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Unless otherwise specified the OMHA Rules of Play apply to all GMHA House league games

A Commitment To Excellence

CONTENTS

GMHA MANDATE

GENERAL RULES FOR ALL DIVISIONS

1. PLAYERS
2. GAMES
3. EQUIPMENT
4. SUSPENSIONS
5. PROTESTS
6. COACHES
7. CONVENORS
8. HOUSE LEAGUE-REP/SELECT RELATIONSHIP
9. FUNDRAISERS AND SPONSORSHIPS
10. PLAYING RULES
11. PENALTY TIMES

DIVISION RULES – PAPERWEIGHT DIVISION

GMHA Mandate

The Guelph Minor Hockey Association (GMHA) is committed to serve each generation of young people in the City of Guelph. Our desire is to provide for the highest interest of everyone involved through the co-operative efforts of the officers, Board of Directors, the coaches and managers, the officials, the parents and the players. The Success of organized hockey has been due to many hundreds of volunteer workers who have contributed their expertise and time to the youth of Guelph.

This handbook is designed to provide a written set of rules and guidelines for the House League Hockey Program.

PLAYERS

• All players must be duly registered and with the Registrar of GMHA and listed on official lists on files with the Division Convenor (Penalty: Forfeit).
• Age limits apply on the age of the player as of January 1^st of the playing season:

• All players shall produce proof of age as issued by the Registrar General’s office in the Province of Ontario or by Birth Certificate of the Province, state or country of birth if born outside of Ontario.
• All players must pay current Registration fees as set by the GMHA annually.
• All players must be properly equipped with full protective equipment for all games and practices.
• Players must not remove any equipment after leaving the dressing room and until returning to the dressing room. This is a safety rule for the players’ protection.
• No players are allowed on the ice until a coach or other team official is present either on the ice or on the bench.
• No team may start a game with less than six players. (Penalty: Forfeit)
• All players are to be played equally – NO EXCEPTIONS!
• Lines are to consist of up to five players. Double shifting (for example a player playing two or more consecutive shifts – or swing shifts between two players) is prohibited. Coaching staff will be subject to discipline action from the President of GMHA for failure to abide by this ruling.
• Separate power play or penalty killing lines are not permitted including during playoffs.
• Coaches are encouraged to give equal opportunity to any player who wishes to play goal, provided safe and adequate equipment is available.
• A player must have taken part in at least two games throughout the regular schedule before they are qualified for the playoffs. (This rule does not apply in the case of ill health).
• Players will be assigned at random to teams at the beginning of each season. To ensure that all players enjoy their experience in minor hockey, adjustments to team rosters (trading players to balance teams) are permitted at any time up to November 30^th of any given season at the discretion of the division convenor.

GAMES

• Teams must be ready to start on time as indicated on the season schedule.
• Home teams designated on the season schedule must provide a trained volunteer time/scorekeeper for a game. (This does not apply to Midget division).
• The time/scorekeeper is responsible to submit completed game sheets to the division convenor for reporting.
• Irrespective of starting time, games must be finished within allotted time as specified on the season schedules.
• Coaches are responsible for ensuring that their players know the scheduled game and practice times during the season.
• Coaches and trainers are not allowed on the ice during games unless requested by the referee to assist an injured player.
• During playoffs, teams tied for points will have a tiebreaker game scheduled by the Division Convenor prior to Championship Day.
• All injuries must be reported immediately to the President of GMHA using the standard OMHA Injury Report (trainers and convenors should have these forms on hand at all games and practices.)
• It is a policy of the GMHA House League to shake hands before each game.
• Practices must stress fundamentals and skill development.

EQUIPMENT

• Coaches are responsible to ensure that their players are properly equipped with full protective equipment for all games and practices. This includes three chinstraps on approved helmets and OMHA approved mouth guards.
• Coaches are responsible for GMHA equipment assigned to their team. This includes ensuring that the equipment is available for use by their players and stored properly between games and practices.
• GMHA team sweaters are to be used only during games. No player may participate on any game without a GMHA sweater (goaltenders are exempted from this rule when allocated sweaters are too small).
• GMHA will not be responsible for broken, lost or stolen equipment not owned by GMHA.
• Coaches/convenors are responsible to return to the GMHA equipment manager all assigned team equipment before April 15 of the playing season or as specified annually by the GMHA. This includes in writing lost or worn equipment needing repair or replacement.
• No jewelry is to be worn (exception: medic alert bracelets and medic alert necklaces).
• Goalies must wear wire cage facemasks (polycarbonate facemasks are prohibited), a BNQ approved neck guard, and separate throat protector tied to the facemask and OMHA approved mouth guards.

SUSPENSIONS

• Any GMHA official, player or parent/guardian shall be suspended by the GMHA Counseling and Disciplinary Committee or Association President, for one or more games for any of the following infractions substantiated by the committee as having been committed during or immediately before or after any game or practice
• Using profane and/or obscene language
• Smoking where prohibited or consuming any alcoholic beverages
• Showing disrespect toward game officials (including volunteer time/scorekeeper) Division Convenor or GMHA Directors. Destruction or abuse of property belonging to the GMHA
• Unsportsman-like conduct on or off the ice
• Theft of property belonging to the GMHA and/or others.
• Absenteeism that exceeds consecutive games or consecutive practices other than due to illness, injury, school work or reason deemed just by the Division Convenor and coach and reviewed by the GMHA executive
• Directors, Co-Directors, Convenors and/or Coaches may suspend players for breach of good conduct, profanity and rules.
• When a suspension is made, the suspending person must report the incident verbally to the President and confirm in writing within 48 hours.
• The suspending Officer shall make every possible effort to notify the parents of the suspended player(s) and must also make the player(s) and parents aware of the regulations as they apply the suspensions and their right to appeal.
• The Counseling and Disciplinary Committee will act in respect to any breach of good conduct on the part of any GMHA member, player, parent or guardian when considered necessary by the President or upon notice whether in writing or personally requested. The committee is empowered to take such disciplinary action as it deems fair and just. In the event of an appeal to the decision of the Committee, the decision will be suspended until the appeal is dealt with. An appeal must be handed in to the President within 48 hours. The decision of the appeal committee will be final.
• Any player from Novice to Atom receiving 3 minor penalties into the same game will receive a Game Ejection penalty. Any player from Minor Peewee to Midget receiving 3 stick infractions or 5 minor penalties will receive a Game Ejection penalty. After 3 such occurrences in the season, the player may be suspended until dealt with by the President and the Counselling and Disciplinary Committee. For the purpose of this rule 10- minute misconducts do not apply.
• When a player receives a gross misconduct or match penalty in house league play, the player will be suspended until dealt with by the OMHA. The President of GMHA must be informed of all such penalties that require suspensions.
• Coaches of all teams shall be responsible for the discipline and behavior of the members of their team before, during and after the game (until the team has left the dressing room).
• A player, coach or other team official ejected from a game for disciplinary reasons must leave the ice vicinity immediately for the dressing room or leave the arena.
• A player or coach under suspension is considered suspended from the GMHA and is not permitted to have any contact or involvement with any team of the GMHA until the expiry of the suspension.
• Parents that verbally abuse coaches/officials will be asked to attend a hearing by the President of the GMHA.

PROTESTS

• Any disputes, protests or grievances must be written on the back of the gamesheet and signed by the coach or convenor involved.
• Protests in writing must be turned in within 24 hours after a game. The protest with supporting evidence must be filed in duplicate with the Division Convenor accompanied by a fee of $5.00. The Division Convenor will forward a copy to the Manager or Coach of the opposing team who will in turn be given 24 hours to file a defense which must be accompanied by a $5.00 fee.
• The Manager or Coach of each team and the Referees must attend the meeting of the Protest Committee. The deposit of $5.00 will be refunded to the Manager or Coach of the team in whose favor the decision of the Protest Committee is made.

COACHES

• Coaches shall be chosen by the Division Convenor and/or GMHA House League Committee through written application procedure and approved by the GMHA Board of Directors.
• The correct names, addresses, phone numbers and positions of proposed volunteer coaches, assistant coaches, managers, trainers, on-ice volunteers or time/scorekeepers must be submitted by the Division Convenors to the GMHA executive to be approved and recorded in the Minutes prior to the start of the playing season. This is to conform, in part, to OMHA insurance regulations.
• Coaches without exception shall be responsible to the Convenor of their respective Division.
• Coaches will not authorize players to go on the ice until the flooding is completed and all gates leading to the ice surface are closed.
• It is strongly recommended that coaches be on hand at least 30 minutes prior to game time, and must remain after the game until all players are clear of the dressing room.
• All officials of the GMHA must familiarize themselves with all rules and regulations as written in the GMHA Constitution. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse for error.
• Playing rules governing the O.M.H.A. shall be recognized by the GMHA.
• No House League Convenors or Coaches shall engage any teams practices or games at home or out of town other than those given on the season schedule without the written approval of the Executive of the GMHA.
• GMHA ice times cannot be used for parent/child or family skating due to insurance regulations.
• Coaches are encouraged to have regular meetings with parents throughout the season.
• An open-air policy that encourages parents and players to freely discuss their concerns is recommended. If a parent or player has a concern or question, they should address this concern first with their Coach to arrive at a solution. If the concern is still un-resolved, then the parent or player and the Coach should meet with the Division Convenor for resolution. The Division Convenor may wish to involve a GMHA Director.
• All House League Coaches are responsible to keep a complete record of money raised or spent, and a copy returned to their Division Convenor twice through out the season, once prior to January 1^st and secondly, prior to May 1^st.
• Any purchases made on behalf of the GMHA must be on a GMHA requisition form available from the Division Convenor or GMHA office.
• Coaches are strongly encouraged to involve parents in the operation of the team including on-ice assistants during practices and as volunteers to help with team activities.
• All House league coaches are required to have their certification for Prevention Services (Speak Out). Coaches should take the OMHA Initiation to Coaching and/or Coaches level certification. All Coaches are encouraged to obtain other certification (e.g. National Trainers Certification Program or National Coaches Certification Advanced levels). Information on the clinics to is available from the GMHA office.
• All House league divisions should have a certified Trainer in the arena during games and practices. Teams are recommended to have individual trainers. Dates of training courses are available from the GMHA office.
• Each coach should have on hand a Medical History card for each player and on ice assistants.

CONVENORS

• Division Convenors and Co-Convenors shall be selected by the GMHA House League Committee and approved by the GMHA Board of Directors.
• Division Convenors/co-convenors are responsible to manage the operations of their respective house league divisions under the rules and guidelines set out by the GMHA Board of Directors.
• A Division convenor (or their designates) is expected to be in attendance at all GMHA games and practices on the season schedule for their division.
• Division convenors are responsible to ensure that all coaches are aware of the season schedules, and the House League rules and regulations.
• Convenors are responsible to ensure that the time/scorekeeper has a game sheet available prior to the official start of the game.
• Division convenors (or their designates) are responsible to report the results of games and the team standings weekly at the arena where games are played. Individual player statistics (goals, assists, penalties and/or total points) are optional but recommended.
• Division Convenors (or their designates) are responsible to report the results of games including final score, names of players scoring goals and receiving assists to the GMHA Administrative Assistant.
• Division convenors are expected to attend monthly meetings of the GMHA Board of Directors during the Hockey season.
• All Division Convenors are responsible to keep a complete record of money raised or spent, and acopy returned to the Director Finance (Treasurer) twice throughout the season, once, prior to January 1^st and secondly, at the end of each year prior to May 1^st. Any purchases made on behalf of GMHA must be on a GMHA requisition form.

• Prior to Rep team tryouts, Convenors may submit names of players in their division to the Rep Team Manager who could appear to merit try-out with such team.
• Coaches must submit a list of players no later than the last game of the regular schedule whose ability merits a trial with a Rep team in the following season.
• Players of House League who are selected to play for the Rep Team of their age group may continue to play for their respective House League teams when:
• no replacement is sent by the Rep Team to the House League team, and when
• the transfer of said selected player take place after December 31.
• An agreement must be made between the Rep team and House League Coaches, Convenors and one elected officer of GMHA. If only 15 players are carded, the Rep Team may add and card up to 19 players before December 31^st. If they wish any of these players to remain permanently with the Rep Team with or without returning a player to house league, consideration must be given to the player and their house league team and convenor. If a mutual agreement cannot be reached a meeting between the House League and Rep convenors and the President will be held, and they will make the final decision.
• Selection of House League players to play on Select teams will be done to be fair to all teams in their division. Coaches must be notified if nominations to the Select team of their Division and the Convenor must approve any nominations.
• Commitments to Select team (travel time, games or practices) cannot interfere or compromise a player’s commitment to their House League team unless approved prior by the GMHA Directors.

FUNDRAISERS AND SPONSORS

• Coaches and Convenors must obtain approval from the Fundraising Committee and the GMHA Board of Directors prior to soliciting funds from the public.
• Coaches are expected to contact and update team sponsors of upcoming events such as tournaments, Championship Day or team social events. All correspondence is to be completed through the GMHA office.
• Coaches, team officials and convenors are prohibited from approaching and /or soliciting further sponsorship support (e.g. money, hats or other clothing) from their team or other potential sponsors.
• No team jackets, crests, trophies, pennants or other articles shall be purchased, presented or displayed in any manner in the name of or bearing the name of Guelph Minor Hockey Association without first receiving their approval and authorization of the Association Board of Directors.
• Any person who has spent moneys without the permission of the Officers and/or Executive shall not be reimbursed for same.

• Teams must get permission to attend a tournament after April 1st from the house league committee.
• Guelph Minor Hockey Week/Day is the only officially scheduled tournament sponsored by GMHA.
• Prior to House League playoffs, Division Convenors and their coaching staff shall be guided by their allotted ice times to determine and assure two team finalists to compete and declare a Division Champion on Championship Day.

• The rules of hockey are governed by the OMHA (through the OHF and the CAHA). If the rule is not noted here or there is doubt, follow the guidelines in the current edition of the OMHA playing Rules, Issued every season)
• No body checking in Atom division and below. The OMHA guideline will be used.
• It is recommended that the following times for games are used with the allotted game timeslot.
• 10,10,10 stop time - Novice to Minor Midget.
  Midget 3-20 minute periods, run time, a 5 minute warm up and a flood after the 2nd period. Except for the last 3 minutes of the 3rd period which is run time
• Time-outs will not be permitted during the regular season and team is allowed 1 time-out during the playoffs.
• All players must wear and approved BNQ neck protector and OMHA approved mouth guards. Goaltenders must wear the approved neck protector, mouth guard and a separate protector attached to the helmet/face mask.
• All helmets must a chinstrap plus a full-face mask with the two additional straps (CSA approved) and they must be securely fastened. If the helmet is missing any of these parts, the player cannot play or practice. If a major penalty is assessed, the player receiving the infraction will be ejected from the game. This includes goaltenders!
• Substitute players must serve the major (if they are not co-incidental). Player changes must include player(s) in the penalty box when a play is whistled stop. This applies only to major and /or match penalties.

• Minor - 2 min (stop-time), 3 min (straight-time)
• Major - 5 min (stop-time), 7 min (straight-time)
• Misconduct - 10 min (stop-time), 12 min (straight-time)
• Game Misconduct - Remainder of game or minimum one game suspension after second period
• Gross Misconduct - Remainder of game plus minimum of two game suspensions. Player will be required to appear in front of Counseling and Disciplinary committee.
• Match Penalty - Remainder of game plus minimum established from the OMHA. Player will be required to appear in front of Counseling and Disciplinary committee.

DIVISION RULES – PAPERWEIGHT DIVISION

As an entry-level age group for organized hockey, the Paperweight Division (ages under 7 years old) will be conducted using the CHA "Chips Program". The following may apply to assist the young hockey player to learn the rules of play gradually.

• Coaches will design their player lines according to their skill level and only lines of the same level will play against each other during games.
• Coaches are allowed to move a player to a line at a higher level but not to a lower level during a game.
• A three-minute buzzer will signal a change in lines of players. The entire line must leave the ice to maintain the matched skill line system.
• Coaches are allowed on the ice to assist their players determining their positions during the first three games of the regular season schedule.
• Players receiving a minor penalty will sit out only the remainder of their three-minute shift.
• There is no stop time in this division unless directed by a game official for an injured player. A normal game consists of three 15-minute continuous time periods (the last period may be shortened or lengthened to make up for lost time or extra time in the timeslot).
• A team is allowed to carry up to 19 players. Lines are to consist of up to 6 players each including Center defense.