Policies

The Oklahoma City Youth Hockey Association (OKCYHA) desires to have clear and transparent policies and procedures that are reasonable and intended to enhance the overall hockey experience for parents and players while denoting general practices, policies and standards in which the entire OKCYHA membership should align. The primary goal of OKCYHA is to create a safe, positive atmosphere in which players can grow individually, as part of a team and within the sport of hockey.

OKCYHA offers multiple programs, and while individual programs have some specific criteria and structure around them, the following are general expectations for parents and players associated with OKCYHA:

• To abide by the OKCYHA Team (as prescribed by coaches) and Association rules, Code of Conduct and Ethics (refer to the document for detailed information), as well as USA Hockey and TAHA (Texas Amateur Hockey Association) rules of Conduct and Ethics
• To be sure the player is at all practices, games and team functions unless you have an excused absence by the coach
• To pay all annual dues and fees associated with both Oklahoma City Youth Hockey Association and your individual program and team
• The OKCYHA Board of Directors reserve the right to adjust the per player cost to cover the expenses of any empty roster spots for any program
• Players may not be on the roster of another Association’s Travel Ice Hockey Team unless approved in writing by the OKCYHA Board of Directors
• Players will play only for their rostered OKCYHA team during their season unless expressed written permission is given by the team head coach and OKCYHA Board
• Parent(s) and Player(s) are fully committed to their team(s) at the point of accepting a roster position. Disciplinary actions, such as but not limited to, limited ice time, suspensions, removal from team roster(s), etc, will be enforced on a case-by-case basis when actions are taken that are in conflict with team commitment

As members of OKCYHA, players and parents agree to allow OKCYHA to publish information about the player via its web site, social media outlets, tournament and game programs, association brochures, and other publications associated with youth hockey events in which the Oklahoma City Youth Hockey Association participates, and may include but is not limited to:

• Player First Name
• Player Last Name
• Jersey Number
• Position
• Hometown
• Headshot Photo
• Team(s) affiliation

Photos of player during games, practices, meetings, and related off-ice activities such as team parties, fund-raisers, traveling & tourist events related to an OKCYHA trip/activity are also included in this publication of information policy.

OKCYHA understands that social media (including but not limited to Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) is a popular communication tool for players, parents and coaches. OKCYHA is also aware that social media is a venue where inappropriate behavior and misconduct can occur. There are multiple risks associated with the use of social media. In an effort to guard against these risks, OKCYHA members agree to abide by the following:

• Video recording devices including voice, still camera, video or phone cameras are prohibited in all locker room areas.
• Players and parents will refrain from posts/tweets that are threatening, embarrassing, insulting or disparaging to other players, parents, coaches, officials, Board Members or other volunteers.

Violation of the social media expectations above will result in disciplinary review and OKCYHA families agree to accept any discipline resulting from violation of these posted expectations.

OKCYHA is under the purview of the USA Hockey SafeSport Program. This program provides guidelines for off-ice safety to include but not limited to: Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Screening, Locker Room Supervision and Hazing Policies.

For more information about USA Hockey SafeSport program, visit their site here. Any violations of these guidelines will result in disciplinary action by OKCYHA to the offending individual be it a player or parent. OKCYHA has a zero tolerance rule when it comes to player safety and preventing abuse and misconduct. By accepting membership into OKCYHA families agree to abide by these rules and accept any discipline resulting from violation of said rules.

Fees associated with OKCYHA and its various programs can be divided into five main categories: Association Fees, Program Fees, Team Fees, Travel Expenses and Apparel Fees. Payment of all fees below is required to stay in good standing with the association

Association Fees

These are fees paid directly to OKCYHA for membership, program and operational expenses and are generally embedded in Program Fees. These can include items such as operational expenses, registration and other overhead related expenses necessary to carry on the daily business activities of the association. Individuals wishing to be a member of the association but do not participate in a program may pay a one-time $50 fee for membership

Program Fees

OKCYHA offers various programs with fees that differ by program and age group. These fees are paid as part of the registration process for a particular program. These fees cover items such as, but not limited to: ice usage, league fees, referees and scorekeepers. Options generally include paid in full and a structured payment plan. Visit any of the program specific pages on our site under Beginner Programs, House, Travel and Training to get specific fee details for a particular program. Program fees for Fall programs (Travel Program and Fall House Hockey) are due in full by December 31st of the applicable calendar year. Program fees for Spring and Summer programs are due based upon program communications.

Team Fees

Team fees are primarily associated with our travel program teams but can extend to our house and house plus development programs in certain circumstances. These fees are paid directly to a team manager/treasurer and are set by each individual team to cover specific costs associated to them. These fees, which are not included in the Association Fees or Program Fees indicated above, could include but not be limited to items such as tournament fees, referee fees for non-league games and team activities.

Team Fees will also include the collection of coaches’ fees and travel expenses. All coaches within OKCYHA are volunteers and do not receive a salary for their positions. These expenses are generally applicable only to our travel teams but can extend to our house and house select programs in certain circumstances. Please review the Coaches Operational Costs section of this document for more details.

Travel Expenses

Each family is responsible for providing the expenses for their player to travel, whether it is across the city or across the US. This may include hotel, airfare, bus fair, etc. These fees are primarily associated with our travel program teams but can extend to our house and house select programs in certain circumstances.

Apparel Fees

Apparel fees are primarily associated with our travel program teams but can extend to our house and house select programs as well under certain circumstances. Apparel for our house and house select programs are generally included in the program price. Our travel programs have different apparel requirements that must be fulfilled. Below is a list on the minimum required apparel and a description of each. These items are not included in the Program Fees for our travel programs. OKCYHA is not partnered with nor endorses a particular equipment provider

OKCYHA is a member association of TAHA (Texas Amateur Hockey Association) and USA Hockey at the Tier II level. As such player rostering practices are handled via the Community-Based model as defined by TAHA and USA Hockey. For any players wishing to be considered to participate in an OKCYHA program that are outside of the Edmond/OKC local community, this policy must be strictly adhered to, completed and approved by TAHA and OKCYHA prior to tryouts for any program. An excerpt from the posted policy in the current TAHA guidebook is below. For the full policy, please refer to the guidebook posted at www.tahahockey.org.

Tier II (Community-Based): A Youth Tier II Organization is an established TAHA member association in good standing that has fielded teams at 14U, 16U, 18U age divisions for the prior two (2) consecutive seasons. All Tier II teams shall be community based as stated by USA Hockey and TAHA. Tier II community-based teams shall only include in-State players whose family’s domicile or permanent residence is in the same local community of the registered TAHA member association’s home rink. Commuting or other players whose guardian resides in Texas/Oklahoma but outside of the community where the member association’s home rink is located are not eligible for a Tier II team based outside of the family’s domicile. No billeted or out-of-state players are allowed to be rostered on a Tier II team. If a player does not have a Tier II team in his local community, such player may petition to play for the next closest community that does have a Tier II team in the appropriate age division. Such petition shall include the age division for the upcoming season, address of family’s domicile or permanent residence, address of nearest rink, name of organization and level of team from prior season, and name/address of organization and level of team that is being requested for the upcoming season. All such information shall be submitted to TAHA’s Travel Section President.

Ice Scheduling is an important aspect to the success of our hockey programs. There are also many other programs that need to utilize the ice that we have available here in OKC as efficiently as possible so all programs can succeed.

Each team within OKCYHA is responsible for utilizing all of their available ice before their season is over. However, we realize that conflicts and issues will arise at times that will require the need to modify the schedule. This is where we need the help from all coaches and team managers. There are four primary scenarios for which to account: exchanging a practice with another team, moving a scheduled practice to another date/time, cancelling a practice and adding an ice time.

All scheduling of games/practices MUST go through the association ice scheduler to ensure all applicable personnel are aware and all USA Hockey rules are adhered to

Exchanging practices with another team

When two teams need to exchange/swap existing scheduled ice times, the following needs to occur:

• Team Coaches and Managers agree on what dates and times to exchange their scheduled ice time
• Team coach or manager emails scheduling@okcyouthhockey.com, including the other team coach and manager with the following details
• Subject line – Practice Ice Exchange Request for <TEAM 1> and <TEAM 2>. An example would be:
• Practice Ice Exchange Request for 12U Dev and 14U Dev
• Email content – include the dates, rinks, times and who is taking the ice that you would like to switch in the body of the email. For example:
• We would like to switch practice ice times for the 12U Dev and 14U Dev teams on the following dates:
• August 1, 2016 – Blazers Ice Centre at 7:30, 12U Dev will be taking this ice from 14U Dev
• August 3, 2016 – Arctic Edge Ice Arena West at 7:30, 14U Dev will be taking this ice from 12U Dev

This notification needs to occur as early as possible but at least 2 days prior to the first scheduled ice time to change to allow for the rinks and the association to make the appropriate updates. Unless you hear something back the expectation is that the exchange is approved as it doesn’t result in any net change of ice allocation with the rinks.

Moving a scheduled practice

When a team need to move an existing scheduled ice time, the following needs to occur:

• Team Coaches and Managers agree on what dates and times to move their scheduled ice time from
• Team coach or manager emails scheduling@okcyouthhockey.com with the following details
• Subject line – Practice Ice Move Request for <TEAM 1>. An example would be:
• Practice Ice Move Request for 14U Travel
• Email content – include the date(s), rink(s), time(s) for the practice(s) to be moved, the reason for the move, and an ideal time frame you would like the practice moved to. For example:
• We would like to move practice ice times for the 14U Travel team as described below:
• August 1, 2016 – Blazers Ice Centre at 7:30 
• Team is traveling for a tournament that day
• Would like to move to the week after if possible

This notification needs to occur 30 days in advance. This will allow for the rinks and the association to make the appropriate updates and ensure that the ice is available. A response will go back out to the requesting team once it is determined if the move request can occur or to ask additional follow up questions if there are conflicts that can’t be resolved. Until a confirmation is received, the requesting team should still expect to keep their original ice time.

Cancelling a scheduled practice

Canceling a practice is not possible. If the practice has not been swapped with another team or the practice has not been moved, the team is expected to attend at the assigned time. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of that practice time.

Adding an ice time

When a team wants to add an additional scheduled ice time, the following needs to occur:

• Team Coaches and Managers agree on what dates and times to add their scheduled ice time to/from
• Team coach or manager emails scheduling@okcyouthhockey.com with the following details
• Subject line – Ice Addition Request for <TEAM 1>. An example would be:
• Practice Ice Addition Request for 14U Travel
• Email content – Include a rough timeframe you would like to have the practice. Rink and exact date/time will be assigned by the scheduler
• We would like to add practice ice times for the 14U Travel team. Is there any availability in the next 2 weeks?

This notification needs to occur as early as possible to ensure ice can be secured. A 1 to 2 week lead time is preferred. This will allow for the rinks and the association to make the appropriate updates and ensure that the ice is available. A response will go back out to the requesting team once it is determined if the addition request can occur or to ask additional follow up questions if there are conflicts that can’t be resolved. Until a confirmation is received, the requesting team should not expect that the requested ice is available.

COACH TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT POLICY

This is to include the Head Coach and up to 2 Assistant Coaches

Travel Miles: There is no travel miles reimbursement for home games or practices.

Coaches will be reimbursed for travel miles for games and tournaments when the destination is in excess of 45 miles from Oklahoma City. Travel miles will be reimbursed at a rate of $0.075 per mile and gas reimbursement at the rate of 20 mpg with the price of gas being determined by the manager. Mileage is calculated by taking the mileage from BLAZERS ICE CENTRE to the hotel and back plus the mileage from the hotel to the rink multiplied by the number of trips needed for the games.

Teams shall be responsible for reimbursing their coach’s out-of-area travel expenses as follows:

Regular Season Games, Friendlies and Tournaments: 

Travel to League games in excess of 45 miles (90-mile round trip) from Oklahoma City shall be covered by the team. 

Meals and Incidental Expenses (IE):

The per diem for meals and IE can only be claimed for trips in excess of 45 miles. Meals will be paid on a per diem basis if $50/day based on the following breakdown:

• Breakfast = $12/day
• Lunch = $16/day
• Dinner = $22/day
• IE: up to $5/day

Per Diem Guidelines:

• In the event that the coach does not leave for an event until after breakfast (9:00am), or after lunch (1:00pm), he/she cannot charge the team a full day's per diem.
• When returning from an event, the coach can only claim the meals that he was traveling during or missed, rather than the full day. (i.e.: After > 9:00 am = Breakfast, After > 1:00pm = Lunch and After > 6:00pm = Dinner)
• The daily per diem allowance cannot be rolled over into the next day. If a team pays for a coach’s meal, the coach cannot claim his/her per diem for that meal. If, for example, breakfast is included in the daily hotel rate, then a team is not responsible for paying for that meal.

Lodging:

The per diem rate for lodging shall be whatever lodging arrangements are made at the “team hotel.” With team approval, other arrangements may be made but the coach shall not be reimbursed in excess of the “team hotel” rate. Only the costs of overnight accommodation are covered. The coach is responsible for any miscellaneous expenses. In most cases, the Head Coaches hotel should be comped by the “team hotel.”

Transportation:

For long distance travel requiring airfare, the team shall pay for the coach’s airfare and necessary car rental fees and gasoline.  

Payment Schedule:

Coaches should work with the Team Manager when booking coach travel expenses. The manager should approve any reimbursements. The manager should maintain all coach travel expense receipts.

Assistant Coaches:

If the team has one assistant coach, then that Assistant Coach is reimbursed under the same guidelines/policies as reimbursement for the head coach. If there are 2 assistant coaches, each assistant coach is entitled to 50% reimbursement for their travel under the above policy.

It is possible that during the course of a program, some players may be asked to move to another team within that program. These moves can be for a variety of reasons. Coaches, Parents and players agree to the following in the event that a player move is requested:

• First and foremost to be respectful and cognizant for the well-being of the player in question
• Open and honest dialogue between the coach and parent about reasons for the move request have previously been completed
• Respectfully consider the player move requested by the OKCYHA coaching staff and meet with coaching staff and board representatives (as required)
• If all parties are in agreement on the move, join the new team as soon as possible, and work with other players on that team for the success of the team and players
• In the event of a disagreement on the move, no parties will disparage the others throughout the process. An OKCYHA board member will be assigned as an arbitrator for the situation to resolve
• Program Fees may be adjusted due to different fees on the new team

Players will be considered not in good standing that are delinquent on paying ANY of the fees mentioned in the Association and Program Fees section of this document. Any player in this status, WILL NOT be allowed to participate in any team event (including practices, league or scrimmage games, team events and tournaments) until all delinquent fees are brought current or a mutually agreed upon payment plan is created and executed. For players participating on an OKCYHA travel program, any accounts not in good standing by December 15th of the current program year could result in the player being permanently removed from the official team roster and suspended from all OKCYHA activities associated with that program.

Player releases from the various OKCYHA programs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. All financial obligations must be met before any releases are considered.

OKCYHA operates under a no refund policy for any fees or payments associated with OKCYHA activities and programs.

As a non-profit organization, OKCYHA will offer conditional, partial refunds for certain situations where excess fees were collected for a particular team within a program. Partial refunds in this situation will only be made once all accounts are brought current and all team associated financial obligations have been met.

Partial refunds will not be considered for teams that do not properly manage or chose to not use all allocations afforded to them via their program fees by the end of their scheduled season.

Partial refunds for medical reasons will be assessed on a case by case basis and will remain confidential between the player and OKCYHA board.

The parents/player associated with an OKCYHA account is responsible for and will pay any attorney fees associated with collection of unpaid fees. A $35.00 charge will be added to the player’s OKCYHA account for a returned check.