Play-Up Request Form

Please complete this request if you would like your player to be evaluated to play up a level.  Your player should attend practices of the level their age indicates.  A member of the arena staff and/or coaches committee will observe the player at practices.  After observing the player, the committee will make a decision as to the appropriate level for the player and inform the parent/guardian.

If you are requesting to play up a level to stay with classmates in the same grade, you will not have to go through the evaluation process.  Simply complete this online form.

THIS IS NOT THE PLAYER REGISTRATION FORM

Greenway Amateur Hockey Association

Play-Up Policy

It is the policy of the Greenway Amateur Hockey Association that each registered player will play in his/her age level as set forth by USA Hockey Rules. However, individual requests to play-up will be considered by a Committee and reviewed on a case by case basis.  2The committee will be comprised of arena staff, coaches, and GAHA board members.  The Greenway Amateur Hockey Association recognizes that in certain situations it may be appropriate and/or beneficial to a player’s development to play-up to the next age level.

Committee will consider and evaluate a player’s development potential in his/her actual age level versus potential for success in an older age level. The Committee will also consider the fine balance between the best interest of a player requesting to play-up and the Greenway Amateur Hockey Association teams and players in both their actual age level, as well as older level. A player requesting to play-up must be selected to play for the A/Highest Tier older level team only. Players requesting to play-up are not eligible to be selected for lower Tier teams at the older level.

There is an increased risk of injury for participants playing outside of their actual age classification. However, USA Hockey and Greenway Amateur Hockey Association allows the movement in certain situations if specific guidelines are followed:

A player will not be permitted to move up more than one year in age, except in very rare and specific cases. For example, a first year Squirt cannot be moved to the Pee Wee level. A second year Squirt may advance to the Pee Wee level. This will apply at Mite, Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam levels.

Only requests submitted via the online form by the participant’s parents or legal guardians will be considered. This request must be submitted and received by the Greenway Amateur  Hockey Association prior to the first day of practice.

A player requesting an opportunity to play-up must also try-out for his/her actual age level team. For example, a Mite level player who is granted a play-up request to Squirt must register and try-out for both Mite and Squirt level teams and pay the try-out registration fee for both Mite and Squirt, or they forgo the opportunity to play on the Mite team if not selected for the Squirt team. If the player is selected for the older level A/Highest Tier team they will be credited for the younger level try-out registration fee. If the player is not selected for the older level A/Highest Tier team they will not be credited for the older level try-out registration fee.

The Committee will evaluate each request. Criteria for allowing a player to play-up will be based on the evaluation of the player’s skill and ability to contribute to the older team, the player’s emotional and physical maturity level compared to the older team’s players, physical size and number of players at each level. The play-up player must be projected to be a dominant player on the older team. If the player is not projected to be a dominant player on the older team, then it is highly questionable whether playing up is truly in the best interest of that player or the team.

Allowing players to play-up from a non-checking division to a checking division represents the greatest risk and will therefore receive additional scrutiny.

The Committee decision is final.

The participant’s parent(s)/guardian must sign the Greenway Amateur Hockey Association Risk Acknowledgement and Liability Waiver, acknowledging the risks associated with playing outside of a player’s actual age classification.

Please direct questions to: