Greetings – it's hockey season again! There are a lot of new and exciting things this year. CONGRATULATIONSgoes out to all CYH teams on a great season and especially to the Mohawk Valley Herricanes on winning the 19U Girls Sectionals and runner-up at the NY State Tournament held in Geneva, also to the Midget 16U team on being runner-up in Sectionals and to the Squirt Travel team on making it to Sectionals, also the Squirt Snowbelt team on being runner-up in the Snowbelt JAM tournament and the A Mites for winning the Blizzard Challenge all hosted in Clinton. Clinton Youth Hockey will be the proud host of the Midget 18U State Tournament March 20-22, 2009. THANK YOU to Bob Shorey, Mike Seakan, Mike and Rhayalene Perry for attending the NYSAHA State Meeting at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino and for organizing the NYSAHA and USA Hockey Annual Meeting picnic held at the Clinton Arena on May 31^st, 2008. Everyone that attended had a great time and had lots of stories to share. Many remembered the "wooden chairs". The President of USA Hockey, Ron DeGregorio commented what a "beautiful facility the Clinton families have" and thanked all of the Clinton people who organized the picnic for a job well done. During Sunday's meeting at the Casino, NYSAHA President, Joe Baudo, thanked Clinton Youth Hockey for hosting the picnic and what a great job everyone did and what a nice Arena Clinton has.

Registration will be held Thursday, September 4th from 6 PM to 9 PM; Friday, September 5th from 6 PM to 9 PM and Saturday, September 6th from 10 AM to 12 PM. Registration will be held in the upstairs lobby of the Clinton Arena.

Please be advised Clinton Youth Hockey is looking for an energetic parent that has younger children in the program and would be willing to volunteer some time to learn the ropes of Registrar. If interested please contact Rhayalene Perry at 315-853-7047 for more details. Rhayalene would like to start training anyone interested as soon as possible because right now is when a lot of the important duties are being taken care of.

***New this season***, ALL Clinton Youth Hockey players and coaches will need to register online with USA Hockey prior to registering with CYH Registrar, Rhayalene Perry. Please be advised you will need a debit/credit card to do this. The charge will be $33.00 (USA Hockey $30.00 + $3.00 NYSAHA (Affiliate) Fee). Parents will need to complete the online registration as follows, please go to www.usahockey.com and click on the "register online" button (black skate with orange socks) below the National calendar on the right hand side of the screen.

1. Choose Member Type click top button "Ice Players & Coaches"

2. Must be 18 years or older and click box

3. Select Season click arrow at end of red strip "2008-09 Season"

4. Click button for who you are registering

5. Complete the player/coaches information (please use exactly what appears on the players/coaches birth certificate – this is very important, the names on the team roster MUST match the birth certificates exactly). If the birth certificate reads "Thomas Joseph Doe" and the player goes by "Joey" put THOMAS or T. Joseph in the box for the first name. Use home address.

6. It states Email address is optional but you need to put an email address there so you can receive a Confirmation Notice which MUST be given to Rhayalene Perry to complete the Registration process.

7. Please include both parent's names and address information.

8. You must click the box stating you accept the terms of The Waiver of Liability, Release Assumption of Risk & Indemnity Agreement. By registering online this eliminates these 2 pages from the Registration packet.

9. Enter your initials.

10. Please confirm all information especially names and birthdates must match birth certificates, mistakes will lead to more unwanted paperwork.

11. If you need to register another person (player or coach) you can proceed and go through the process again or press "continue" and check out.

Please print off Confirmation Page and bring with you to Registration. The registration process cannot be completed without this page. Team Rosters cannot be done until everyone (players and coaches) register online and turn in their Confirmation Page.

The remainder of the Registration Forms can be downloaded from the Clinton Youth Hockey website at http://clintonhockey.org/register.pdf. All forms are required and must be filled out and brought to registration.

In order to print the Registration Forms or Weekly Ice Schedules (pdf format), you will need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0. This can be easily done by clicking on the image below and following the directions. There is no charge for Acrobat Reader.

Minimum down payment for all participants at registration is $100.00. Any child registering after September 30th will have a late fee of $50.00 assessed.

Just a reminder – when you come to Registration please bring all of the following:

• Players' dates of birth
• Emergency contact info – name, address, phone
• Medical Information (allergies, asthma, medications, restrictions, etc.)
• Doctor's name and phone number
• Choice of hospital for care
• Health Insurance Info – Insurance Company and Policy Number
• Parent/Guardian Information – home address, phone numbers (home, work, cell)
• Family E-mail address
• Confirmation Page from online registration – paperwork will not be accepted without this

(If you are separated or divorced, we will need your ex-husband/wife's address and phone number if he/she is a parent of the children participating in CYH).

Players must sign and date the USA Hockey Participant Code of Conduct and the Zero Tolerance form along with both parents!

Clinton Youth Hockey's refund policy and forms to request a refund are available on the web site.

If you cannot make the Registration dates, you must contact Rhayalene Perry.

Clinton Youth Hockey has been awarded several Sectional/State Tournaments because the Central Section rewards organizations that have incorporated, promoted and mandated the Zero Tolerance and Parents Education Programs. All parents, guardians and participants as members of a Clinton Youth Hockey Team participating in USA Hockey for the 2008-09 season will be required to sign the Zero Tolerance form and also required to attend the Parents Education Program which will be held at the beginning of the season. Please remember – hosting tournaments keeps Registration costs down!!! Clinton Youth Hockey appreciates everyone's support in hosting tournaments.

"If all parents, guardians, coaches and officials can IMPROVE the outlook on the GAME, the TRUE winner of our sport will be the KIDS." Clinton Youth Hockey and the Central Section mandate the Parent Education Program. All parents will be required to sign in to show they have attended.

Clinton Youth Hockey supports and will enforce USA Hockey's Zero Tolerance Policy 100%. Please allow youths to participate for the right reason – to have fun! Don't let your emotions get the best of you – "Relax, It's Just a Game!".

Everyone except Learn to Skate is responsible for paying a fundraising fee. Fundraising is separate from Registration. There will be Candy, Ad Book forms and Sponsor forms available. Back again since it went so well last season: Home Interior Products and new this season Macy's tickets. Every family will be responsible to sell two (2) Macy's tickets at $5.00 a ticket. When you register you will be required to pay $10.00 and you can either keep or sell the tickets to be used on September 20^th, 2008 "Shop for a Cause" and you save 20% on whatever you purchase at any Macy's store. Your name or who ever you sell the tickets to names will be placed in a drawing for a Macy's $500.00 Gift Certificate. If you would like to sell more Macy's tickets, for every ticket sold, $5.00 will come off your fundraising assessment. You have the option of selling these fundraisers to meet your assessment or you may pay your assessment off in full.

FYI – If you would like to get started early, Home Interior's Booklets and Macy's Tickets are available to start selling. Boxes of Candy will be available after August 25^th. Please contact Patti Maxam at 853-3600 or 853-5617.

Registration and Fundraising must be paid in full by December 1^st, 2008, an additional $25.00 per month will be added to any outstanding balances. Payment Plan payments are due on the first of each month. After December 1^st, 2008 players with unpaid balances will not be able to participate in practices, games or tournaments – No Exceptions!

We ask everybody to save their Bottles & Cans for our Annual Bottle & Can Drive on Saturday, October 4th. Drop off for bottles and cans will be at the Clinton Arena parking lot from 9 AM to 3 PM. We would appreciate as many volunteers as possible for the drive.

We will have jerseys in stock for the upcoming season! Jerseys in every size will be available for fitting at the beginning of the season. Remember – Squirts through Midgets need two jerseys – home (white) and away (maroon). The price this season will be $30.00 per jersey which includes name and number.. Team Managers will take orders and collect payment at the beginning of the season.

Jersey Chairmen: Bill Foote – 723-7909

Everyone who has a child in Clinton Youth Hockey belongs to the Parents' Club. We are here for all players. If you have a child wanting to try the position of goalie (Mite level) we have equipment for you to borrow. As your child grows, you would return the equipment for a larger size. Once you reach the upper levels and know that you're sticking with the position then it's up to you to purchase your equipment. We supply each team with emergency medical kits, pucks and water bottles at the start of each season. Mite night we purchase a gift for all mite players (ex. skate towels, chico sticks, pins, etc). During tournaments we have our table set up selling items. The money from this goes back to the Parent's Club and in return back to your child whether it's in equipment, towels, water bottles, etc. We sponsor the Christmas wreath & poinsettia sale and the money raised from that goes back to the individual teams. We also give out an award to a graduating senior who has been in youth hockey and has maintained good grades and has shown leadership. We would like to congratulate Chris Hughes on receiving last year's award and wish all of our graduate's good luck in the future. Thanks for a wonderful season! And for all of our player's hard work we have a wonderful trophy case upstairs, which was purchased by the Parent's Club.

Please call Tiffany Fletcher at 853-8136 or Sabrina Femia at 853-8971 with any questions.

We welcome everyone and would love 100% participation and also welcome any ideas you might have. We look forward to meeting you and wish all players good luck.

Clinton Youth Hockey has hired Julia Roach for power skating sessions and all CYH teams can utilize her services.

Clinton Youth Hockey will field a Midget 18U Tournament Bound Team, as well as a Midget Snowbelt Team. Any players born between 1990 and 1993 will be eligible to try out for the travel team. Try-outs will take place on August 15^th from 6:30 – 7:30 PM, August 16^th from 4:30 – 5:30 PM and August 17^th from 3:30 – 4:30 PM at the Whitestown Community Center. Registration for the tournament bound team and Snowbelt team is taking place right now and will end on August 15^th. If you would like to register, please contact Rhayalene Perry at 853-7047.

Clinton will be hosting a Coaching Education Clinic early in the season. More information will be available at registration. FYI – the New York District of USA Hockey will be hosting a Level 4 (Advanced) Coaching Clinic on September 5^th – 7^th, 2008 at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY. If interested please register online at www.usahockey.com asap as space is limited.

Coaches, please be advised that NYSAHA is in the process of implementing a new procedure regarding the Screening policy. As of right now, coaches will probably have to enter a site on the internet and answer the required questions, pay a small fee with a credit card and print off the receipt which will need to be attached to the team roster that you are associated with. More information will be available at Registration.

Please be advised, because of rising costs, Clinton Youth Hockey will no longer pay for one tournament per team. All tournaments will have to be paid for by the individual teams.

Clinton Youth Hockey is a Tier II ("B" level) organization, and the Travel (Tournament Bound) Teams play in the highly competitive Central Section of the New York State Amateur Hockey Association. All Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam teams are required to play a total of 16 "Q" games (based on a full complement of 12 teams at each age classification), a home and home series with their fellow division members and a one game series with the opposite division members (home team alternating each season). The Tournament Bound Teams play in Pre-sectionals in February, two weeks later the top two teams in Pre-sectionals move on to Sectionals and two weeks later the top two teams from Sectionals will attend States. Two weeks later, at the Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget levels the first place team in States would qualify for the National Tournament.

Clinton Youth Hockey's house teams play in the Snowbelt Hockey League. Last season 74 teams participated in this league. The Squirt, Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget teams are required to play a 20 "Q" game schedule depending on the number of teams at each age classification. The Snowbelt Scheduler will put out a schedule on which teams will be home and away in early October and then each organizations Ice Scheduler will schedule the dates and times. At the end of the season all house teams participate in the Snowbelt JAM (John Abbott Memorial) Tournament at locations to be determined. Organizations participating in Snowbelt: Auburn, Binghamton, Camillus, Clinton, Center State, Cortland, Elmira, Fulton, Geneva, Ithaca, Lysander, Midstate, New Hartford, Mohawk Valley, Onondaga, Oswego, Rome, Salmon River, Skaneateles, Valley and Whitestown. Some organizations may not have a team at every level.

The Clinton Youth Hockey Scheduler only schedules the "Q" games required by the Central Section (16 "Q" games) and Snowbelt (usually 20 "Q" games). Any other games scheduled beyond this is managed by each teams head coach or team manager.

The Clinton Youth Hockey Mite teams' games and tournaments are scheduled by the teams head coach or team manager. The Mites are not part of a league since the Tri-Town League was dissolved. The A Mite team starts playing games Nov. 1st, B Mites Dec. 1st and C Mites January 1st.

If you love the game, you would be a great referee. USA Hockey referees can work games anywhere in the U.S. All you need is the ability to skate and a love of the game. You will get training, support and paid for the games you work. It's a great way to stay a part of the game long after your playing days are over. For more information, contact Tom Coyne at www.tcoyne@wktv.com.