2013 NCRHA Board of Directors Summer Meeting

The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) recently completed a very successful annual league meeting with a very ambitious agenda, when its Board of Directors (BOD) met June 29-30, 2013 in Houston, TX. The NCRHA conducts an in-person meeting every summer to discuss changes to its by-laws, operations and playing rules, and many notable announcements and changes came out of this year’s edition. The NCRHA BOD is comprised of one voting member from each of its seven member organizations.

2014 National Championships
One major announcement is the location of the 2014 National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships. The 16^th annual championships will be held in the Philadelphia suburb of Aston, PA, at IceWorks Skating Complex. This marks the first time the NCRHA will hold its annual championships in Philadelphia since 2009. Full details on the selection of the 2014 location will be posted separately on NCRHA.org.

League Operations Manual Changes

Some players who previously would have been ineligible because they played professional hockey either in North America or abroad will now have limited opportunity to participate in the NCRHA. Student athletes who have played in domestic or foreign professional or major junior ice hockey leagues, or in the RHI or foreign professional roller hockey leagues, shall be subject to limited eligibility. Such players shall lose one year of eligibility per year played professionally if they played one or two years. Players who played three years or more professionally will still have no NCRHA eligibility. Additionally, such players must be enrolled and meet NCRHA academic eligibility requirements at the school for which they wish to participate for one year immediately prior to commencing participation in the NCRHA. It was noted that players who played ice hockey in US junior hockey leagues do not lose eligibility, nor do players who participate in roller hockey leagues such as the PIHA, AIHL or MLRH.

Regular season games that end in a tie will now proceed to a five minute, running clock, sudden-death overtime, played 3 on 3. Teams winning in overtime will still be awarded 2 points in their regional standings, and one point for an overtime loss. Games remaining tied after the followed by 3 man sudden-death shootout, with teams unable to repeat shooters until they have gone through the shortest bench. Players in the penalty box or removed from games will be ineligible to participate in the shootout.

In an effort for greater consistency from region to region, all games in all regions will use a running clock once one team gains a 7 goal lead. As before, once the clock starts running the game does not revert to stop time, regardless of the score differential. Games will not be suspended early due to any score differential ("mercy" rule), and all regions are to be consistent in enforcement.

Among the highest profile changes to the playing rules are a change to a goalkeeper’s ability to add items to the leg pads to increase mobility, and the addition of a rule prohibiting a team from retreating across the center red line after the goalkeeper has been substituted for during a delayed penalty.

Rule 304 was amended to read “Any garment or contrivance designed to increase the goalkeeper’s mobility must not exceed the specified dimensions for each piece of equipment.” Rule 306 was amended to read “The use of pads or protectors not securely affixed, or made of metal or any material or any other material that may cause injury to a player, is prohibited." This rule change acknowledges the use of items such as slide plates, the new Rollerfly product, pad covers, etc. Such devices will have to be installed according to manufacturer guidelines and securely attached to the pads without any unnatural gap, and may not cause the pads to exceed allowable dimensions.

The NCRHA has aligned with many other organizations in the sport, such as TORHS2hot4ice, PIHA and State Wars Hockey to prohibit teams in possession and control of the puck in their attacking zone from crossing over the center red line after the goalkeeper has been replaced during a delayed penalty call. Carrying or passing the puck backward over the center red line will cause a stoppage in play. In addition, the BOD considered the concept of such an ‘over and back’ rule at all times during the game, but ultimately tabled the idea for further study. Each region may conduct some games using such a rule on a ‘pilot’ basis to determine the effect on the game and potential unintended consequences.

The Board of Directors also declined to change minor penalties to 1:30, declined to change player eligibility to more than 5 seasons, and declined to make any changes regarding the required use of HECC certified helmets and facemasks for both players and goalkeepers out of safety concerns.