Ice Dog Families:

Although we are still waiting for the details associated with Mount Vernon’s reopening (currently slated to reopen its doors on the 27th of July) and how this will affect our ability to rent and use ice there for the Club, we think it is prudent to begin registration for our CBHL, Girls and 8U programs’ 20/21 seasons. CCHL registration will open in early-mid August.

To register for any NVHC program, you will have to obtain a USA Hockey Number for the upcoming season, which is required by USA Hockey and is non-refundable. USA Hockey registration for the 20/21 season can be completed here.

Click Here to Register Now for CBHL, Girls, and 8U.

The Situation

• NEW - Mount Vernon has announced they will reopen on the 27th of July but cannot provide detailed guidance yet regarding when they will be able to rent ice to the Club. We now have a low degree of confidence that we will be able to secure enough ice between the 13th and the end of July to conduct regular tryouts for the 20/21 season.
• NEW - We have a high degree of confidence that we have enough data from the 19/20 season as well as Spring Selects tryouts to apply the alternate team selection process provided in PVAHA guidance and build CBHL team rosters.
• NEW - We have secured enough ice after the 20th of July to conduct supplemental tryouts for non-Club players and Club players who previously played House, did not participate in Spring Selects tryouts, but are interested in playing on a CBHL travel team this year.
• NEW - We have a high degree of confidence that we can use the alternative PVAHA registration guidance to field at least one team per age group for our Girls program without conducting on-ice tryouts.
• We continue to have a high degree of confidence that we will be able to start the 20/21 season in late August/early September with practices conducted at Mount Vernon and Haymarket.
• UPDATED - We have a high degree of confidence that we will be able to use ice at Fort Dupont and Laurel in September.
• We have a medium degree of confidence that we will be able to hold games with other local clubs in early fall.
• UPDATED - We have a low degree of confidence that teams will be able to travel outside of the DMV region for games or tournaments. This is driven significantly by USAH sanctioning, and although you may hear of tournaments taking place in various markets, NONE are sanctioned by USAH at this time.

Facilities

The current status of our partner rinks is as follows:

• UPDATED - Mount Vernon: Closed but planning to reopen on the 27th of July. We are continuing discussions with the Rink Manager to determine when we will be able to rent ice following their reopening.
• Fort Dupont: Closed and not planning to open until after September 1st. We are working to schedule ice with them now.
• UPDATED - Haymarket: Open. We have secured ice for CBHL supplemental tryouts on July 26th. We can put 40 skaters on the ice at one time.
• UPDATED - Gardens Ice House: Closed but planning to reopen in early August, pending additional guidance from Prince George County.

Registration Planning by Program

CBHL (10U-18U)

Due to the late planned opening of Mount Vernon (after the 27th) and the continuing Forward Virginia requirement to maintain physical distancing, when practicable, during the conduct of sports, the Club plans to take maximum advantage of the PVAHA guidance for this season that allows for rostering of players without tryouts.

We will conduct a four-step process for registering and rostering players for our CBHL teams. You must register for NVHC CBHL Tryouts prior to being considered for any roster position during any Step. Please register as soon as possible to allow NVHC as much time as possible for thorough decision making.

Step 1 - immediately - We have opened two travel registration optionson our website: (a) a no-cost option (titled “Coed > Returning Travel and Spring Select Players”) for players who played on 19/20 Ice Dog CBHL teams or tried out for a Spring Select Team this spring. (b) an option (titled “Coed > Players new to CBHL Travel…”) for players who did not play on a 19/20 Ice Dog CBHL team and did not try out for the Spring Select Team this spring. This includes players who played on an Ice Dog CCHL team in 19/20. These players will pay a $50 non-refundable on-ice tryout fee as part of registration.

19/20 Ice Dog players must register by July 13th to be considered for rostering during Steps 2 or 3. Non-member players must register by July 19th to be considered for rostering during Step 3. Players must register by July 24th to participate in the July 26th on-ice tryout and be considered for rostering during Step 4.

Step 2 - July 13 - CBHL Coed Team roster positions for 19/20 Club members who participated in a travel program or participated in our 2020 Spring Selects tryouts may be offered for the 10U through 16/18U age groups without on-ice tryouts.

Step 3 - July 20 - CBHL Coed Team roster positions for players who did not play on a 19/20 Ice Dog CBHL team and did not participate in our Spring Selects tryouts this spring may be offered for the 10U through 16/18U age groups without on-ice tryouts.

Step 4 - July 26th - on-ice tryouts will be held in Haymarket for players who were not offered a CBHL Coed Team roster position during Steps 2 or 3. More details to follow on the specific time and requirements for this on-ice session.

Given the public health conditions, the status of our partner rinks, and PVAHA Tier II travel guidance, we believe this is the best approach to field competitive teams for the 20/21 season in a timely manner. Details on our roster selection process are listed below:

• If an offer is extended and accepted at any point, you will need to register your player for the team offered and pay the monthly travel fee for August.
• All roster position offers expire after 72 hours. Expired offers are immediately returned to NVHC to utilize as the club deems necessary.
• The CBHL Director has assigned a Lead Coach for each Age Group. Each Lead Coach, under the supervision of the CBHL Director, will assemble a Committee of coaches and individuals who possess specific knowledge of that particular age group.
• Committees will review each registered applicant, discuss all appropriate information, and consider offering roster positions without on-ice tryouts. A Committee decision to offer a roster position must be unanimous.
• Any Tryout Committee member who is also a parent of an applicant within that specific age group will not receive a vote in regards to their player.
• The CBHL Director has final say in all decisions.
• Tryout applicants not offered a roster position during Step 2 or Step 3 will be invited to on-ice tryouts, Step 4 (as necessary). On-ice tryouts will apply the same Committee approach applied in Steps 2 and 3 (see above), utilizing information obtained from the on-ice tryout process. Understand that we will follow all facility guidelines regarding distancing, entry and exit points, population limits, etc.
• Players not assigned to a Club CBHL Coed Team may register for our CCHL program.

Girls (10U-19U)

We will conduct a four-step process for registering and rostering players for our Girls teams. You must register for the NVHC Girls Tryouts prior to being considered for any roster position during any Step. Please register as soon as possible to allow NVHC as much time as possible for thorough decision making.

Step 1 - immediately - We have opened a no-cost Girls travel registration via our website.

Returning 19/20 NVHC Players must be registered by July 13th to be considered for rostering during Steps 2 or 3. Non-member Players must be registered by July 20th to be considered for rostering during Step 3. 

Step 2 - July 13 - Girls Team roster positions for Club members who participated on a 19/20 Ice Dog team may be offered for the 10U through 16/19U age groups without on-ice tryouts.

Step 3 - July 20 - Girls Team roster positions for players who did not play on a 19/20 Ice Dog team may be offered for the 10U through 16/19U age groups without on-ice tryouts.

Given the public health conditions, the status of our partner rinks, and PVAHA Tier II travel guidance, we believe this is the best approach to field competitive teams for the 20/21 season in a timely manner. Details on our roster selection process are listed below:

• If an offer is extended and accepted at any point, you will need to register your player for the team offered and pay the monthly travel fee for August.
• All roster position offers expire after 72 hours. Expired offers are immediately returned to NVHC to utilize as the club deems necessary.
• The Girls Director will assign a Lead Coach for each Age Group. Each Lead Coach, under the supervision of the Girls Director, will assemble a Committee of coaches and individuals who possess specific knowledge of that particular age group.
• Committees will review each registered applicant, discuss all appropriate information, and consider offering roster positions without on-ice tryouts. A Committee decision to offer a roster position must be unanimous. Any Tryout Committee member who is also a parent of an applicant within that specific age group will not receive a vote in regards to their player.
• The Girls Director has final say in all decisions.

Step 4 - Date TBD - If registration numbers require on-ice tryouts to resolve player placement at any age group those tryouts will be held at a to-be-determined date and location.

8U Programs

• 8U House: Our 8U House program will run as close as possible to previous seasons. The season runs from late August to the end of February, with practices and games on Saturday and Sunday mornings (times TBD). Players are divided into two divisions based on age and skill. For full details on the structure of the program see the NoVA 8U House Program webpage.
• 8U Travel: We plan to field 3 8U Travel teams this season. In addition to participating in the 8U House program, travel players practice once a week on weekday evenings (day and time TBD) and play games on weekends. If you have questions whether your player is ready for travel hockey, please contact 8U Director Scott Richard (scott.richard@novaicedogs.org). See our NoVA 8U Travel Program webpage for further details on the program.
• Registration: No-cost registration for our 8U Programs (8U House and 8U Travel) is now open on our registration website. Please registeras soon as possible if you are interested, as the program size may be limited by public health measures. Further information on pricing and start dates will follow.

CCHL (10U-18U)

Registration for our CCHL programs should open in early-mid August with evaluations occurring in September.

LTP

We will not conduct fall LTP sessions and will revisit winter and spring sessions as the season progresses.

Summary

As soon as the cost of ice, number of participants, and length of season become more clear, we will be announcing our season fee structure for months beyond August. We are currently looking at a number of options to control costs, adjust fees as the season progresses and ice restrictions loosen, and otherwise adapt to what we believe will be a fluid and unpredictable hockey environment.

We will continue to communicate frequently as we receive additional information that affects our planning and decision making. For those with specific questions related to the upcoming season, please feel free to submit your questions here.

Sincerely,

Dee Reardon
NVHC President