Volume 1, Number 8
Tape to Tape is an electronic newsletter created as a means of direct communication between USA Hockey and hockey administrators around the country. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter to as many people in your association as possible, and encourage them to sign up for their own copy of Tape to Tape.
Online Registration Off and Running
Online registration for the 2008-09 season launched on May 1 with more than 6,000 registered in the first week.
Now in its fourth year, online registration is the most widely accepted means of registering to play, coach and officiate hockey. And you can also register to become an allied member. This year, USA Hockey’s Member Services department, under the direction of Rae Briggle, anticipates that most of the country will be registering online this season.
The process is quick, easy and secure and has drastically simplified the registration requirements for local programs. For more information, click here to download an easy-to-use pdf.
New Web Site Development Complete
After months of stabilization and enhancement, the new USA Hockey Web site development is finally complete. The new Web site offers three major pieces of functionality: a Content Management System, an Event Management Registration System and a Learning Management System.
The CMS allows any USA Hockey registered program across the country to build a free Web site on a sophisticated platform built solely for use by USA Hockey members.
The EMS allows any program to collect money and register members online for any event from a tournament to a pizza party. This tool includes a tournament tool built according to the USA Hockey scoring system and age divisions (youth, adult, disabled or inline), and can be used to provide live scoring from a single tournament or track cumulative stats on an entire season.
Finally, the LMS allows coaches to register for coach clinics and track their clinic history and personal info. In the future, the LMS will also be used to register officials for officiating seminars, and can be eventually used to provide online training and education.
This offseason, our efforts will focus on providing online membership registration for any local program with a Web site on the USA Hockey network. Programs are encouraged to try these free all-encompassing Web sites before paying other companies for Web-publishing services. To get started, please visit usahockeywebsitetraining.com or contact USA Hockey Network Coordinator Eddie Olson at eddieo@usahockey.org.
Town Hall Opens Up At Annual Congress
Annual Congress is a great time to renew old acquaintances, make new friends and share ideas to help grow our great game.
Once again this year, three special Town Hall open forums have been set up to discuss some of the most important issues facing USA Hockey moving forward. A pair of Town Hall meetings will be held on Thursday, June 5, and another on Friday, June 6.
Among the topics slated for discussion will be recruiting volunteers, long-range planning, membership attrition and retention research, health and safety issues, and the future direction and growth of the sport and the organization.
For more news on Annual Congress, please go to USAHockey.com.
Holy Name Hockey Helping Game Grow
Holy Name Hockey of the Greater Springfield League of Massachusetts Hockey received a $1,000 grant from the Mike Cheever Grant to help grow its new Learn to Skate STAR program.
The Mike Cheever Grant is funded by the Boston Bruins’ special edition license plates and its purpose is to seek, fund and share innovative methods for growing ice hockey participation around the Bay State.
The grant will allow Holy Name Hockey’s new STAR program the opportunity to implement even more creative ideas to help develop a broader base of potential hockey players into Western Massachusetts. Holy Name Hockey’s STAR program focuses on all skaters and not just future hockey stars. Each level includes an incentive for children to celebrate their success while at the same time helping parents understand what is to come in the next level. The program runs once a week for six months at Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, for the low cost of $99. To learn more go to holynamehockey.org.
Berglund, Granato Gain Hall Passes
USA Hockey is proud to announce that Art Berglund and Cammi Granato were inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame during a ceremony in conjunction with the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Quebec City on May 15.
The seven-member IIHF Class of 2008 also includes Angela James, Geraldine Heaney and Mario Lemieux of Canada; Igor Larionov of Russia; and Philippe Bozon of France.
Granato and Berglund also took part in the Champions alumni game that pitted the World Stars team against Team Gazprom, a world-touring Russian team. Granato played on the world team, while Berglund served as honorary manager. USA Hockey’s own Lou Vairo, coach of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice hockey Team, was one of the coaches.
Recognize Those Who Make A Difference In Your Area
Nominations are now being accepted for the National Council of Youth Sports 2008 Hershey’s STRIVE Awards. These highly regarded awards recognize coaches, administrators, officials and volunteers from hometown communities through the United States who through their actions and professionalism have demonstrated to young people that Sports Teach Respect, Initiative, Values and Excellence.
To nominate someone in your local association or community, fill out the one-page nomination form and write a one-page testimonial.
Awards will be presented in four categories: Volunteer of the Year, Coach or Official of the Year, Local Youth Sports Administrator of the Year and National Youth Sports Administrator of the Year. Deadline for STRIVE nominations is June 30. Click here for official rules and nomination forms.
U.S. Women's Program To Call Blaine Home
The U.S. Women’s National Program took a big step toward advancing toward the medals podium in Vancouver by announcing the creation of a residency program in 2008-09.
The athletes, all of whom have completed their collegiate careers, will train at the Schwan Super Rink, part of the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., from September 2008 through April 2009. The athletes will have daily on-ice practices, as well as strength and conditioning training at the Herb Brooks Training Center, under the watchful eye of Tom Osiecki, an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota women’s team. In addition to practices, Team USA will play a full schedule of exhibition games around the state.
The announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Women’s National Program earning consecutive gold medals at the IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship in January, and the IIHF World Women’s Championship in April.
Click here for more on the U.S. Women’s National Team program.
NARCE Continues Its Impressive Run
The North American RINK Conference and Expo continued to solidify its stance as the premier rink and arena show in the business with another impressive gathering in Chicago. This year’s event ran from May 12-15 and once again brought everyone together to work toward the common goal of making the rink industry even stronger. To learn more about this year’s event and to get a jump on next year, log on to NARCE.com.
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