” level where this level is for developmental purposes. This paragraph refers to house league only.

What are the rules and procedures for playing an exhibition game?

Rules:

1. Teams may only play exhibition games against sanctioned teams. A sanctioned team is one that is recognized by and registered through Hockey Canada or another official hockey body (Hockey USA, other international hockey bodies). All Star, spring hockey, pick up or mixed teams are not considered sanctioned teams.
2. No team within the Corporation (NMHA) may play a game or practice with a school, church or other hockey team, except those teams that are within a league which is sanctioned by a branch of Hockey Canada or USA Hockey.
3. Games of players versus parents, or games of House League versus Competitive/Representative players are forbidden.
4. Teams may play tournament or exhibition games outside of HEO Minor boundaries, which would specifically include any games in Quebec or the U.S., only after acquiring an approved travel permit beforehand.
5. Certified Officials (referees/linesmen) and Official game sheets are to be used for all league, exhibition and tournament games.
6. All regular rules for team rosters, team discipline, fair play, and affiliation apply as if it were a regular season game.
7. Suspensions handed out during an exhibition game will be served as per the Code of Discipline and carry forward to regular season game play.

Procedures:

1. Acquire the ice for the game by purchasing it on your own, using practice ice assigned by your league Convenor, or obtaining extra ice from the NMHA Available Ice Site: http://www.mlzweb.com/nmhaice/public/pbAvailableIce.asp.
2. Book the required referees/linesmen based on your level of play through this email: [email protected]
3. Prepare a game sheet through the normal procedures as per a regular season game, and make sure to have a scorekeeper and timekeeper.
4. The referees will sign the game sheet as per normal procedures. Any suspensions must be reported within 24 hours on the NMHA website as per normal for a regularly scheduled game.

As standard practice, the Nepean Minor Hockey Association does not approve transfers to, or from, other Districts.

The NMHA does approve competitive tryout transfers out to other Districts at competitive AA, A, and B as described in the HEO Minor Rules and Regulations - see the Competitive Policy statement.

However, in certain special circumstances, the Nepean Minor Hockey Association will approve a House League transfer, on a case-by-case basis.

These circumstances include:

1.       House League players who attempt to register in Nepean, but cannot do so, due to waiting lists.

2.       Players who have geographic or custody issues. These may include (but are not limited to): residency in close proximity to another District or equal shared custody arrangements.

In every case, the player must register as a Nepean player (with or without fees, depending on waiting lists) and then receive an approved transfer to the non-resident District. The transfer form must be signed by the non-resident District and Association first, before Nepean will sign.

Players who sort out into House A Divisions that include body-checking and who do not wish to play in a body-checking division, will be expected to play in the non-contact B Division at that age level. The NMHA will offer a non-contact B Division at Peewee only. Players in Bantam and Midget who sort into the A Division can request a transfer to another District as noted above, provided that the non-resident District and Association approve.

As stated in HEO Minor Regulations, transferred players may neither try out for, nor affiliate with, nor register with any higher level teams.

The decision of the NMHA on these matters may be appealed via the HEO Minor Discipline and Appeal process.

This policy can be found in its entirety on the NMHA website under House League Policies.

Nepean Minor Hockey is committed to the principles of sportsmanship and ensuring all players playing in generally the same position are afforded equal ice time.

The NMHA Equal Ice Policy states that no player will intentionally get more or less ice time than another.

The NMHA believes that all players deserve an equal opportunity to contribute at all times of the game and for equal lengths of time. This includes during power plays, penalty kills, overtime periods, playoffs etc. All coaches are expected to roll the next line, without exception.

A coach may reduce a player’s ice time for discipline reasons but only in consultation with the Divisional Director and the VP House League, and only after other means of correction have been attempted. Please see the House League Discipline Policy.

Any coach who is determined to not be following this policy will face disciplinary action that may result in their removal from the team roster.