SECTION A - GENERAL

1. Interpretation:

(a) In these Rules and Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

• “PCMHA” refers to the Port Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association;
• “PCAHA” refers to the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association;
• “BC Hockey” refers to British Columbia Hockey;
• “CHA” refers to the Canadian Hockey Association; and
• “Executive Committee” refers to the current directors and officers of the PCMHA as elected pursuant to the By-Laws of the PCMHA.

(b) Words importing the singular include the plural and vice-versa; and words importing a male person include a female person.

2. All PCMHA players, team officials, parents and referees shall be governed by the Constitution, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of the PCMHA, the PCAHA, BC Hockey and the CHA.

SECTION B - PLAYER REGISTRATION

1. No player shall be permitted on the ice unless he has been first registered with PCMHA and entered in the Hockey Canada Registration system by the Registrar.
2. Final registration of all players shall be at the discretion of the PCMHA Executive Committee.
3. Application must be made to the Executive Committee for additional registrations after the registration close-off date.
4. Each team shall email the Registrar of the PCMHA with a copy of the team roster and sweater numbers allocated to the players immediately after the teams have been chosen.
5. No player may be placed on a team roster, either “A1 or A2 or C”, after the start of league play unless application is made in writing to the Division Manager who will make recommendations to the Executive Committee.
6. There shall be no refunding of registration monies after December 31st for any reason other than residential moves or medical.  All applications for refunds shall be in writing and submitted to the Registrar.  Refunds shall be pro-rated from the application date according to the number of weeks remaining in the current hockey season and shall be subject to an administration fee.
7. PCMHA believes all players should play hockey with their same age peers.  Only under special circumstances may a player be moved into a higher or lower division.  The player must first register in their own age division.  An appropriate request must be submitted to their Division Manager.  Players applying to move down a division will be assessed and after approval by PCAHA Fraser Valley North will be approved if there is room in the lower division.  If there is room in the higher division, players applying to move up a division will be assessed by an independent evaluator who shall first be approved by the Executive Committee.  If the player is assessed to be in the top 5 of the higher age group, the assessment will be brought forward and reviewed by the Executive Committee.  If a “move up” is approved by the Executive Committee a motion will be made and voted on approving the move for the one season. The player may play in the higher division at the C level for that particular season only if there is room (ie no waitlist).

SECTION C - REP TEAMS

1. All players shall be encouraged to play at the level of hockey they are capable of, within their own age division.
2. All registered players applying for a rep tryout shall be given an equal opportunity to try out for the “A1” or “A2” teams in their respective divisions.
3. Every reasonable effort shall be made to ensure that all players requesting a rep tryout receive a minimum of 3 tryout sessions.
4. Players that are injured must be available for at least 1 tryout to be considered for a rep team.  Exceptions to this policy may be considered by the President upon review of the player's prior two seasons, the level played and length of injury.
5. No fundraising events or team functions shall be undertaken prior to the finalizing of team rosters.
6. No assistant coaches, managers or other team officials shall be appointed prior to the finalizing of team rosters.
7. All rep teams shall card a minimum of 15 skaters, not including goaltenders.  However, at the recommendation of the respective Division Managers and at the discretion of the Executive Committee, team rosters may be decreased or increased due to special circumstances.
8. Each rep team shall carry a maximum of two goaltenders (availability permitting).
9. No releases may be made after the commencement of league play without Executive Committee approval.
10. No player may play for more than one team on a “casual” basis without prior approval of the Division Manager.  For example, a Peewee C player affiliated to the Peewee A2 team cannot play up for Bantam C.

SECTION D - TEAM CONDUCT

1. The team Coach and/or Manager shall be responsible for the actions and conduct of the team players, team parents and team officials at all times that the team is under the jurisdiction of the PCMHA.
2. Employees of any arena, opposing teams, and game officials shall be treated courteously and with respect at all times.
3. All players shall confine themselves to their assigned dressing rooms 20 minutes before game time and must be supervised by a team official during that time and until all players have left the dressing room after the game.
4. The team officials will implement an appropriate dress code for their team.
5. POCO Minor Hockey sanctions the use of a video camera at games and practices only for the purposes of team training.  If your team wishes to record a game or practice, the team manager should obtain permission from the Division Manager and provide the date, time and location of the game/practice to be videotaped.  Individuals videotaping for any other purpose (ie taping for the purpose of timing the minutes players are on the ice) will be subject to our disciplinary process.  A record/log must be kept by the manager (and with them at all games and practices) documenting all video sessions for the season.

SECTION E - DISCIPLINE AND SUSPENSIONS

Port Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association Disciplinary Process
Introduction

• The PCMHA Executive has implemented a formal code of conduct and disciplinary process for players, team officials, parents and spectators. The code of conduct is based on the Fair Play Code of Conduct as developed by BC Hockey and Hockey Canada. The disciplinary process is designed to create a fair, unbiased and objective process for disciplining behaviour that violates our code of conduct.

Disciplinary Process

• All players, team officials, parents and regular spectators must sign the appropriate Code of Conduct. All players and parents provide consent to Code of Conduct upon successful registration for the season through TeamSnap. It is team manager’s responsibility to collect Team Officials Code of Conduct and hold onto them for the season. It is within our guidelines that no player or team officials will be involved in a team function on or off the ice if the signed code of conduct has not been returned to the respective team managers.
  PCMHA reserves the right to discipline players, team officials or parents in addition to, and regardless of, any discipline that may have occurred through Pacific Coast or BC Hockey.

Disciplinary Guidelines

1. Parents and Spectators
   • Parents and spectators are responsible for their own conduct. They may cause themselves to be ejected if they act in a manner that an on-ice officials or team manager views as unacceptable.
2. Team Officials
   • Team officials are responsible for supervising and controlling the conduct of their players before, during and after the practice or game. Failure by team officials to control the conduct of their team may result in suspensions or other disciplinary action as deemed necessary. For disciplinary reasons , a team Coach and/or manager, without the approval of the President of the Association, may suspend a player for up to 3 games for disciplinary reasons.  Any further suspension may be imposed subsequent to Discipline Committee investigation and recommendation to the Executive Committee.
3. Players
   • The best way to avoid disciplinary action is through the application of positive reinforcement. PCMHA disciplinary committee has set up 3 different levels of offences:
     1. First level offence
        • This should be dealt within the individual team level unless the Coach deems it necessary to elevate to Executive level.
        • This may include:
          • unexcused absences
          • lack of dressing room etiquette
          • swearing
          • horseplay
          • other similar actions
     2. Second level offence
        • It requires a review of the incident by the Executive and disciplinary committee.
        • This may include:
          • Fighting
          • Bullying
          • Cyber-bullying
          • Insubordination to coaching staff
          • Harassment or abuse of anyone while at hockey activity
          • Intimidation
          • Other similar actions
     3. Third level offence
        • Any player found with drugs and or alcohol in their possession, or any suspected to be under influence of drugs or alcohol while participating in a PCMHA activity, will be suspended immediately from further practice and game until the investigation is completed.

Disciplinary Committee

• The committee consists of 1st Vice President of PCMHA, and 2 life time members.

SECTION F - COMPLAINTS, PROTESTS AND APPEALS

1. All grievances must be submitted in writing within 48 hours to the President.  The President will appoint three Executive members to a Grievance Committee.  This Committee will interview the complainant and investigate the grievance, referring their decision to the Executive Committee at the next Executive meeting.  The Executive Committee will rule on the grievance and make their decision known to the complainant within 24 hours of the Executive meeting.
2. Any decision of the Grievance Committee may be personally appealed to the Executive Committee within 72 hours of being notified of the decision.  Notice of any such appeal shall be submitted in writing to any member of the Executive Committee.  If a player appeals, he must be accompanied by his parent or guardian.

SECTION G - COACHING REQUIREMENTS

1. All PCMHA Coaches shall acquire coaching certification as required under PCAHA and BC Hockey Rules and Regulations.
2. Failure to meet these requirements shall result in suspension until the required certification is obtained.
3. PCMHA does not pay for repeat clinics, ie. If a coach fails to complete the post-task and is required to redo the clinic – we will not pay for it the second time.
4. Team officials must apply for reimbursement within 30 days of taking the clinic.  No reimbursement will occur after the 30 days.

SECTION H - INJURIES

1. In the event of an injury, the team Manager/Coach shall be responsible to see that all necessary action is taken.If considered necessary, arrangements for transportation and emergency treatment of the player must be made.The team manager must log the nature of an injury on INJURY LOG SHEET and assist parents for filling out the injury forms.
2. All teams must carry an up-to-date first aid kit.  Team manager is responsible for replenishing the stock and can do so by contacting our equipment manager at [email protected].
3. A CHA injury report must be provided to the parents of the injured player and completed as soon as possible.  The parent is responsible for submitting the form to BC Hockey within 90 days and providing a completed copy to the team manager to keep on file for the duration of the season.
4. All injuries must be reported to BC hockey within 90 days. Speak to your team manager for injury forms.

RETURN TO PLAY

Hockey Canada recommends that all players returning to play after injury must get the physician to fill out the form. In consideration to health and safety of a player, PCMHA, requires a physician's note when a player has missed hockey due to injury.  It is the parents’ responsibility to inform the physician if player is involved in full contact hockey, U15 A or U18 A. Due to nature of the injury, the physician will have the better understanding of the injury and the return time will vary.

SECTION I - ICE

1. All ice slots are allocated to meet league requirements.  The Ice Scheduler assigns each team a time that meets league start time and duration requirements.
2. Teams do not own the assigned ice slot.  When necessary, the Ice Scheduler may use any team’s practice time to facilitate a make-up game.  Whenever possible, the affected team will be assigned a replacement practice time.  Team Managers must not use their practice time for exhibition games without first obtaining permission from the Ice Scheduler.
3. Teams in the Hockey 1/2, Hockey 3/4 and Atom divisions will share practice ice with another team in the same division
4. Teams are expected to cooperate with other teams to resolve schedule conflicts.  The Ice Scheduler will intervene if necessary to ensure that all teams are able to meet their obligations.
5. The Ice Scheduler may at their discretion use a team’s ice time to meet Association obligations.  Game slots will be rescheduled.  Practice times are reassigned when possible.
6. It shall be the responsibility of the team Manager or Coach to notify the Ice Scheduler and/or the Division Manager a minimum of 72 hours prior to any scheduled game or practice cancellation.  Failure to do so will result in the team paying for the cost of the ice to PCMHA.  Failure to pay the ice cost will result in the team being suspended from any further practices.
7. The Referee-in-Chief and/or the Referee Allocator must also be notified a minimum of 72 hours prior to cancellation of any game.  Payment of referees by the offending team is still necessary if proper cancellation notice is not given.

SECTION J - TOURNAMENTS/EXHIBITION

1. No team shall play outside the PCAHA jurisdiction until PCMHA and PCAHA approval has been given.  Requests must be presented to the Division Manager who will then conduct a silent vote.  Approval requires a 2/3 majority support of the team parents.
2. Any team wishing to play an exhibition game shall first obtain permission from its League Manager by way of an exhibition game number.
3. In addition, permission must be obtained from the BC Hockey District Director for any exhibition games versus USA Hockey teams, whether at home or away, and permission must be obtained from BC Hockey for any exhibition games versus Canadian teams from other provinces, whether at home or away.
4. A team wishing to participate in any tournament or jamboree must first obtain a tournament permission number from its League Manager.  Also a Letter of Permission from the President must be obtained if requested by the Tournament Host.
5. Failure to acquire proper permission as set out within this section may result in suspension or other disciplinary action against the team official(s) responsible.

SECTION K – EQUIPMENT

1. All property of PCMHA issued to teams within the Association shall be issued to, and therefore become, the sole responsibility of the Coach of the team or his designate, as indicated in writing by the Coach, at the beginning of the year.
2. All property belonging to PCMHA shall be returned to the Equipment Manager in good shape, other than reasonable wear and tear, by no later than April 30^th of the current hockey season.
3. Registration privileges for players or reappointment of team officials not returning registered issued equipment may be withheld for the succeeding season until the equipment or replacement cost is rendered to the Association.
4. On return of all jerseys at the end of the season, the uncashed jersey deposit cheques will be returned to the team official or destroyed as requested.  If a jersey is missing, the jersey deposit cheque for that player will be cashed as compensation for the loss of the jersey.

SECTION L - FINANCIAL

1. All team accounts will be with Van City Savings – Ottawa Street Branch, near Costco
2. All team accounts must be co-signatory accounts (2 signatures).  The rostered team manager must be the 1st signor on the team bank account. The 2nd team signor must be the Head Coach.
3. Confirmation of account numbers and signatories must be provided to the 2^nd Vice-President of the PCMHA by October 31^st of the current hockey year.  Failure to submit financial information will result in the said team not receiving reimbursement of referee fees for the second half of the season.
4. Team managers (in conjunction with coaches) must conduct a budget meeting with parents and submit the budget to the Division Manager prior to November 1^st each year.
5. Team manager (in conjunction with coaches) will estimate the total cost per PLAYER to coincide with the approved budget and conduct a parent meeting to determine how the funds will be collected and/or raised.
6. Teams may collect from parents, fundraising or donation/sponsorship a maximum of $600.00 per player without Executive approval.  Any expenditures or travel plans outside of the $600.00 must first be approved by a team vote (silent vote via ballot) conducted by the Division Manager.  The budget must then be set out in a detailed plan and submitted to the Division Manager for Executive approval.
7. A parent meeting must be held with the Division Manager for all tournaments planned outside of the province.  A silent ballot vote will be conducted by the Division Manager to ensure 75% of families are in favor.  As well, a revised budget must be submitted and approved by the Executive to include the details of all costs to parents prior to the team confirming a place in the tournament.  This must be conducted by an Executive member who does not have a player on the team.
8. The Team Manager must provide the Association 2^nd Vice President and team parents with an interim financial statement setting out the current team financial information by January 1^st in each season and a year end financial statement to both the team parents and the Association 2^nd Vice President by April 1^st in each season.  Email to 2^nd Vice President, [email protected]
9. All fundraising monies not spent by individual teams during the season and all unused referee monies must be returned to the Association at the end of the current hockey year.
10. The Association has a program in place to assist families during times of hardship.  Team managers must advise the 2^nd Vice President of any families that have not yet met their team financial obligations by December 1^st.  Hardship cases are reviewed on an individual basis and if provided are to be used only for registration fees.  Hardship assistance is not provided for payment of team fees nor is it provided for registration or otherwise for rep level players.

SECTION M - FUNDRAISING

1. All fundraising must be cleared through the 2^nd Vice-President in order to avoid overlapping of teams running events in the same neighbourhood at the same time, etc. and to avoid conflicts with our gaming/casino licenses.  Team Managers must complete the Team Fundraising and Financial page by the October 31^st deadline.
2. No team may apply for a Provincial B license for any fundraising activity. By so doing, the Association’s gaming license and proceeds are put at risk.

SECTION N - TEAM APPAREL

1. When purchasing team apparel, official Association colors are to be used.  They are a combination of black, white, purple and silver/grey.
2. The only Association crests that can be used are the PCMHA hockey stick, the round Association crest or the Pirates logo.
3. Custom team logos may be used following Executive Committee approval but must include the approved Association crests as set out in paragraph 2 above.
4. PCMHA requires its teams to wear Association jerseys at all games including exhibition, league, playoff and tournament.  Teams purchasing third jerseys must first obtain approval before ordering.  Requests should be made in writing to the Division Manager for approval from the Executive Committee.  Third jerseys may only be worn for practice.

SECTION O - TEAM DUTIES

1. Bookkeeper/Treasurer – Referee fees will be transferred to teams in two installments based on receipt of the team's financial statements.  Keeping your financial statements up to date and filing on time will result in prompt transfer of referee fees.

2. Keep a proper set of books (no money paid out without a receipt)
   • Provide Association and team parents with an interim financial statement setting out the current team financial information by January 1^st
   • Submit yearend financial statement to 2^nd Vice President by email [email protected]”.  to the Association of PCMHA and parents by April 1^st

3. Exhibition Games
   • As required by team
   • Involves phone/e-mail work
   • Need to arrange referees and ice times for these games
   • Need game numbers

4. Tournaments
   • Need team picture taken and developed right away
   • Apply to tournaments and submit required information ASAP
   • Can require long distance phone work
   • Need to obtain PCAHA and PCMHA approval

5. Accommodations
   • Arrange for appropriate accommodation
   • If traveling to the USA, obtain insurance coverage if your primary insurance does not cover travel.  For more information please visit: http://www.hockeycanada.com/index.php/ci_id/7134/la_id/1.htm

6. Scorekeepers
   • Ensure scorekeepers and timekeepers are scheduled for every home game
   • Responsibility for schedule can be assigned to a parent

7. Score sheets
   • This is important – each score sheet must be mailed to PCAHA within 24 hours of each game without fail.  PCAHA will fine teams who do not adhere to this rule.  Atom Division and higher to submit game sheets via Team Link website.

8. Referees
   • The referee assignor requires 72 hours notice for exhibition games
   • Need to ensure there is a game number and referees for each exhibition game
   • Sign in and pay the referee and linesmen prior to the start of each game
   • Game numbers and referees are pre-assigned for regular season and playoff games
   • Sample “Officials Game Sign-In & Record of Payment” form at end of this manual

9. Fundraising
   • Refer to Section L for specific regulations that team managers must follow
   • Money raised and collected from parents must be reported in your year-end financial statement
   • Fundraising events are not automatically sanctioned and additional insurance is required and may be obtained through BC Hockey.

10. Newsletter
    • Submit newsletter report to PoCo Minor Hockey by November 15^th and February 15^th

11. Newspaper Reports
    • Whenever there is something newsworthy to report please take advantage of the online newspaper team sports reporting system @www.thenownews.com or www.tricitynews.com

12. Dryland Training
    • Ensure you have adequate liability insurance – these are not sanctioned events but you may obtain additional insurance coverage for dryland training through BC Hockey.

13. Team Dress Code
    • As decided by the Coach and/or Manager

14. Socials and Windup Parties
    • Remember, referee monies are held in trust by the team in order to provide payment to the referees and are not to be used for your wind-up party

REMEMBER……………………A GOOD MANAGER IS GOOD AT DELEGATING!

SECTION P - MINOR OFFICIALS

Duties and instructions of minor officials appear in the CHA Rule Book.  This handbook is intended to compliment the information already available and provide additional information when necessary.

Minor officials should know their duties for each game, but should also become familiar with the actual playing rules and regulations.

This knowledge will prove very beneficial in the performance of his or her role.
Scorekeepers should be familiar with most rules and especially those sections which deal with:

1. Players in uniform
2. Starting lineup
3. Captain of team
4. Penalties
5. Minor penalties
6. Bench minor penalties
7. Major penalties and coincidental major penalties
8. Misconduct penalties
9. Game misconduct
10. Match Penalties
11. Delayed penalties

The minor officials are made up of the following:

• Official scorer
• Timekeeper
• Goal judges
• Penalty timekeeper

The responsibilities and functions performed by the minor officials are not minor but rather very important.  Each individual is an integral member of the team.

Remember, you are an official and you must act accordingly, remaining neutral just as the officials on the ice.

The following is a list of the responsibilities carried out by each of the minor officials.

General

• Minor officials are under the supervision of the Referee, who is the final authority and can over-rule any minor official
• Minor officials should refrain from criticizing the work of any other official at any time
• Minor officials should report to the referees’ room before the game and be at their respective positions promptly at the start of the game and between periods
• Appearance is important as you are part of the team
• Concentrate on your job and avoid any unnecessary conversation
• If mistakes are made, report them to the Referee

Official Scorer 

• Obtain the line-up of each team and include the name and number of the Captain and Alternative Captains of each team.  This information must be supplied by the team officials in charge of the teams and the referees should be given this information prior to the start of each game.  The line-up gamesheet.
• At the completion of the game, have the official Game Report signed by each referee.
• If the Official Scorer encounters any difficulty in obtaining line-ups of the teams he should report this to the Referee.
• Shall enter on the “Official Game Report” a correct record of the goals scored, by whom, and to whom assists, if any, are to be credited.
• Shall record all penalties assessed, stating the names and numbers of penalized players, the duration of each penalty, the infraction and the time the penalty was assessed.
• Check the report for date of game, category, division, names of teams, and time of periods.
• Official scorer should deliver the game sheet to the manager of the home team.

Timekeeper

• Shall record the time of the start and finish of each game, and all actual playing time during the game.
• If a player leaves the penalty bench before his time has expired the Penalty Timekeeper shall note the time and notify the Referee, who will stop play as soon as possible.
• In any dispute regarding time, the matter shall be referred to the Referee and his decision is final.
• Stop the clock only on Referee’s whistle and automatically at the end of the period. The clock (time) shall start when the puck is dropped by the official.
• If the goalie is changed, record the time on the game sheet.

PRE-GAME CHECKLIST AND PROCEDURES (OFFICIALSCORER AND TIMEKEEPER)

1. Be at the arena ½ hour – 1 hour prior to game time.

2. PRE-GAME DUTIES
   • Give game sheet to the home team official and check to ensure that a responsible official has signed and that the coach and manager's names appear on the sheet as well as HCSP person.
   • Deliver game sheet to Referee for his approval before the game

3. POST GAME
   • After the game, ensure that the gamesheet is completed – i.e. goals recorded
   • Deliver report to Referee(s) for signature
   • Distribute copies as instructed by the Association

4.  GAMESHEET LANGUAGE
   • Clarity and brevity is important
   • Print clearly and firmly
   • Should develop a standard code so that all information can be recorded

GOALS

• Do not record player’s name but use only his number

Common Code:

• SHG – short handed goal
• PPG – power play goal
• ENG – empty net goal

PENALTY

• record numbers only
• abbreviations are necessary but should standardize these:

When a match penalty has been assessed, enter MATCH on one line and the specific infraction (i.e. kicking, molest official) on the next line.

If a player is ejected from a game as a result of a third stick infraction, enter GAME EJECTION or the abbreviation G EJECT.