2023 - 24 Tryout Policy (Niagara North Stars)

Waiving Out of Niagara North AAA Zone:  No Waivers will be issued to any Niagara North AAA Zone eligible player without paying the Tryout fee to the Niagara North AAA Zone Hockey Association and the player skating at least one tryout. The waiver will only be granted by the Association once the AAA Head Coach issues a Release Letter to the player informing him that he will not be offered an Offer of Commitment. This is in accordance with the SCTA (South Central Triple-A) League Rules.

Waiving Into Niagara North Zone - All Age Groups

1. Players who reside outside the Niagara North Hockey Association zone, and are in possession of all applicable OHF AAA Hockey Waivers (F1) prior to contacting Niagara North, may request permission to attend a Niagara North Try Out.  All requests must be submitted to the Niagara North Vice President through the Niagara North website link.  You must use the Request for Tryout Portal to make such a request.  All requests to try out must be approved by Niagara North before registering or attending any try out.   

2. Niagara North reserves the right to accept or decline any request, and there is no appeal process.  If approved, upon try out registration, all applicable OHF AAA Hockey Waivers must be presented to the Niagara North Registrar, as well as any applicable fees paid, before stepping on the ice. 

Procedure for receiving an F1 Waiver (release):

1. All waivers will be issued by the Registrar, President, Vice-President or Secretary ONLY.  To receive a waiver, the player must present their Release Letter from the Head Coach acknowledging that the player attended the AAA Tryouts and that the player was not offered a AAA Letter of Commitment by that coach. Players will not be issued the Waiver without the Release Letter from the Head Coach.

Tryout Procedure:

1. ALL Players are to register online through the Hockey Canada portal links posted on the Niagara North website (Tryout Tab). Try out fees must be paid online by credit card through the Hockey Canada link. If you have never tried out for Niagara North, you may have difficulty accessing the link. If this is the case, please contact our registrar, Mike Patterson, at [email protected]

2. Tryout registration fees for U10-U13 age groups include 4 pre-tryout development skates. These skates are optional, but the cost of tryout registration remains the same ($200), regardless of whether the player participates in the development skates or not. 

3. Tryout registration fees for U14 includes 2 contact clinics. These clinics are optional, but the cost of tryout registration remains the same ($160), regardless of whether the player participates in the contact clinics or not. 

4. Every player must present a permission to skate form from their home association (ie: Garden City, West Niagara, Thorold, Niagara on the Lake) at their first scheduled tryout time. 

5. Players are guaranteed three ice times, provided they are registered on or before the first scheduled tryout. 

6. Tryout Registration Cost:  The cost for AAA Zone Tryouts for each season will be set annually by the Board of Directors.  Each player will be guaranteed 2 (two) sessions inclusive, if they are registered before or on the date of the first tryout. Any player who registers after the first tryout is not guaranteed two tryouts. Coaches are encouraged to assign players they have no interest in as soon as practically possible to their home centre in order to keep numbers manageable. No player will participate in AAA Zone Tryout or off-ice activities without signing the tryout form, providing the Permission to Skate form and paying the prescribed fee to the Association. Even if the player arrives for the last tryout only, that player must pay the full tryout fee.   There are NO exceptions.

Roster Selection:  

The Tryout period for the Niagara North AAA Zone teams will be conducted over a 4-day period as per OMHA Regulations. There will be approximately 7.5 hours of ice allocated to select each AAA Zone Team. This number may be reduced or increased depending on the registration numbers and the ages of the teams.

2. F1 Waiver after Day 4: Following the first four days of tryouts, any player not made an Offer of Commitment is entitled to an F1 Waiver as per OMHA regulations.

3. Offers of Commitment:  According to OHF Regulation E32: A player who is offered a player registration in accordance with E30 has seven (7) days to accept the player registration, failing which the AAA Club may fill the player’s position.  If a player does not accept the Offer of Commitment, an F1 Waiver will not be granted.

   1. The AAA Head Coach will present an Offer of Commitment to 15 Skaters and 2 Goalies by the end of the last AAA tryout.  Offers of Commitment will be offered to all necessary players by the conclusion of the last tryout or exhibition game.  Exceptions to this policy may be made but must be approved by the Niagara North Board of Directors.

1. As the re-assignment procedure, the AAA Coach will distribute a Release Letter to players that he has no intention of signing to a AAA card. This is not a release from the association, but a release from the AAA team back to his or her home centre. 

2. The Coaches will ensure that all players given an Offer of Commitment are aware that, although under OHF guidelines, the player has 7 days to accept the Card, and if the player does not make the decision immediately, his/her roster spot may be offered to another player. 

3. Once a player signs an Offer of Commitment from the AAA Head Coach, the player will not be eligible to play for any other team including another AAA team unless released by the Head Coach only. Within 24 hours of completing the roster the Head Coach must submit ALL names of players to the Niagara North Registrar as per OMHA regulations.

4. The AAA Head Coach reserves the right to make an Offer of Commitment to an injured player, during the tryout period up until September 17th as per OMHA policy 3.5 d) ii)

2. Acceptance of Offers-of- Commitment:  All players receiving and signing an Offer of Commitment from the coach and witnessed in accordance with OHF Regulation E30, MUST pay the appropriate registration fees to the organization according to the schedule set out by the organization.  If payment cannot be made according to that schedule, contact MUST be made with the Treasurer to arrange payment or the player will not be allowed to participate in team activities.

TRYING OUT IN A HIGHER SERIES

BACKGROUND:

In accordance with the OMHA guidelines, any player may tryout in a higher series providing the coach at the higher series wants the player on his team. The Association however, has set certain criteria to approve this advancement. This option is designed for “exceptional players”.

“Exceptional Player” is defined as a player who is the #1 player in their own age group and the #1 player in the age group in which they are trying out for, regardless of position.

REGULATIONS:

In order for a player to try out for a higher series team the player must comply with the following:

1.       Inform the Vice President, Hockey Operations 15 days in advance of the first scheduled tryout, in writing of the intent to try out at the higher division.

2.       Register and pay the required Association Tryout fee for the lower division.

PROCEDURES:

1.       The Evaluation Committee (as determined by the Vice President) will meet to evaluate whether they feel the player warrants a tryout in the age group above.

2.       If deemed to be allowed to try out, the Evaluation Committee will attend during the tryout process, of the higher division team to assess the player and determine, in their opinion, if the player is deemed to be “exceptional” as per the wording above.

3.       The coach, player, and parent are expected to comply with and accept the decision of the Association in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

Player Eligibility

Policy:

Players from St. Catharines, Thorold, Jordan, the Town of Lincoln, West Lincoln, Grimsby and Niagara-On-The-Lake are considered part of the Niagara North AAA Zone Association jurisdiction. 

The series age limits for the Association shall be in accordance with the OMHA rules, as follows:

U10 born between January 1st 2014 December 31st 2014

U11 born between January 1st 2013-December 31st 2013

U12 born between January 1st 2012-December 31st 2012

U13 born between January 1st 2011-December 31st 2011

U14 born between January 1st 2010-December 31st 2010

U15 born between January 1st-2009-December 31st 2009

U16 born between January 1st 2008-December 31st 2008

U18 born between January 1st 2007-December 31st 2006

The Niagara North Board reserves the right to alter the tryout policy at any given time.