10th Annual Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships To Be Held in Northern Colorado

[NCRHA]

The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association proudly announces the 10th Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships, to be held April 9-14, 2008 in Ft. Collins, CO. OD’s Sports Crossing in Ft. Collins (www.ods-sports.com (http://www.ods-sports.com/)) will be the host facility for the event, with overflow games to be played at JBS Sports Center (www.jbssports.com (http://www.jbssports.com/)) in Greeley . The event will bring 60 teams in 4 divisions (Division I, Division II, Division III, and B Division) together to compete for the title of Collegiate National Champion. The teams selected to participate in the tournament will be announced the week of March 3-7, 2008, on the NCRHA website www.NCRHA.org (http://www.ncrha.org/).

Teams in Division I and Division II will begin competition on Wednesday evening, April 9, with the Championship games to be held mid-day on Sunday April 13, times TBA. Teams in Division III and in the B Division will begin competition on Friday morning April 11 and conclude the event with Championship games to be held mid-day on Monday April 14.

http://www.powerplaystats.com/pps-media/1/209_NCSC-logo2-3CBIG.gifAssisting the NCRHA in hosting the 10th Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships, or CRHC X, is the Northern Colorado Sports Commission (NCSC, www.nocosport.com (http://www.nocosport.com/)). The NCSC, based in Ft. Collins, CO (Money Magazine’s #1 city in America to live in), is dedicated to serving all of the sport and sporting event needs of the citizens, organizations, teams, leagues, and businesses of the Northern Colorado communities of Larimer, Weld, Morgan, and Logan Counties. Two NCRHA member schools are located in the area it serves, Colorado State University in Ft. Collins and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

In the past year the NCSC has also assisted with the ACHA’s 2007 Division II National Championships (collegiate club ice hockey) as well as the CHSCA’s Colorado All-State Games. A website dedicated to CRHC X will be available soon that will include information on topics such as travel, discounted hotels, facilities, ticket prices and ordering, and activities and other opportunities to enjoy in Colorado during the national championships.

Once again Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships will coincide with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Men’s Frozen Four event which will be held the same weekend in downtown Denver at the Pepsi Center . The NCAA will hold men’s ice hockey national semi-finals on April 10, with the national championship game played on April 12. Other events include, “Friday Night at the Frozen Four” – which includes the Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge and the presentations of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and the Hockey Humanitarian Award – on April 11. Tickets for the semi-final and championship games are sold out, however tickets for “Friday Night at the Frozen Four” are not yet on sale. For more information on the NCAA Frozen Four, please visit http://www.denver.org/FrozenFour/default.htm (http://www.denver.org/FrozenFour/default.htm).

For the second consecutive year the NCRHA will be hosting the Mission Hockey College during the CRHC. This event, sponsored by Mission-Itech Hockey, features no-charge instructional clinics given to local youth roller hockey players. The instructors for the Mission Hockey College are current college hockey players and are regarded as some of the most talented players in the world. The Mission Hockey College gives the youth players the opportunity to interact with the college players in an atmosphere where they can receive tips and pointers and have some fun. More details will be released on ncrha.org and on the CRHC website as the event approaches.

The 2007 Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships were held in St. Louis , MO at Matteson Square Gardens and the Omni Sportsplex. Lindenwood University (MO) claimed its 5th consecutive Division I National Championship by defeating the University of Rhode Island, Stony Brook University defeated St. Louis University for the Division II National Championship, St Charles Community College (MO) claimed the Division III National Championship by defeating Broward County Community College (FL), and Lindenwood University B took home their 4th consecutive B Division National Championship by defeating St. Louis Community College – Meramec’s B squad in a repeat of the 2006 title game. You can view the results from the 2007 Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships, as well as 2004-2006 at www.NCRHA.org (http://www.ncrha.org/).

This will be the tenth consecutive year that college roller hockey will crown national champions, going back to 1999. It is the third time that the event will be held in a repeat location, as Ft. Collins also hosted CRHC VII. Last year’s host, St. Louis , also hosted CRHC IV under the former Collegiate Roller Hockey League in April of 2002. The other location that has hosted the event twice is Southern California in 2001 and 2004.

Several NCRHA Member Organizations have announced dates for their Regional Championship Tournaments. The MCRHL will host their Regional Championship Tournament on February 22-24, 2008. The ECRHA, GPCIHL, RMCRHA, SCHL, SECRHL, and WCRHL Regional Championship Tournaments will be on the weekend of February 29 – March 2, 2008.

The NCRHA would like to thank the following partners and sponsors for their continued support of this event and the growth of collegiate level roller hockey: USA Hockey InLine, the Northern Colorado Sports Commission, Mission-Itech Hockey, Ace Jerseys, and Revision Hockey.

For more information, stay tuned to www.NCRHA.org (http://www.ncrha.org/).

[ISFN]

I agree, the rink was dead last year when the D3 and B championship games were going on, horriable atmosphere.

Try building up to the D1 game so people are almost forced to stick around and will make for a better atmosphere for all.

B Game
D3
D2
Then cap it off with the D1 championship game.

[ISFN]

Sounds good.

Anyone have any reviews on the rink?

Hows the floor, locker rooms, showers?

Is there 2 rinks at OD's or are they using 2 single rink facility's

I tried looking only for some pictures and found nothing so any feedback is appreciated.

[5280]

Sounds good.

Anyone have any reviews on the rink?

Hows the floor, locker rooms, showers?

Is there 2 rinks at OD's or are they using 2 single rink facility's

I tried looking only for some pictures and found nothing so any feedback is appreciated.

ODs has two rinks - one is full time sport-court and on the other one they lay down boards and sport-court over an indoor turf field. The main rink has a decent viewing area, and the floor is in good shape. The locker faclities are mediocre, with bathrooms between locker-rooms. I think there may be showers, but if so, they're crappy.

JBS is a really nice facility with a health club in the building. It's been a while since we've been there, but I only recall one floor.

[5280]

ODs has two rinks - one is full time sport-court and on the other one they lay down boards and sport-court over an indoor turf field. The main rink has a decent viewing area, and the floor is in good shape. The locker faclities are mediocre, with bathrooms between locker-rooms. I think there may be showers, but if so, they're crappy.


Here's their description off their site:

O.D.'s Sports Crossing is a 67,000 square foot multi-purpose sports facility located in Northern Colorado. Our two fully enclosed (15,900 square feet each) rinks are complimented by:


Two multi-purpose floors including artificial turf
Spacious meeting room with video and audio equipment
Concessions stand with a diverse menu
Tavern license for alcohol sales
Concessions area with tables and chairs for 120 people
Six secure locker rooms with showers

[paddymac]

How about trying to keep it shorter so students don't miss so much class close to finals...and coaches don't have to burn so much vacation time:mad:

Definitely time restrictions with so many teams involved. Why not limit the number of teams?

[NCRHA]

To answer some of your questions:

We blocked the schedule out Weds eve through Sunday for DI/DII and Friday through Monday for DIII/B, in order to keep the event as short as possible for all teams involved. This does not make the teams miss any more school than they have in the past 5 years for Nationals.

Limiting the number of teams would be tough. With 20 DI and DII, 12 B and 8 DIII, we really feel that the numbers are good going into the event. And what a daunting task it would be to eliminate 4 DI and DII teams, it is already hard enough to decide who gets in.

The championship game schedule that one of you mentioned, leading up to DI is definitely a good plan. If we were able to get all teams to finish on the same day this year, we would have probably done this. Should Nationals take place at a 3-rink facility in the future, this should work out.

Thanks for the honest, open communication. Sometimes you think you've really done something well, and the obvious things get missed. Like proofreading an article that you've written yourself, often you don't find your own mistakes. It takes someone else looking at it.

With this announcement, we are going full steam ahead with the actual planning of the event. We can't wait to get there, but there's a whole 2nd semester of hockey to be played first!!!

Brennan Edwards
Executive Director, NCRHA

[RichardGraham]

Hi Brennan,

I've watched college inline hockey since the very first [championship] event. If memory serves, I believe it was played in Torrance, California, at an outdoor rink with a high chain-link fence, and was produced by College Inline Hockey. CIH was run by Mike Nelson and Dave Ptak, and I believe that the MVPs received Motiv Skates. I'll bet a lot of players were wearing Rollerblade Lightning skates, too. You've come a long way, baby! ;)

[NCRHA]

Thanks Rich. That's Torrance Skate Association, my home rink! I think that happened 1 year before I started playing college hockey. (probably 94-95). Ptak ran the league out of Torrance/Redondo Beach. That was either his last or 2nd to last year, before Marshall Dickerson took it over. And I only read about that in the California Hockey newspaper, you figured I would have heard since I was playing in the league there....

They now have real boards and full glass. Still roll-on though!

[JLambertUMSL]

The main rink at O.D.'s is pretty nice. Overhead scoreboard, rink down in a bowl partially surrounded by stands, etc. The other rink is smaller, and basic, with small bleachers on one side.

The hotel situation is probably a little better (closer to the rink) than North Carolina. Hopefully it's warmer in FC than it was last year in St. Louis. That was ridiculous.

(Seems like the weather goes to hell here just in time for hockey weekends....like this weekend...10 degrees with wind chills below zero tomorrow morning...and after tonight, it's not supposed to reach 20 until Sunday afternoon. Take your time to get loose....and keep your warmup pucks indoors! :))

[RobC]

And to follow up Brennan's comments with a little more info as well:

1) The rationale to extend B and D III to Monday comes from time and rink constraints and the desire to limit the amount of time our student athletes need to miss class. Doing it this way limits the missed class days to 3 days for each division. Starting B and DIII after DI and DII and finishing them after DI and DII, we were able to use the time on Sunday night that otherwise would have been lost to us. If we were to follow the format we have used in the past of finishing all of the championship games in a row on early Sunday afternoon, we would have to start the event Wednesday morning and use the overflow rink full time Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This would mean that everyone misses at least 4 days of class, and the expense of the event would increase due to the necessity of staffing the extra rink for three days rather than just 8 games on 1 day.

2) The reason for blocking DI and DII together and DIII and B together has to do with the size of the divisions. Because DI and DII have 20 teams, it takes a lot more games to get the round robin in and more rounds of playoffs. With 8 DIII and 12 B teams it works to go Friday through Monday, but it would not work to have DI or DII go Friday through Monday.

3) Another reason for blocking DI and DII together is that they are the showcase divisions of the NCRHA. We are working hard to grow and improve D III, but with only 11 active clubs the division needs growth and development. The B division is, exactly that, a second tier of clubs. There has been considerable sentiment for not even including the B division during the NCRHA nationals and either not having a national event for B teams or having one but at a completely different location. For now, the official position of the NCRHA is that the B division will continue to have a National Championship and it will be included in the CRHC with DI and DII, and this will not change unless the Board of Directors changes its mind. However, please understand that DI and DII have priority.

4) The reason that the championship games were held in reverse order last year from previous years (DI, DII, DIII and B (with the last to being played simultaneously)) is to prevent the "empty building" syndrome from dampening the atmosphere during either the DI or DII final as happened in both Raleigh and in Ft. Collins the first time around. As the signature games of the event, we want as many people as possible to be in the building for the DI and DII finals, and when there are still teams left to compete it is more likely that they will stick around. Experience has shown us that there truly is no buildup to the DI final if it is the last game of the event.

5) I personally love the idea of showcasing the DI and DII games on Saturday evening... a much better evening for drawing fans (Iook at the NCAA Frozen Four, semis on Thursday and Final on Sat.). However, this would mean moving the even back another day, and even with a three rink facility it would necessitate starting on Wednesday morning and everyone would miss 4 days of class. We feel this is not in the best interest of our student athletes.

6) OD's has 6 locker rooms with showers and will also have 2 additional locker rooms for this event for a total of 8 rooms.

7) Good point about the weather... St. Louis was ridiculously cold last year. Remember 3 years ago in Ft. Collins we missed a blizzard by less than a week! But the weather was nice for us, in the 70s. We are a week later this time around so hope for nice Colorado April weather.

8) Rich, thanks for the flash back and the kind words.

9) Hotel situation should be good and will be posted on the CRHC X specific website by the NCSC and will be available shortly.

Please feel free to contact me directly with questions or concerns... I don't check the message boards very often. Brennan is correct, we don't always get it right but we work very hard to do so, and we do it for you, our players and teams. Without the teams and players there is no NCRHA.

Rob Coggin
Director of League Operations and Officiating
NCRHA
719-331-7344
[email protected]

[smiller]

Sounds good.

Anyone have any reviews on the rink?

Hows the floor, locker rooms, showers?

Is there 2 rinks at OD's or are they using 2 single rink facility's

I tried looking only for some pictures and found nothing so any feedback is appreciated.

When Nationals in Ft Collins last time I remember the locker room at OD being a joke. I know 2 of them were storage closets. I dont know if its changed. Also all locker rooms were down by rink 1. To get to rink 2 you had to up the stairs. Other than that, it was a very good facility in my opinion.

[5280]

When Nationals in Ft Collins last time I remember the locker room at OD being a joke. I know 2 of them were storage closets. I dont know if its changed. Also all locker rooms were down by rink 1. To get to rink 2 you had to up the stairs. Other than that, it was a very good facility in my opinion.

The locker room situation has not changed.

[warwick]

since the holdup in announcing the location of the nationals seemed to hinge on a television contract, i am curious how come there was no mention made about television by the board.

[RobC]

And to follow up Brennan's comments with a little more info as well:

1) The rationale to extend B and D III to Monday comes from time and rink constraints and the desire to limit the amount of time our student athletes need to miss class. Doing it this way limits the missed class days to 3 days for each division. Starting B and DIII after DI and DII and finishing them after DI and DII, we were able to use the time on Sunday night that otherwise would have been lost to us. If we were to follow the format we have used in the past of finishing all of the championship games in a row on early Sunday afternoon, we would have to start the event Wednesday morning and use the overflow rink full time Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This would mean that everyone misses at least 4 days of class, and the expense of the event would increase due to the necessity of staffing the extra rink for three days rather than just 8 games on 1 day.

2) The reason for blocking DI and DII together and DIII and B together has to do with the size of the divisions. Because DI and DII have 20 teams, it takes a lot more games to get the round robin in and more rounds of playoffs. With 8 DIII and 12 B teams it works to go Friday through Monday, but it would not work to have DI or DII go Friday through Monday.

3) Another reason for blocking DI and DII together is that they are the showcase divisions of the NCRHA. DIII is also very important, with some great talent and games that are frequently fiercely contested. We are working hard to grow and improve DIII, but with only 11 active clubs the division needs growth and development before the division as a whole can rise to the prominence of DI and DII. The B division is designed to be a junior varsity system, teams for schools that have enough for two teams or more, to develop players for the future and grow their program, and the B division will not get the same focus as DI, DII and DIII. There has been considerable sentiment for not even including the B division during the NCRHA nationals and either not having a national event for B teams or having one but at a completely different location. For now, the official position of the NCRHA is that the B division will continue to have a National Championship and it will be included in the CRHC with DI, DII, and DIII, and this will not change unless the Board of Directors changes its mind. However, please understand that the A team divisions (I, II, and III) have priority.

4) The reason that the championship games were held in reverse order last year from previous years (DI, DII, DIII and B (with the last to being played simultaneously)) is to prevent the "empty building" syndrome from dampening the atmosphere during either the DI or DII final as happened in both Raleigh and in Ft. Collins the first time around. As the signature games of the event, we want as many people as possible to be in the building for the DI and DII finals, and when there are still teams left to compete it is more likely that they will stick around. Experience has shown us that there truly is no buildup to the DI final if it is the last game of the event.

5) I personally love the idea of showcasing the DI and DII games on Saturday evening... a much better evening for drawing fans (Iook at the NCAA Frozen Four, semis on Thursday and Final on Sat.). However, this would mean moving the even back another day, and even with a three rink facility it would necessitate starting on Wednesday morning and everyone would miss 4 days of class. We feel this is not in the best interest of our student athletes.

6) OD's has 6 locker rooms with showers and will also have 2 additional locker rooms for this event for a total of 8 rooms.

7) Good point about the weather... St. Louis was ridiculously cold last year. Remember 3 years ago in Ft. Collins we missed a blizzard by less than a week! But the weather was nice for us, in the 70s. We are a week later this time around so hope for nice Colorado April weather.

8) Rich, thanks for the flash back and the kind words.

9) Hotel situation should be good and will be posted on the CRHC X specific website by the NCSC and will be available shortly.

10) I don't recall the NCRHA ever releasing a statement regarding a television contract. We would of course love to have such a deal (ESPN, where are you?) but until that day arrives we are focused on the event structure that we currently have in place. The issues that delayed the announcement on this year's location had everything to do with making sure the venue would work and that holding the event in Ft. Collins was the right thing to do for the NCRHA and it's member schools.

Please feel free to contact me directly with questions or concerns... I don't check the message boards very often. Brennan is correct, we don't always get it right but we work very hard to do so, and we do it for you, our players and teams. Without the teams and players there is no NCRHA.

Rob Coggin
Director of League Operations and Officiating
NCRHA
719-331-7344
[email protected]

[DGlass]

I was in Fort Collins as staff and thought the event went pretty well. A few hiccups here and there, but I was pleased.


My only complaint is the use of "CRHC X" as the name of the event.

a) It doesn't create a new, easily remembered word or phrase that can be said in place of the event/organization (ECRHA is sometimes, but rarely, pronounced as a word, ek-ra).

b) The event is more commonly referred to as Nationals. 'Nationals' has 3 syllables. 'CRHC X' has 5. People will still be more likely to call it Nationals.

c) I vaguely recall being given a run-around answer in the past, but why do we no longer use NCT (National Championship Tournament) to refer to the event? Mostly, I don't want my NCT IV t-shirt to be completely outdated.




Other than that...no complaints. A few suggestions which I will keep to myself because they have more to do with the league as a whole.

[irsh31]

You deserve a speeding ticket

[NCRHA]

Hey Dave,

I don't know what the run around answer would be on not using NCT anymore. I don't have a problem with it myself. I actually wore my NCT IV t-shirt last night for my in-house game! (3-2 loss, what a downer)

I do think the roman numeral is a cool way to count it, it might get crazy like the super bowl, I don't think I ever learned roman numerals that high.

Sorry Dave no good answers from me. Thought I'd post anyways....

Brennan

[DGlass]

I was more referring to the 'CRHC' as a silly acronym. I'm always in favor of numbering things...like 'Busty Cops 3: More Cops, Bigger Busts'.

I was told a few times that the NCT was no longer being used because it referred back to the CRHL (when the ECRHA was the MAR), and that a) people wanted to get away from comparisons and b) legal issues (which I don't believe) with using CRHL's name for Nationals.

But if my primary concern with the event is the name (forgetting the delay in its announcement, but I understand these things), I'm not too worried the tournament won't be a great one yet again.



Also, I hope the speeding ticket comment wasn't directed at how I drove the Expedition in Fort Collins. As I recall, nobody was ever late when I drove.

[RichardGraham]

Hi DGlass,

You might be on to something.

College Clash X?

Kollege Klash X: Revenj of the Ill Litterit?

Readers?