2010 AAU Junior Olympics In SO CAL

[zipyaj]

N E W S R E L E A S E
January 28th, 2010

2010 AAU Junior Olympic Games for Inline Hockey

ANAHEIM DUCKS PARTNER WITH AMATEUR ATHLETIC UNION (AAU), TEAM USA HOCKEY CLUB AND USA ROLLERSPORTS TO HOST 2010 AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS FOR INLINE HOCKEY

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks today announced a partnership with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Team USA Hockey Club, USA Rollersports and THE RINKS – Huntington Beach Inline to bring the 2010 AAU Junior Olympic Games for Inline Hockey to Southern California from July 1-11.

[read: http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=515354 | http://aaunews.org/news/?p=1708 ]



Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks, their The-Rinks program and to the AAU for bringing this prestigious event to our area and for helping keep this sport alive!

Thank you for all you do!

[InlineMBA]

Sounds like a great move for the AAU.

I'm not familiar with the rink or the area, is it a 2 rink facility? Based on a quote from the article "THE RINKS development program, will serve as the Junior Olympics headquarters with one additional local facility (announced at a later date) also hosting games", I would assume the additional facility is needed to have a 3rd rink.

Sounds like it should be a good tune-up for teams from Cali that are going to NARCh.

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

[zipyaj]

Hi Steve,
Huntington Beach Inline (formerly Coast 2 Coast) is an indoor, two rink facility. You can see more about the Ducks' facilities by visiting http://www.the-rinks.com/ and the H-B facility at http://www.c2chockey.com/. I don't officially represent any aspect of the Ducks and would defer your questions about other rinks and particulars to their Inline GM, Ken Murchison. Ken's contact info is on their Contact page.

Best!

[calihockey]

Both are two-rink facilities. What is with the $995 tournament fee though? That is pretty steep.

[zipyaj]

Hey Matt,
To mimic Hogan's Heroes Sgt. Schultz, "I know nothing!" :)

I'm certain, though, that the Ducks and the AAU have a good plan for the rink situation. Speaking from experience, the Ducks' organization takes their event participation very seriously.

Best!

[calihockey]

Jay,

I don't question the class in which the Ducks handle their community outreach (I actually used to work for the management company of their arena when I first started college, so I got to see a lot of neat things they do). Events like this should be inviting for even the grassroots teams to a degree as well. How does charging $995 a team become inclusive for smaller programs?. I just think the Junior Olympics should be more inclusive. The preamble to AAU's constitution states "The AAU, being established to promote the benefits of participation in athletics and sports-related activities..." To me it is kind of hard to promote the benefits of participation when only a select few are able to participate. It is kind of sad because the time frame and location could have the potential for being a really cool experience.

[zipyaj]

Matt,
Your comments are appreciated and well taken. We can only hope that the leadership of those entites, and others, peek into the IHC forums on occasion (even though maybe forbidden to comment) and take notice of what the inline hockey community has to say at times. But it is what it is and the event pricing is set. I was merely a messenger and proud to share the news of this event on behalf of its move to SoCal. I'm surprised that there's not even a release to the effect on this site. But then I'm a scholastic inline hockey advocate and volunteer just trying to do my part.

Best!

[kevinsmithAZ]

Both are two-rink facilities. What is with the $995 tournament fee though? That is pretty steep.

Yeah, and look at this--
A) International/Club Divisions Entry Fee: $595.00US for two divisions.

So teams coming in from outside the country get to play in 2 divisions for nearly half of the cost for US Club teams to play in one? That's ridiculous. I know those teams have to pay for travel accommodations, hotel, etc., so I understand a reduced fee, but that's just not right.