Cyclones will be following USA hockey guidelines regarding the Neck Lacerations Protectors requirement.

USA Hockey will require the use of neck laceration protection on August 1, 2024, for players in all age classifications, except adults, in games and practices – as well as for on-ice officials under the age of 18. 

See link to read more from USA hockey regarding the requirement.

https://www.usahockey.com/playersafety

POLICY: NWHL and CUHL House Priority Placement

Northwest Hockey League (NWHL) policy states that priority placement of players on Fall rosters will be given to players based on their date of registration. So, in situations when NWHL or CUHL House rosters are full, as determined by the Cyclones Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), the determining factor as to whether or not a player is placed on a NWHL or CUHL House roster or is cut, will be the date of registration.

Additionally, Cyclones Hockey policy is that in instances where a returning Cyclones player (which is defined as a player who was registered and played the previous Fall hockey season with the Cyclones or Jr. Cyclones Travel or Jr. Cyclones Hockey Prep), and who is registered for the upcoming Fall season as a Travel (CUHL Travel, NIHL, Central States) player and who is cut after Travel tryouts will be granted priority placement on NWHL or CUHL House teams over a "new" Cyclones NWHL or CUHL House player (defined as a player who was not registered and did not play the previous Fall season with the Cyclones or Jr. Cyclones Travel or Jr. Cyclones Hockey Prep) and who is registered for the upcoming season, regardless of when each player registered.

In situations where there is a returning Cyclones player who is registered for the upcoming Fall season as a Travel player and who is cut after Travel tryouts and a returning Cyclones player who is registered for the upcoming Fall season as a NWHL or CUHL House player, priority placement on NWHL and CUHL House teams will be given to players based on their registration date.

In situations where there is a "new" Cyclones player who has registered for the upcoming Fall season as a Travel player and gets cut from Travel tryouts and a "new" Cyclones player who has registered for the upcoming Fall season as a NWHL or CUHL House player, priority placement on NWHL and CUHL House teams will be given to players based on their registration date.

In situations where there is a "new" Cyclones player who has registered for the upcoming Fall season as a Travel player and gets cut after Travel tryouts and a returning Cyclones player who has registered for the upcoming Fall season as a NWHL or CUHL House player, priority placement on NWHL and CUHL House teams will be given to the returning Cyclones player.

GOALIE DISCOUNT VS. FULL SKATERS FEE POLICY

Currently, Cyclones Programming allows for players at all levels, Mite through Midget, who register as Goalies to receive a discounted fee for both Fall and Spring seasons. Players who register as Skaters (forwards and defensemen) at all levels, Mite through Midget, do not receive a discount and are obligated to pay a full fee for both Fall and Spring seasons.

There is an assumption that is made by the Cyclones that once players register as Goalies that they will play that position exclusively throughout the season and therefore are entitled to the Goalie Discount. There is also an assumption that is made by the Cyclones that once players register as Skaters that they will play those positions exclusively throughout the season and therefore are obligated to pay the full Skater's fee for the levels in which they participate.

If, at some point after Registration,

1. a Goalie decides to become a Skater exclusively or would rather be a Skater or

2. a Goalie or his parent(s) make a request or are encouraged by his Coach, the Cyclones Hockey Director or any other Cyclones representative, that on his/her team, he/she play both as a Goalie and as a Skater or

3. a Skater or his parent(s) make a request or are encouraged by his Coach, the Cyclones Hockey Director or any other Cyclones representative, that on his/her team, he/she play both as a Skater and as a Goalie.

then these players shall be responsible for the full Skater's fee at the level in which they participate and are not entitled to receive the Goalie Discount.

*Also, it is important to note that players who play just one game as a skater shall be obligated to pay the full player's fee.

**In situations where there are two goalies on a team that has an adequate number of Skaters and that because of injuries, illnesses and/or absenteeism's this team experiences a significant shortage of skaters, it would be permissible for a Goalie to play as a Skater until an adequate number of Skaters return to the line-up.

All Cyclones teams must wear the uniform that is provided to them or that the members are instructed to purchase, both home and away, by the Cyclones Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). The Cyclones uniform consists of a jersey (home, predominantly white and away, predominantly dark blue), socks (home and away), helmet (dark blue or black), pants (dark blue or black), shells (navy with gold stripe) and gloves (dark blue or black).

A Cyclones team cannot, at any time during the course of a Fall or Spring season and on its own accord, create a third jersey with the intention of wearing that jersey during any exhibition, outdoor, regular season, tournament or playoff game unless they have the express written consent from the Cyclones Hockey

Slush Fund Policy

A slush fund is a monetary fund established at the beginning of the season by the team manager, the amount of which shall be determined by the manager and head coach based on the number of local and out-of-state tournaments the team shall attend, to cover team expenses that are not covered by a player’s season fees. Included, but not limited, in the slush fund amount shall be tournament entry fees, referee and ice fees for scrimmages, entry fees for Blackhawk Cup round robin, if applicable, team parties, coach’s lodging for out-of-town league games and/or tournaments where a free coach’s room is not available or attainable, coaches’ gifts, raffle baskets, team equipment and team supplies. Each player shall be responsible for the payment of their proportionate share of the slush fund within the timeframe established by the manager.

Most slush funds do not exceed $500 per player. Anything greater than $500 need to be approved and voted on by Cyclones Board unless approved by a 2/3 majority of the team, one vote per player. All players on a team are expected to participate and pay their equal and proportionate share of the slush fund, regardless of the player’s participation in the tournaments selected. A player’s failure to pay any portion of the slush fund established shall be deemed in violation of the Cyclones Financial Policy and subject to any and all remedies and repercussions contained therein, including, but not limited to removal of the player from the ice during practices and/or games.

If the head coach has a player on the team, the team shall not be responsible for the head coach’s lodging, if a free room for the head coach is not available or attainable. If the head coach has a player on another team attending the same tournament, the team shall not be responsible for the head coach’s lodging, if a free room for the head coach is not available or attainable. The slush fund shall not be used for a coach’s mileage, meals, gas, airfare or rental car.

The manager may require additional amounts from the players should the slush fund become depleted. Said amounts shall be paid in a timely fashion as determined by the manager and failure to pay any portion of the additional amounts required shall be a violation of this and the Cyclones Financial Policy.

The manager shall track all expenses paid through the slush fund and any unspent funds shall be refunded to the players after the season along with a final accounting.

JERSEY NUMBERING POLICY

The Cyclones jersey number policy is that each player will have their unique jersey number for their tenure at the Cyclones.

Due to limited availability, specific number requests and number changes will NOT be considered. In most cases, returning players will retain their fall jersey number; see possible exceptions below.

Please note, if you are new to fall Cyclones hockey and do not have a number assigned to you, you do not need to wait to order your jerseys and/or warm ups. Numbers will be assigned automatically and placed on the items you order.

Possible number changes:

Our current policy is that travel jersey numbers are different from NWHL jersey numbers within the same birth year. However, over the years we have exhausted our unique numbers in some birth years and have had to assign the same number to skaters in travel and NWHL programs. Players moving from NWHL to travel or from travel to NWHL may have to switch numbers based on availability. These situations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Cyclones are not responsible for jersey, warm-ups, spirit wear, garment or hockey bag replacements if you are required to switch numbers. If the situation arises that both players were at the same travel or NWHL level the prior season but not on the same team and this year they are on the same team, then we will resort to seniority (year in which the number was first assigned) as documented in the apparel records.

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Privacy Policy

Under USA Hockey’s current Locker Room Policy “all USA Hockey Member Programs are required to have at least one responsible [NCSI screened and SafeSport trained] adult (which may include coaches, managers or other volunteers) present at all times and monitoring the locker room during all team events to assure that only Participants (coaches and players), approved team personnel and family members are permitted in the locker room and to supervise the conduct in the locker room.” While USA Hockey expressly prefers that locker room monitors remain inside the locker room while Participants are present, if the monitor is “in the immediate vicinity outside the locker room (near the door within arm’s length and so that the monitor can sufficiently hear inside the locker room) who also regularly and frequently enters the locker room to monitor activity inside,” the Member Program is in compliance.

Despite this policy, however, more than half of all SafeSport incidents reported each year occur in locker rooms. In all but a few cases, there was no locker room monitor present.

AHAI believes that presence of adults inside the locker rooms is critical to maintaining a safe and positive environment for our players. For this reason, Illinois is joining the many states that have imposed stricter locker room monitoring requirements than those required by USA Hockey. 

Effective immediately, the following conditions are REQUIRED of all AHAI Affiliates for locker room use at all team events including conditioning clinics, tryouts, practices, games and any event that a locker room is being utilized: 

·         No players shall be allowed access to the locker room unless a NCSI background screened/Safe Sport trained locker room monitor is present in the locker room. 

·         If a single player is present, the locker room should be monitored by at least two adults until additional players arrive.

·         If there is only one adult present, whether a coach or volunteer parent, they should wait for multiple players to arrive before allowing access to the locker room.

·         The same strategies should be applied after practice with a monitor staying until the last player leaves, and at no time should one adult be alone in the locker room with one player, unless the player is their own child.

This policy applies to all minor USA Hockey Participants up through the youth 18U level and through girls 19U level. It should be noted that an Affiliate may at its discretion adopt stricter policies than those defined by USA Hockey or AHAI, but in no case may said policy be less strict. Affiliates found in violation of this policy will be sanctioned automatically, under Zero Tolerance, in the following manner starting December 1, 2023:

1st team offense: $500 fine to the Affiliate and one game suspension to the head coach

2nd team Offense: $1000 fine to the Affiliate and 3 game suspension to the head coach.

Any additional offenses will require the Affiliate president and coaches of the non-compliant team to appear before AHAI’s Rules and Ethics Committee to determine appropriate discipline, which may include exclusion from participation in the Illinois State Tournament.

As a reminder, all Affiliates are required to publish locker room policies to the parents of all minor participants that are specific to the facilities they regularly use. The Affiliate’s policies shall include the program’s (a) practices for supervising and monitoring locker rooms and changing areas; (b) permission or lack of permission for parents to be in the locker rooms; (c) prohibited conduct, including at least all forms of abuse and misconduct prohibited by USA Hockey; and (d) specific policies regarding the use of mobile electronic devices and phones and prohibiting the use of a device’s recording capabilities. 

In addition to publishing these changes to AHAI’s locker room policy, AHAI strongly encourages all Affiliates to go over its locker room policy with parents and players at a team meeting. At that time, the Affiliate should:

·         Clearly explain the rules and expectations for players with respect to locker room activity.

·         Clearly explain the rules and expectations of the locker room monitor.…including the corrective action that will be taken if necessary (player could be benched or suspended, for example.).

·         Ensure players and parents understand the locker room monitor is there to help ensure there is a safe environment for all members of the team.

AHAI is confident that this policy change will reduce incidents of hazing, bullying, harassment, or other inappropriate behaviors caused by an unsupervised locker room. The safety and well-being of every player is and will continue to be AHAI’s top priority.