USAInline-NARCH

[JohnHockey1798]

I just read on NARCH.com that they have partnered with USA hockey Inline. That should make things very interesting in the Roller Hockey world. I guess for the people who wanted this to happen it happened.

John

Toga!! Toga!!

[MDE3]

Looks like a start anyway if it goes beyond just sharing the insurance coverage. The announcement doesn't say much more than that however. Hopefully the union will provide a platform for some serious long term cooperation and development beyond the insurance coverage.

No announcement has been made by USA Hockey Inline about this on their own site. There is however the announcement of USA Inline joining with the "Tournament Alliance Group" or T.A.G., comprised of six other tournament operations : Atlantic Cup Series, Coastal Cup,Echo, Rhino Event Management, Six Pac USA, and TopCat Hockey, where qualification for USA Inline National events can be accomplished through these other tournament organizations.

I am not sure if a similar agreement is being worked on with Narch. However it is interesting that all this seems to be happening simultaneously. Could it be the beginning of a movement to consolidate large areas of inline hockey in a bid to be recognized as a more viable organization worthy of being given the status of NGB????

[RichardGraham]

Hi Mike,

USA Hockey InLine is just dotting the i's and crossing the t's... they'll make an official announcement when it's done.

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[calihockey]

Remember that NARCh and USA Inline for the most part bring different teams to their national championships than each other (excluding inline cup). Working together benefits both groups and the TAG alliance simply because it would unify more teams. Out here on the West Coast, a lot of teams play in the NARCh qualifiers also play in the topcat tournaments. The biggest positive about this is the possibility of uniformity. Our biggest problem is having a solid organization. Without this, the IOC will never accept roller hockey into the olympic games as an official sport. Representing YOUR country playing YOUR game is an opportunity that most athletes would never pass up. Getting into the games would help the marketing side of getting a legit pro league going. In the end, the only way a pro league can go is if you put butts in the seats and thats the bottom line. See something that seems so small now could end up being big. Having met Daryn plenty times, I know that even though he is a businessman, his heart is still big on helping the sport. Gary at USAIH has always tried to come up with new ideas to help the growth of the sport. I think the combination of TAG and this new deal with NARCH-USAIH is a positive

[johnny2suede]

If you read the interview on another website, it mentions that NARCH is not part of TAG.

Good luck to both NARCH and USA on this new partnership. I think Gary and Daryn are two real good guys and will figure out some great stuff to help the sport.

[MDE3]

I agree that the agreement between TAG and Narch with USA Inline are not related on the surface, but there is certainly a purpose behind both working with USA Inline. I believe that the best way to describe it all is a "work in progress" at this time.

[umroller]

From what I understand NARCh is not partaking in the TAG alliance. Their relationship will be that NARCh will use USAHIL insurance and they will share their available resources to better each others' organizations and the sport.

Benjamin Picker
NCRHA Director of Marketing
[email protected]

[SpeedDemon]

Well, all Winternationals teams were hit with the $5/player insurance fee before they were allowed to finish competition. Not a big deal financially, but it sure did leave a bit of a sour taste in many peoples' mouthes who saw it as a hidden surprise fee. NARCh should have waived it for Winternationals seeing as how it was a mere 2 weeks ago that all this took place and many people had no knowledge of it.

[JohnHockey1798]

I would have to agree with you. I wouldn't have put it in effect untill after Winternationals. I would have posted it saying that it was going to be put in effect at future tournments. Lets hope it all works out.

John

Toga!! Toga!!

[johnny2suede]

Well actually there was a headsup on it. If you look at the registration form it said All Players Must Be Members Of NARCh Sanction.

We called to find out what that meant and were told there would be a Weekend Warrior "Type" fee going into effect at the start of 2004 for all NARCH events but NARCH didn't know at the time exactly how much it would be since their 2004 insurance quote wasn't complete yet.

Turns out the partnership deal was done with USA and so everyone had to be a USA member so to speak.

[SpeedDemon]

True true. But hasn't NARCh Sanction held a different meaning for years now that did not have fees passed on directly to the players? That would lead to some confusion from those who saw the note on the registration form and simply thought "Hey, my rink is NARCh Sanctioned, no problem!" and that was that.

[SpeedDemon]

I am not disputing the insurance coverage. I am simply disputing the lack of clarification over the additional fee and the negative PR it seemed to garner. Had Winternationals taken place next month and each registered player was sent a form letter informing them of the added fee, it would be a non-issue.