Dear CYHA Families,
With the approval to begin playing hockey games by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we are writing to let you know that Charlestown Youth Hockey will be finalizing team rosters and anticipating that CYHA teams will begin play, some teams as soon as September 8.
CYHA is an all-volunteer organization and your players health and safety are paramount to us. We have heard that many of you would like your children to play this year. As the State has allowed youth hockey to move forward, we want to carefully roll out programs in phases while staying responsive to changes within our community regarding COVID-19.
We have constructed this email to be as informative as possible, but we ask you to understand all of this is still being implemented and subject to change. We will be as timely as possible with changes to schedules, restrictions and expected behavior from players and families. Our expectation is that families will be mindful of best public health practices, strictly adhere to the Mass Hockey guidance (see next section) and know that many things are beyond the control of CYHA. Please read the sections below.
Modified Game Play and League Play for the Valley Hockey League and Middlesex Yankee Girls Hockey League
Charlestown fields teams in both the Valley Hockey League (VHL) and Middlesex Yankee Girls Hockey League (MYGHL). Game Play will be modified to minimize contact and there are significant restrictions on players and families at rinks. Please take a moment to read the Mass Hockey guidelines: The guidelines of Mass Hockey
The VHL has informed us that they intend to begin playing scheduled games in September. Older age tiers (e.g. Midget, Bantam, Peewee) will start first and younger players in weeks to follow. Families should expect the scheduling to be fluid for CYHA teams in the early weeks of the year as the VHL ensures that the
The MYGHL will also begin play in September. CYHA teams can expect scheduling to be fluid and our U10, U12, U14 and older teams are not likely to begin league play until late September.
Team Rosters & Evaluations
We will be finalizing rosters very soon and letting families know of their players team assignments. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, CYHA was unable to complete all of our scheduled evaluation sessions. CYHA has long been committed to fair and data-driven assessments of hockey players to ensure they are placed on a team that best fits them for hockey development, fun and safety. For teams that still require some evaluation to assign players, we will hold a final evaluation session. You will be contacted if your player should attend the session.
USA Hockey Registration - Mandatory
Your player cannot practice or play without a USA Hockey registration number. Please go to this website - https://membership.usahockey.com/ and register your player. Forward the confirmation email you receive to
.
Rink Opening, rink safety and practices
We expect our rink to open in late September. The safety protocols and rink utilization due to COVID are the direct responsibility of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) as rink owner. Over the next weeks we will be working with DCR- to discuss their guidelines and how they will roll out these procedures for both practices and games at our home rink. The guidelines of Mass Hockey will be our baseline as we work to go above and beyond their standards where we can. Either way, all of us must adhere to the rules to make sure our season has a chance of working.
As for practice, restrictions on the number of players in the rink at a given time will have direct effects on our traditional practice schedules. We will be working to get a schedule that is fair to all teams as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience as we work to make the launch of this decidedly challenging youth hockey season a success. Feel free to direct any questions to
The CYHA Board
