Letter from the ED

During the time that has passed since CRHL NCT V, the sport of college roller hockey has gone through major changes; some good, some bad, and some whose impact is yet to be measured. Following The Collegiate Roller Hockey League's National Championship Tournament in April 2003 (NCT V), the seven regional directors, along with the newly formed Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (RMCRHA), worked out a plan they felt best met the needs of players in their leagues as well as the sport on the national level. This plan was the culmination of several years' worth of pressing issues that had been elevated to CRHL by teams and players through their regional directors. This unanimous plan was presented to the CRHL Executive Board. Unfortunately, before the plan was presented to everyone, it was rejected. The regional league directors were told that it was unlikely their plan would ever be implemented. This was the beginning of the end of CRHL as it had previously been known. All 8 of the regional league directors have a copy of the plan for the future they proposed and will be happy to review the details of it with you. Please take the time to ask your Regional League Director about the plan if you are concerned about the full details regarding the split of CRHL and the birth of the NCRHA. After denying the unanimously supported plan, the CRHL came forward with their own plan for the future and have proposed to completely change what has been positively evolving for the past few years. The following is not meant to belittle the efforts of either organization but merely acquaint all members of these organizations with the actual events that have transpired. The NCRHA was formed on the basis of two key ideas: College roller hockey needs to be unified now, not in a year. Instead of forcing players who ?just want to play hockey? to make decisions, allow the players who do want to have an impact to work nationally through their elected representatives. In the short time that these elected regional league directors have been working together, they have already made strides to secure a site for the 2004 National Championship, unify standards for all leagues and have helped to bring you, the players, the best product you can get for your money and time. The current members of the NCRHA feel that their plan for the future covers every issue that is facing the sport currently and also allows for improvement and unlimited growth in the years to come. In the short amount of time that the NCRHA has been in existence, many critical decisions and issues have been discussed and resolved. Below you will find a list of recently resolved items as well as a timeline for the next four to six weeks. Item 1 - Facial Protection - By July 1, 2004 all members of the NCRHA as well as any players that compete in NCRHA Sanctioned events will be required to wear full face protection. For the 2003-2004 season, the rule is one that will be decided on the regional level by your regional Board of Directors. Item 2 - Pucks - For 2003-2004 the NCRHA will use the Mach-1 puck and will re-evaluate this item yearly to keep current with any releases of new technology that will help the sport. These are two issues that directly affect the teams this year and will in fact change the sport to make it better for years to come. The rest of the items that were listed in my last letter are being quickly resolved. We hope to release the Official NCRHA Rule Book before September 13, the rules for DI/DII/DIII classifications by September 20, and the site and dates for the National Championship by October 10. These dates are tentative but believe me when I say that the NCRHA Board of Directors is working day and night to get these issues finished and prepare you for the best year of college hockey yet. To make a proposal for the future is a good start; however, the NCRHA feels that actually taking action to improve the sport now is better. I welcome you on board and hope that you will join me in taking this step forward towards the future of college roller hockey. Contact information is available through the Staff page on NCRHA.org. Sincerely, _________________ Ed Luther Executive Director, NCRHA [email protected]