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PHOTOS IN MOTION
All Star Rec Eligibility
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The Youth Sports News All-Star Rec Tournament Series was created to fill the void between recreational roller hockey and the very competitive and very expensive world of Elite travel roller hockey.
The 2004 season for the Youth Sports News All-Star Rec Roller Hockey Series has come to a close. Much of the success of the series during its first four years has been because problems were corrected as they occurred. Many of you are responsible for these ongoing improvements because of your comments and feedback. Becoming a USA Hockey Inline sanctioned event was a major improvement in 2004. The new officiating crews corrected deficient refereeing, and you will continue to see them next year and into the future.
Once again, thanks to the input from several ASR teams, we were alerted to another negative trend which developed this season: RECRUITING. We saw the demise of some ASR teams because their top players were recruited by other ASR teams. This has discouraged the smaller rinks from participating in the ASR series, which is directly opposite the goal of the ASR Series.
The main focus of the ASR Series is to help keep the sport of roller hockey healthy by developing the area recreation leagues and to promote the concept of “community based” teams. In 2003, some recruiting took place which is in direct conflict with our community based goals. With that in mind, we instituted Non-Recruiting Guidelines beginning with the Freshman Division at the end of the 2003. The guidelines were carried over to all divisions for the 2004 season. Much like the Eligibility Guidelines, the Non-Recruiting Guidelines will develop over time, but the spirit of the rules are very clear. Since the ASR Series promotes community-based teams, the recruiting of players from other ASR teams will not be allowed. The initial guidelines are as follows:
NON-RECRUITING GUIDELINES
When a roster is submitted at the first tournament of the year, those players are committed to that team for the remainder of the year. If a player wants to move to another ASR team, that player must get a written release from the coach and/or club president to become eligible to play with that new team at an ASR event. Without a written release, that player will be ineligible to play at any ASR event, except with his/her original team. Special circumstances will allow a player to change teams: A: a physical change of address, B: the original team folds or C: the original team no longer attends ASR events. Guest Players: If a team is not attending a particular ASR event and another team is short a player, a player from the non-attending team may GUEST PLAY for that team, provided that he/she returns to the original roster the next time the original team plays an ASR event.
FRESHMAN DIVISION
In the series’ four year history, the level of competition has grown tremendously. With the current teams’ talent level so high, it has become nearly impossible for a brand new team to come in and compete. With that in mind, we began the Freshman Division. “Freshman” is defined as “new, young and inexperienced.” Beginning with the December 2003 tournament, we will be fielding Freshman teams in as many age groups as possible. There are some existing teams that will fall into this new division. On a case by case basis, we will assign these teams to the Freshman Division.
PLAYERS WHOSE TEAMS HAVE FOLDED OR NO LONGER PARTICIPATE IN THE ASR
This has been a very gray area. The main goals of the ASR are to create parity between teams and to provide a team for all players who want to play. A player on an ASR team that disbands or no longer participates in the ASR will become, in effect, a free agent and will become available to play for any ASR team, without violating the non-recruiting policy. Once that player is listed on a new roster, then the non-recruiting policy takes effect. The gray area comes into play when we talk about a player who played for a senior team. Since the focus of the ASR is on encouraging community based teams and the team concept, in general, the question arises, “Are there senior players or just senior teams?” The answer is, “There are only senior teams.” With that in mind, the following applies: If the addition of new players changes the complexion of a freshman team, that team, at the tournament director’s discretion, may be moved to the Senior Division, regardless of its standing in the Series Championship race. The “guest player rule” remains in effect but for further clarification, a player from a senior team cannot guest play for a freshman team. 5/12/05 UPDATE: The Youth Sports News ASR Tournament Series was founded on the principal of community based teams. In small market organizations with multiple teams, manpower can become an issue. Sometimes it is necessary to bring players from a younger team up to fill out the roster on the older team. With that in mind, we have a specific amendment to the rule that states, “No player can play on a Freshman roster and a Senior roster at the same tournament, regardless of age.” In organizations with multiple teams, a Freshman player from a younger team may play up on an older Senior team as long as that player has been listed on the younger Freshman roster first. Players that have been listed on a Senior roster first cannot play on a Freshman team, regardless of age group. Again, this is limited to teams within the same organization and does not apply to players who may play for multiple teams from different organizations.
SENIOR TEAMS PLAYING UP IN A HIGHER FRESHMAN AGE GROUP.
If there are not enough teams to field a Senior Division, the registered senior teams can play up one age group in the Freshman Division, provided that all players remain eligible for the original age group of that team. For example, if a 10/U senior team plays up in the 12/U Freshman Division, all those players must be league age 10 or younger and qualify under the normal eligibility guidelines. Adding older players for the new age group will not be permitted. The other rule that, “Players cannot play in a Senior and Freshman Division at the same event,” remains in effect. If a senior team is playing up in a Freshman Division, those players are ineligible to play for another team in a Freshman Division.
ELIGIBILITY-AGE
The age requirements are very black and white. The player’s age on January 1st is his age for the entire calendar year. For example, if a player turns eleven on January 2nd, he is league age ten for the entire year. Players are now required to submit a birth certificate to verify age. Once the player and his proof of age has been entered into the database, he is good to play in all of the All-Star Rec Tournaments.The ASR has adopted the USA Inline rule allowing girls to play down one age level.
TRAVEL/CLUB PLAYERS AND RESTRICTED TOURNAMENTS
The “NO TRAVEL PLAYERS” rule is not nearly as black and white. For the vast majority of players that compete in the All-Star Rec Series, the gray area of what constitutes a travel player is not an issue. These kids play rec at their home rink and are the best of the best recreational players there. Most know very little about travel hockey and names like NARCH and TORHS have little meaning. There is another, much smaller, group of players that have, at one time or another, played some travel hockey. These ex-travel players left travel hockey for a variety of reasons; either too much time, commitment and/or money. Some players gave travel a try and simply found it was not for them. Whatever the case, these players have found a home with ASR and many more in the future may find the community based structure of ASR more appealing than the “take no prisoners” attitude of travel hockey.
With that in mind, we have set the following standards for eligibility. Teams or players that compete in the following tournaments are ineligible for participation in the Youth Sports News All-Star Rec Tournament Series: NARCH, TORHS, Triple Crown, AAU, Florida Cup, 2HOT4ICE and the Atlantic Cup Series. Players who feel the need to try travel hockey and guest play for a team competing in one of the above mentioned tournaments will become ineligible for a period of sixty days from the date they played. After the sixty day period, if the player has not participated in any more restricted events, he/she will be reinstated. If a player retires from travel hockey, he/she will be eligible to compete in the ASR Series sixty days from the last restricted tournament attended.
If a team is found to have ineligible players, that team will be suspended for a period of ninety days. If it is proven that a team knowingly presented inaccurate or fraudulent documentation, that team will be suspended for a period of twelve months. All protests must be accompanied by a $25 payment which will assure that the protest is not frivolous in nature. If the protest is found to be valid, the $25 payment will be returned.
Rule 101702 Once we reach the end of the “A” Circuit Tournament Season there will be two ASR events remaining before the end of the year. This is a time period during which the 60 Day Eligibility Rule may be circumvented. With that in mind, and in order to enforce the intent of the guidelines, the following adjustments have been made to the 60 Day Rule for the November and December tournaments.
If you have played in an ASR event in the current calendar year and have guest played for an A Circuit team, OR if you are an ASR team that played in a restricted event, the 60 Day Rule remains the same.
If you have NOT played in an ASR event in the current calendar year , AND were a member of an A Circuit travel team, BUT you would have been eligible to play in the September event, the 60 Day Rule remains the same.
If you have NOT played in an ASR event in the current calander year , AND were a member of an A Circuit travel team, AND you would have been ineligible to play in the September event, then you are ineligible to play in the ASR for the remainder of the calendar year.
SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS
For some ASR teams, seven ASR tournaments a year are enough. There are other teams that would like to play a little more often but do not want to lose their ASR eligibility. With that in mind, we will be allowing ASR sanctioned teams to compete in the following B level tournaments. East Coast Hockey Organization (ECHO), the Sunshine State Games and the NHL Breakout. For any tournaments not listed, please call the Youth Sports News office (727-786-5642) for a ruling.
