ECRHA Press Release

EASTERN COLLEGIATE ROLLER HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

Wednesday, July 10, 2002
In this Newsletter:
ECRHA-NECRHA Merge
ECRHA Annual League Meeting
October Special Events: Teams and coaches announced

ECRHA Annual League Meeting Set for September 7th
The ECRHA's Annual League meeting will be held on September 7th in Allentown Pennsylvania. This meeting is mandatory for all interested teams and member clubs of the ECRHA. All details and results of the ECRHA Restructuring act of January 2002 will be reviewed at that time, as well as the release of the new ECRHA Governing Operational Policies (AKA Bylaws). The following is a very brief excerpt from the ECRHA Restructuring Act of January 2002:

"With the commencement of the 2002-2003 season, the ECRHA will fully implement all new policies as a result of the ECRHA Restructuring Act of January 2002. The existing ECRHA constitution and bylaws will become obsolete and the current functions of the ECRHA manuals and administrational guidelines and policies will be reformatted and consolidated into a new governing manuscript called the GOP. The Mid-Atlantic Region of the CRHL will no longer exist as referred to in the former years by both the ECRHA and CRHL, and the ECRHA will become the sole entity and Member Organization of the new CRHL."

Any clubs or teams interested in joining the ECRHA should contact the ECRHA Commissioner, Mike Burke ASAP email: [email protected]. Attendance at the annual league and ACC meeting is expected to be high. An RSVP is required to the ECRHA President no later than September 1st, 2002. Exact time and location in Allentown will be released shortly. (*Current ECRHA Members who fail to attend risk being fined.)

ECRHA-NECRHA Merge Made Official
The Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association and the New England Collegiate Roller Hockey Association are proud to announce the merger of their organizations effective June 22, 2002 under the ECRHA banner. All member clubs of the former NECRHA have been acknowledged as member clubs of the ECRHA.

The merger swells the ECRHA to over thirty-five teams, its largest active membership in history, not including the new teams outside of the two organizations that will be added to the 2002-2003 season lineup. "We are thoroughly excited about the merger and the benefits that it will bring both former NECRHA teams and current ECRHA members. Not only will teams enjoy increased competition, but it opens the door to sponsorship opportunities and other areas of expansion not previously available," said Michael Burke, ECRHA Commissioner.

Teams added by the merger include University of Vermont, U of New England, Boston University, Northeastern U, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Central Connecticut State University, U of Hartford, U of Connecticut, and U of Rhode Island.

NECRHA's President Damian David had this to say about the merge, "I look forward to good things from this merger including improved competition, organization and more effective operation for the teams of the NECRHA. I think this is the opportunity that we have been working towards for the past 3 years and am excited to witness the realization of the fruit of the efforts for all those that were involved". Mr. David's comments are echoed throughout the League as the ECRHA invites the Board of the NECRHA to join the ECRHA Board in developing the New England area. For more on the merge go to www.ecrha.net.

Contest: You Name The Conferences
The ECRHA contest to name the two Conferences is still open. Where else can you have an opportunity to name Conferences for College sports? Go to www.ecrha.net and click on the Message Board. Full rules appear there. Good Luck. Be original!

ECRHA Comes to Long Island!
The ECRHA announces our first event of the 2002-2003 season. The ECRHA is coming back to Long Island, NY. October 12-14 come have fun with us at Skate Safe of America and see 40 College teams participate in the ECRHA Pre-Season Jamboree. Come see incredible college games such as Division 1 teams playing Division II teams, rematches from Nationals, and two extra-extravagant featured games:

1. Battle of the Sexes: The W-MLRH team, NY Flash, featuring Long Island's own Lindsey Reilly, will head up against a very special ECRHA Lottery Team. The ECRHA Lottery team will not be announced until the day of the game. Read about the NY Flash and Women's hockey at www.mlrh.com.

2. ECRHA Selects verse the NJ Riot: The NJ Riot currently play in the MLRH since 1997 with Christopher Puscian as the General Manager and Coach. The NJ Riot will head up against a very special ECRHA Select team; lineup to be announced later the summer. The ECRHA announces and congratulates the 2 coaches that have been selected to coach the ECRHA Selects. They are Coach Kevin Murphy of Penn State Altoona and Coach Robert Mariano of Boston University. Read about the NJ Riot at www.riothockey.com.

*Editor's note: The ECRHA does not promote or endorse checking in roller hockey. All ECRHA games are non-check, including games played at ECRHA events against non-ECRHA teams.

ECRHA Free College Clinics
Attend Hockey College; an ECRHA free clinic series coming this Fall to an ECRHA event near you. Schedule will be released later this summer.

Would You Like To Join the ECRHA?
Is your College or University ready for the ECRHA? If so, send us an email and let us know you want to be a part! Don't delay, as a wait list is quite fathomable this year. If you're an individual, check out our message board just for player recruitment or drop an email to [email protected].

The ECRHA is still looking for pictures. Please visit our Message Board for more information. Make sure to search our site and see a lot of new updates. Our Webmaster has been a busy little bee! New information is being added every week as we get closer to the start of the season.

Thanks for reading and if you know someone whom you think should receive future Newsletters from the ECRHA, please send us their email address or have them go to www.ecrha.net and sign up. Have a wonderful summer and thank you for supporting the ECRHA.

Property of the ECRHA, it's website, all contents and all publications, may not be duplicated or reprinted without explicit permission from the President of the ECRHA.

Best Regards.
ECRHA
<A HREF="http://www.ecrha.net/" target="_new">http://www.ecrha.net/</A>
<A HREF="http://www.crhl.net/" target="_new">http://www.crhl.net/</A>

Rebecca