COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey’s four-day virtual Annual Congress concluded Saturday (June 12) with the election of Mike Trimboli (Massena, N.Y.) as the organization’s new president; the formalization of the playing rules for the next four seasons (2021-25); and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, growth and the upcoming Olympics/Paralympics.
“It was a very productive Annual Congress,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. “While the pandemic has presented many challenges for us, it’s been inspiring to see the collaboration across all levels of our organization As we invite everyone back to the sport and advance efforts to become more diverse, we will take advantage of the visibility presented in this upcoming Olympic and Paralympic year to grow hockey.
“We welcome Mike Trimboli as our new president and all of our newly elected and re-elected volunteers. On behalf of everyone involved in hockey in our country, I’d also like to thank both Ron DeGregorio and Jim Smith, titans of our organization who have been been at the forefront of building the strong foundation that we enjoy today. Both have served in just about every capacity imaginable within USA Hockey, and while they’ve elected to step aside, we know they’ll still continue to contribute to the sport.”
“I am both honored and humbled to have been elected president,” said Trimboli, who becomes just the sixth president of USA Hockey. “This is a great organization and I look forward to working with our Board, all of the grassroots volunteers in the field, and our dedicated USA Hockey staff as a collective, unified force with the mission to continue moving our sport forward.”
PLAYING RULES CHANGE YEAR
The USA Hockey Board of Directors approved the rulebook for 2021-25. The organization modifies/updates the playing rules on a four-year cycle. Highlights of modifications include:
- The principles of the declaration of safety, fair play, and respect that were originally passed by the Board in 2019 will be fully implemented into the new rulebook, including zero tolerance of hateful and discriminatory language and as well as hits from behind, hits to the head and late hits.
- All levels of youth hockey outside of high school will include both immediate offside and the removal of the exception to ice the puck when shorthanded.
- Major and match penalties will be determined on the principle of reckless endangerment, not based on injury.
- All major penalties will now also include a game misconduct penalty.
- Modified the length of penalties based on length of period.
A full summary of the changes will be available later this month at usahockey.com.
NEW VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
USA Hockey added two new volunteer positions to its coaching and officiating education structure during the Annual Congress, including a coach-in-chief for female development and a referee-in-chief for female development. The two new volunteer positions, appointed by the executive director of USA Hockey, will serve in a lead role in developing and implementing strategies to advance efforts related to recruitment, retention and overall support of females currently involved or interested in becoming involved in coaching and officiating.
NATIONAL ELECTIONS
At Saturday's (June 12) Board of Directors meeting, the Board:
- Elected Mike Trimboli (Massena, N.Y.) as president.
- Elected T.C. Lewis (Richmond, Texas) as vice president and chair of the marketing council.
- Re-elected Keith Barrett (Northfield, Vt.) as vice president and chair of the youth council.
- Re-elected Don Mulder (Fond du Lac, Wis.) as vice president and chair of the adult council.
- Re-elected George Atkinson (Spring Lake, Mich.) and Sarah Fraser (Chesire, Ct.) as directors at-large.
- Elected Glenn Hefferan (Ridgewood, N.J.) as director representative to the executive committee.
- Affirmed the following as athlete directors: Julie Chu (Fairfield, Conn.), Taylor Lipsett (Plano, Texas), Molly Engstrom (Siren, Wis.), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.), Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.), and Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.); and Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) as athlete director representative to the executive committee.
- Steve Laing (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was elected chair of the high school section, replacing Bob Mathson (Naperville. Ill.) who served for 21 years.
- Amy LaPoe (Hamilton, Tex.) was elected chair of the disabled section, replacing J.J. O’Connor (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) who served in the capacity for 20 years.
- Affirmed Ken Reinhard (Fort Worth, Texas) as chair of the officials section.
- Elected J.J. O’Connor (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and Bob Mathson (Naperville, Ill.) as director emeritus.
- Elected Jim Smith (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and Ron DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.) as president emeritus.
NOTES: Tributes to Jamie Huntley-Park, who with her husband was tragically killed in a car accident on June 4, took place throughout the Congress. Huntley-Park was one of the top officials in the world … USA Hockey honored several deserving individuals with awards during the course of the Annual Congress, as well as highlighted its Service Award recipients. A full listing can be found here.
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