Fall Youth Reg Open and More!!

[SB Youth Hockey]

Greetings Youth Hockey Fans!

Thanks for your patience, Youth League Fall Registration is now OPEN !!!!

But don't go happy-finger-clicking just yet, there's much new to report. So read on.

## New Website ##

If you have bookmarked links in the past, they will probably be broken. Please surf to http://www.sbhockey.com/ and use the navigation bar below the logo banner. For Youth, select Leagues > Youth > and then the link for Season Information and Registration.

## USA Roller Sports / AAU Registration ##

Goodbye USA Hockey Inline, Hello AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)! We are now sactioned by the AAU. Your player will now register with AAU, not USA Hockey. Details are on our website. The registration period is the same, though the cost has dropped from $30 to $14.

## 501c(3) Status for SBHA ##

With AAU sanctioning comes 501c(3) tax deductible status. So it you were looking to make that big donation to something you love, look no further!

## Revised Player Division Placement ##

Also known as following the rules. We have a growing number of players wanting to "play up" a Division. This creates all kinds of challenges balancing teams & divisions, and many opportunities for hurt feelings. Primary Division placement will revert to birth year rules, which means that the player's age on December 31 of each year determines the division. The revised player registration process will not allow for self-selection of division. Once all players are registered, we will review requests for out-of-division placement.

## Best for last - dedicated management coming to Youth League ##

Glad you made it this far. Over the past three years Youth League participation has grown dramatically. We are now able to field all four age divisions in our Rec Leagues, Champion Varsity and Junior Varsity High School Team and now are starting an Independent Study Physical Education program in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. For Youth Hockey in Santa Barbara to continue to grow, we need a person whose job it is to continue to grow the program.

To that goal, SBHA is engaging Zach Barrett. Some of you may know Zach from coaching our High School teams. Zach has 17 years of hockey experience, including Jr. A, private instruction, and league management. Zach will "cut his teeth" with the ISPE program forming up, and transition into general Youth League operations. He has boundless enthusiasm and drive, and is a welcome addition to our Youth League! Stayed tuned for the next chapter in SBHA Youth Hockey!

And as always, I'll see you at the Rink! - Kirk