House League Program 2010/11

Eligibility

• All NGHA registered players are eligible for NGHA house league teams.

Equipment

• Skaters must supply their own equipment, consisting of:
  • CSA approved hockey helmet & facemask
  • BNQ approved neck guard CSA approved shoulder pads
  • elbow pads  and shoulder pads
  • hockey gloves
  • pelvic protector (jill)
  • hockey pants or girdle
  • shin pads
  • stick
  • skates
• The NGHA supplies each player with game jerseys and socks.
• The NGHA rents out most of the equipment required by goalies.  Check the NGHA Policy Manual for more information.
• Although internal mouth guards are not required, they are highly recommended.  Individual players may choose to wear mouth guards and teams may require players on their team to wear them.  This is at the discretion of the player and/or the team.

Time commitment

• House League teams can expect to be on the ice 2 or 3 times a week.

Formation of teams

• A mandatory sort out process will be conducted to ensure a fair and impartial review of all players. Players will be assigned to teams with the balancing of those teams in terms of skill being the first priority.
• The process to determine the equal balancing of players on teams will include rating of players' skills from the previous year as well as at on-ice stations by independent evaluators, controlled scrimmages, and exhibition matches.
• No requests for placement will be considered.

Attendance

• Other than for reasons of illness, injury, family commitments or school activities, a player is expected to attend all team activities.
• All players must notify their coach in advance when unable to attend a team function. This includes games, practices and all other team activities such as social functions and fundraising efforts.

Ice time

• All players on House League teams will receive equal ice time.  The only exception is when a player is denied equal ice for disciplinary reasons.  These may include, but are not necessarily limited to, violations to the NGHA Code of Conduct, non-compliance with team rules or repeated absences from team activities.
• The team’s Convenor will monitor any denial of equal ice time.

League play

• All house league teams will play in the Metro Ottawa Girls House League (MOGHL). The season typically consists of a 18-20 game regular season, followed by playoffs, as determined by the ODWHA.
• The House League season typically starts at the beginning of October and runs through to the middle of February.  Playoff games are scheduled through to the end of March.
• About half of the games will be on home ice, not only at arenas in Nepean but at others such as Carleton University, Ottawa University and the Bell Sensplex.  All games will be played within the metro Ottawa area - Gloucester, Kanata, Ottawa and Nepean.
• There will be no set days or times for league games although the majority of the games tend to be on the weekend.

Practices

• There will be no set days or times for practices.  Practices may be as early as 6:00 am on weekends or 5:00 pm on weekdays and will be held at several different arenas, not only at those in Nepean but at others as noted above.
• Novice to Bantam teams are generally allocated about 4 practices per month by the NGHA.  Midget teams are allocated 1 to 2 practices per month.  Almost all house league team practices will be on shared ice.  Some coaches may seek out additional practice ice time.

Tournaments

• House league teams typically enter 3 or 5 tournaments, one or two of which may be out of town.

Cost

• In addition to the NGHA registration fee, which covers MOGHL league play, players must also pay a team fee, generally in the $400 - $600 per player range.  This fee is to cover the cost of such things as practice ice, exhibition games and tournaments and can be offset by team fundraising and sponsorships.  The team staff, with the approval of the parents, will determine team budgets.
• On a limited basis, the NGHA offers financial assistance to those in need.  For the criteria and process of applying for this assistance refer to the NGHA Policy Manual.