Policies

The operating policies of Cambridge Youth Hockey, which are determined by the Board of Directors.

Tuition

Financials and Payment Schedule for 2010-2011 season:

Tuition:

• $ 895 full season travel teams

Payment schedule:

• Aug 15: Minimum amount paid towards full tuition: $300.
• Sept 15: Minimum amount paid towards full tuition:
  • 100% for midgets and U19
  • 60% for other teams.
• Nov 15: Minimum amount paid towards full tuition: 80%.
• Dec 15: Minimum amount paid towards full tuition: 100%.

The above does NOT include the $35 online USA Hockey registration fee. Registration has to be done by the members or their parents/guardians online. Please visit USA Hockey to register.

The above does also NOT include the non-refundable $50 tryout fee. If you have not yet paid this fee, it will be included on your bill.

Equal Playing Time Policy

It is the goal and policy of CYH that all players receive equal playing time during games and practices. The only exceptions to this rule will be:

1. Certain critical power play or penalty killing situations past the mid-point in the game, where the coach determines that the outcome of the game could be determined by the success of the power play or penalty killing unit;

2. The final three minutes of close games (a one goal differential), where the outcome of the game is in jeopardy.

Compliance Committee

The Compliance Committee is part of the CYH team working towards greater regulatory compliance, transparency, and internal controls. The purpose of the Compliance Committee is to help CYH maintain compliance with all of the external and internal laws, bylaws, regulations, policies, and customs that apply to it. The Compliance Committee serves in two capacities: (1) to remind the BOD of compliance activities that must be done, and (2) to report to the membership, at General Meetings, on the completion status of the CYH's compliance activities. The Compliance Committee is not charged with completing the compliance activities: that is the responsibility of the BOD. Furthermore, the Compliance Committee does not assume any legal responsibility or liability.

The Compliance Committee is granted full access to all CYH records and documents.

Membership on the Compliance Committee is open to any CYH Member in good standing, and any other individuals invited by the BOD.

CYH's major compliance activities include, but are not limited to:

• filing state and federal tax returns
• filing Form PC with the State Attorney General's Office
• registering all hockey players with USA Hockey
• rostering all hockey players with USA Hockey
• ensuring that coaches are properly patched
• paying league and ice rental fees as they become due

Competitive Travel Team Refund Policy

Players (or their parents) pay money to CYH primarily for ice time and league fees, which are CYH's largest expenses. The general policy of CYH is to refund a player's money when the player asks for that refund before CYH has paid for the ice (which is almost always in advance of the actual ice rental time). This general policy is interpreted according to the following specific guidelines:

• The tryout fee is used to cover the costs of running tryouts, and so is not refundable after tryouts have started. At the time of this writing, the tryout fee was $50.

• Regular tuition may be refunded in full before the season starts (ie, Labour Day).

• Between Labor Day and Columbus Day, monies paid in excess of 50% of the regular tuition for participation on the affected team will be refunded.

• There are no refunds for regular tuition after Columbus Day. By this point in the season CYH is already committed to, and has already paid a substantial portion of, ice rentals and league fees.

Competitive Travel Team Tuition Discounts

CYH has traditionally offered a number of discounts, such as to families with multiple children enrolled in CYH. This policy describes these discounts and how they are applied and accounted for.

Sibling Discounts

Families with multiple children on CYH competitive teams will receive the following discounts:

• 2 children: $50 discount per child
• 3 children: $100 discount per child
• 4 children: $150 discount per child
• more: the discount per child is $50 * (C - 1), where C is the number of children on CYH competitive teams

Two-Team Discount

A player registered on two CYH competitive teams is billed the full tuition for each team, less a $275 discount off of each team's full tuition.

There is no discount from CYH for players registered on one CYH competitive team and another team in another organization.

Players who are registered on a CYH "B" team, but are occasionally "called up" to play a game on the CYH "A" team are not considered to be registered on two competitive teams, since they will only be listed on the USA Hockey roster for the "B" team. Consequently, they are not required to pay tuition for a second team, and also do not receive this discount.

Goalie Discount

Every team needs a goalie, and goalie equipment is more expensive than player equipment, so every hockey organization offers substantial discounts to goalies. To qualify for a goalie discount, a player must have demonstrated commitment to being a goalie and must have been selected as a dedicated goalie. If a player is granted a goalie discount, then that player is expected to serve as a goalie for the majority of the season to which the discount applies.

The CYH goalie discounts increase with age, to reflect the increasing cost of goalie equipment as players get older, and the decreasing amount of goalie equipment CYH provides for older players. The discount is expressed as a percentage, which is to be applied to the tuition for the team on which the player serves as goalie, after other discounts have been applied. The discount rates are: 25% for goalies on Squirt/U10 competitive teams; 50% for goalies on Peewee/U12 competitive teams; and 100% for goalies on Bantam/U14 (and older) teams.

Order of how discounts are applied:

1. Sibling discounts. If person is playing on multiple teams, sibling discount is applied to main team, e.g. if a girl, girls team is main team.
2. Two-team discount.
3. Goalie discount.

Statement of Openness

The CYH BOD endeavors to run the CYH program in a manner consistent with the values, goals and wishes of its member families. We would also like to make this process as open and transparent as possible. Towards this end, we will endeavor to make all of our activities public, to the extent that this is possible. We plan to post most of this information on the web site (www.CambridgeYouthHockey.org). This will include providing advance notice of board meetings, posting minutes of previous meetings, providing financial statements and providing other information, as appropriate.

In addition to providing you with this information, we would also like to encourage you to become involved in the process. There are many ways to formally and informally interact with your board.

Informal Conversation

Directors are often at the rink, and available for informal conversation with members. It is helpful for the Board to hear the thoughts of the members on matters of importance to CYH. Please note, however, that an individual Director cannot make a decision on behalf of the Board during an informal conversation -- official decisions of the Board must be made at official board meetings.

Email & Phone

Suggestions, comments and questions can be directed to any Director. Our contact information is on the website.

General Meetings

As required by USA Hockey and our bylaws, the CYH Board will schedule four general meetings per season, roughly on a quarterly basis. These meetings are primarily to give members a chance to discuss issues of importance with the Board, although some official business may also take place. For example, the bylaws require the Board to present financial statements at the September general meeting, and one of the general meetings will be the Annual Meeting at which Board elections take place.

Legislative Meetings

CYH Board of Directors legislative meetings are held at least monthly, and possibly more frequently. These meetings are where the Board makes official decisions. The time, place, and agenda of these meetings will be posted in advance on the website, and the minutes will be posted afterwards.

Legislative board meetings are open to the public. We ask only for the following accommodations:

• Please provide several days notice that you plan to attend. This can be done by email or by contacting any of the Directors. This request is an unfortunate consequence of the fact that CYH has no official office space and we often scramble to find a room big enough in which to meet.

   

• Please respect the fact that there may be items on the agenda regarding matters of personal privacy. To protect the privacy of others, you may be asked to leave the room for portions of the meeting. The personal details of these portions of the meeting will not be recorded in the minutes.

   

• Attending the meeting does not guarantee your participation in the discussion regarding a particular agenda item. Rules of order require that you be recognized by the Chair before you can take the floor to speak. Robert's Rules of Order also require a level of decorum and respect for others in attendance. (The same rules apply to Directors, by the way.)

   

• Members are invited to suggest items to be discussed on the agenda but must follow the same protocols as do Directors. Proposed agenda items are to be submitted to the Secretary, in writing, at least three days in advance. Proposals must include an organized discussion of a particular issue together with suggested actions to be taken. These proposals will be circulated to all Directors prior to the meeting in order to give time for others to consider the proposals. We have found that this prior knowledge of topics helps to facilitate a productive dialogue at the meeting. Please also understand that proposed agenda items are not automatically added to the agenda. The Board has the often difficult task of prioritizing the topics. There are occasions when time constraints do not allow for discussion of all issues.

   

• As specified in the Bylaws, only Directors may vote on agenda items.