Why am I confused?

[MDE3]

Not in any order of precedence...USARS/AAU, USA Hockey Inline, Narch, Torhs, Topcat Hockey, Triple Crown (now deceased), ECHO, Rink Rat Series, State Wars, NCRHL and it's subsidiaries....who am I missing..probably at least two or three more?....All holding at least one "National Championship" if not two, every year....This just in the USA.

Why am I confused?????

[GROWL]

My head is spinning... HELP

What really makes your statement worse is that it appears every year there are less and less teams, but more and more National events. How is this possible?

[WCRHL]

Well some of these tournaments are a completely different situation than some others. Some are very similar. I would argue that the college leagues are different than all of the others while narch, torhs, and others are doing the same thing. i dont really know what you're trying to say, other than the fact that there are lots of national championships.

Brennan Edwards
Executive Director
National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association

Brennan Edwards
Executive Director, NCRHA, www.ncrha.org
League Director, WCRHL, www.wcrhl.com

[NLane]

No place except for rink leagues and a FEW tournaments after the age of 20 is probably why there are no problems like this in ice hockey.

[cantwerp]

Excellent point, GROWL. That will continue as the sport continues to shrink - Look at the Philly area dropoff.

[Bliz]

NLane, please expand, I didn't get your point, but then I have the flu and can't think to clearly anyway.

Rich

[MDE3]

I brought up the NCRHL because to an outsider with interest in the sport, the current topography is extremely hard to fathom....they would know nothing of the differences between all these acronyms, and wonder what has happened to make this all so confusing....My point is that to some individuals who's competitive nature drives them, and who want to partake in some sort of well developed program, the whole scenarion get's very confusing.

To those of us who have grown up with it all, it is hard enough to give your allegiance just to one group or another, but to the parents of the freshly indoctrinated kids in the sport...it will seem totally confusing, and I am afraid discouraging, and before long...very expensive.

[GROWL]

Agreed... the College league is the one true bright spot in our sport.

[NLane]

In ice hockey, unless you are playing pro, there are few tournaments or amateur leagues for adults other than the house leagues so no "National" championships are played.

[MDE3]

Actually there are Nationals within USA Hockey Ice..for all the age groups starting at 12U for both tier one and tier two divisions...through the "over 18" division..essentialy the adult group, and up and through Tier II Junior A, Junior B, Junior C, then over 35, over 40, over 50 etc. etc..They do hold Tier I Junior championships due to the fact that so many of the Tier one players are under commerical contracts, which restrict eligibility too much.

The tiers have changed somewhat in the past few years to more align themselves with Canadian Hockey so that there are fewer age discrepancies in cross border tournament play.

This years youth "nationals" in ice hockey are taking place in March in various locations depending on the age groups.

There are quite a few USA Hockey sanctioned tournaments as well..check out their website....www.usahockey.com

Actually there are probably as many divisions and tournaments held within USA Hockey for ice, as all of the inline events combined...but under one roof..There are also some privately sponsored tournaments, within that list, but they are still USA Hockey sanctioned events...

I see the move by AAU to start their own ice hockey group, as simply an economic one..not necessarily for the benefit of the sport...maybe Narch, Torhs, Echo, Top Cat etc. etc. should all run new ice hockey tournaments...then the ice hockey community could appreciate all we have to offer, lol....why not...start a real free for all. It will be the tell tale litmus test as to why AAU is jumping into ice, if they require their ice hockey players to carry different insurance, and do not reach any accord with USA Hockey for continued eligibility of USA Hockey sanctioned players playing in AAU events.

Of course it will also be interesting to see how the international ice hockey community would welcome the AAU or any others new tournament organizers to events in Canada, or other countries outside the USA, who have never been members of the IIHF.....

[umroller]

FYI its the NCRHA (National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association) not the NCRHL.

[MDE3]

My point exactly........

[MDE3]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree 1000%....it is THE only real solution to the growth of the sport....I was hoping the "state wars" program might be a venue to establish this, but I am afraid it may be just another tournament series....time will tell. This is why I support USA Hockey Inline, as they already have this kind of program in place for ice. Maybe it can be accomplished on a state wide level though, without worrying too much about the National level...yet.

[umroller]

What's so confusing? If you go to college and want to play roller hockey for that college, join the team and play. If you go to college and there is no team there yet, work with the school to start one up and at the same time, speak to the NCRHA which can help you as well.

If you want to play in tournament series go talk to NARCH, TORHS, etc. If you want to play in a local men's league, join one, many of which are affiliated with USAHIL, however, there's no reason you really need to know that to play.

I guess I don't understand what the problem is.

[MDE3]

If you do not know the sport and your kids play starting at one specific rink, as you become aware of bits and pieces of the sport it get's confusing....It definitely lacks identity, and then every kid has different bragging rights depending on what group he/she plays with...a very important element lol.

For those of us who have grown up with it, it is somewhat understandable....however for specific rinks and programs getting into inline hockey, it does get very confusing, and for the parents expensive.....It also visibly lacks focus as a sport, which impacts the time and effort which parents are willing to put out for their kids within that sport.

[NLane]

Thanks, Mike. Now I know what to say to the house league players that keep saying they could have contended...they still can if they wanted! I think CanLan does full contact tournaments, too.

[NLane]

Which National Champions are you? Could be one of 5 or 6. No Superbowl to finish it. And they all have their own rules etc.

[Brooklynite10]

Well put ! simplified explanation. IF you have 6 National Championships, then you don't even really have 1 true National Champion. And someone please explain why NARCH and TORHS held there Winternationals on the same weekend ??

If you have 3 "elite" leagues, then you really don't even have one. Too many Nationals and Elite leagues in our sport. Fusion is the answer. League situations are just as confusing, but that is being discussed on this site under another topic.

[Shut_Up_and_Play]

The reason is simple. MONEY. Narch intentionally puts it's national and winter nationals on the same weekend as TORHS. Narch also did this with AIRHS when it was around. The logic is that if the best teams are on the east and west coast, Narch would rather take half of the competition away. The Narch clique teams are on the west coast and Narch will still have a competitive and good showing. Of couse, Narch does try to let a couple dates "hang over" TORHS so teams like the Mudcats and K-Tek can play in both tournaments. Narch really can't blame them for playing TORHS since Narch can't come close to the money TORHS gives away in the pro division. Basically, Narch is fighting for your money while TORHS really doesn't care and has it's schedule up before anyone else.

All in all though, I like the competition better in Narch. It has more of a solid level of play and less mercies. TORHS takes them all and will find a place for your team to play while you have to know you have a team that can compete to even think about going to Narch.