PROGRAMS

Equipment | Registration | Tuition | Scholarships | Fundraising

A variety of programs comprise the Parkway Youth Hockey League. These programs are tailored to fit the needs of its members no matter their age or ability.

Learn to Skate (Initiation). This program offers basic skating instruction to those who are new to the ice. Skaters of all ages are welcome into this group. A number of qualified instructors are on the ice with the children along with parents and other volunteers. The skaters are generally broken into groups over the first few weeks according to abilities. Skaters are required to wear helmets and some basic safety equipment. Hockey sticks are not used in this program as the emphasis here is on skating skills. The program generally meets for two hours weekly, one Saturday hour and one Sunday hour.

Mite Instructional. Skaters who have experienced Learn to Skate or who are ready to move up a bit attend this program. Again, skating skills are emphasized and hockey sticks are introduced. Over the course of the season the skaters are broken into "teams" and some game situations take place. The program generally meets for two hours weekly, on Saturdays and Sundays.

Mite and Senior House. House programs offer skaters a learning experience and a competitive game schedule. The practices and games generally take place at the Bryan rink. A rotating schedule allows the teams to play each other at various times over the course of the season. Generally, the skaters begin the season as one group in order to work on skills for the first few weeks. Teams are assigned after this initial period and games begin a few weeks later. While the majority of ice hours for the house programs are on weekends, some weekday evening hours are possible if the scheduling requires it.

Girls. Parkway Youth Hockey continues to expand its evolving program to meet the needs of its girl players. Following the girls' team inaugural season in '98-'99 as a club team, the girls joined the District 9 House League in the '99-'00 season. Any girl interested in joining a girls team that missed the girls tryout should express interest by sending a letter to the Parkway Hockey Board, c/o Paul Elvin, VP of Hockey Operations, or register at the Learn to Skate/House Program registration.

Mite, Squirt, PeeWee, Bantam and Midget Travel. PYH is a member of the Greater Boston Youth League. Travel teams are chosen in a tryout process held in the spring preceding the hockey season. The GBL offers multiple levels of competition in each age group. The GBL season begins in October and runs through March. Travel teams practice weekday evenings and compete on the weekends at various rinks in the area.

Mass. Hockey age requirements for the 2003-2004 season are as follows:

Midgets	July 1, 1985 - December 31, 1988
Bantams	January 1, 1989 - December 31, 1990
Pee Wee	January 1, 1991 - December 31, 1992
Girls, 19 and under:	January 1, 1984 - younger
Girls, 14 and under:	January 1, 1989 - younger
Girls, 12 and under:	January 1, 1991 - younger
Squirts	January 1, 1993 - December 31, 1994
Mites	January 1, 1995 - younger

EQUIPMENT

Each member is responsible for providing their own equipment. Members will not be allowed on the ice unless properly equipped.

Equipment necessary, in no particular order of importance:

Helmet with face mask (HECC required) Recommended color: black
neck guard (required by PYH)
mouth piece (required for PeeWee and above, and all girls levels. Colored - non-clear.)
practice shirt
shoulder pads (there should be some chest protection as part of pads)
elbow pads
pants (suspenders may be necessary) Recommended color: black
jock strap and cup, or pelvic protector for girls
garter belt
shin guards
socks (for travel play, will be provided by PYH)
skates
stick and hockey gloves

PYH colors are red, white and black. Game shirts and socks for travel play will be provided by PYH.

REGISTRATION

In order to become a member of Parkway Youth Hockey, any individual, including coaches and players must complete a Waiver prepared by USA Hockey. No one can step on the ice unless that form is completed. USA Hockey and Massachusetts Hockey have established fees for registration, which is their chief source of income. Parkway Youth Hockey incurs an average cost of $25.00 to register each player.

PYH completes its own registration as an organization with Massachusetts Hockey by submitting these IMRs along with completed team rosters, transmitted/cover forms, Criminal Offender Record Information consent forms and team and individual registration fees to appropriate Massachusetts Hockey officials.

Massachusetts Hockey has a specific ruling allowing players to remain in the program that they start in, even if they change residency during the season.

TUITION

The Board of Directors adopted the following fee schedule for the 2002-2003 hockey season:

Learn to Skate	$160
Mite Instructional	$225
Mite and Senior House	$275
Girls	$225 (includes season-end tournament and anticipated league fees), plus $25 USA Hockey registration fee for girls not part of another PYH program
Mite Travel	$525
Squirt Travel	$525
PeeWee Travel	$525
Bantam Travel	$525
Midget Travel	$275

PAYMENT PLAN

PYH distributes hockey tuition bills to travel players during the month of August with first payment due on Sept 1st. For Midget and Bantam players, payment is required in full before the first league game. All other travel team players are required to be paid in full no later than Nov. 15. Unless arrangements have been made with the Treasurer, these players may not play until bills are paid. House, Learn to Skate, and Instructional players will pay in full at registration.

SCHOLARSHIP

PYH provides limited tuition and equipment scholarships to members of the league. Interested members must submit a confidential letter to the President of PYH explaining the circumstances warranting the scholarship. The Executive Officers of the Board will review all requests and they will make notification.

Fundraising

Parkway Youth Hockey's various fundraising efforts are vital to our aim of providing a rewarding program for your child(ren). In order to keep your tuition down we rely not only on the generous support of our many sponsors, but on the efforts of all our participants.


You can help in the following ways:

1.	Finding sponsors

	If your business or that of someone you know would like to sponsor a PYH team, please be sure to notify Gerard O'Brien at 327-2041 or (w) 781/828-2300.

2.	Canning

	During our yearly canning drive in November, all travel team players are asked to solicit donations from patrons at local retail stores. Traditionally, canning is tremendously successful in reducing the exorbitant costs of ice rental and league participation.

3.	Party

	That's right, party! You can help raise funds by purchasing tickets to the annual Parkway Youth Hockey Dance. Sorry, kids, this is just for the adults. This year's event will in February, 2003.

4.	Snack Bar

	Our snack bar is an essential way to raise funds. Pay attention to the lobby bulletin board for details on how to participate.

We hope that all Parkway Youth Hockey families can find a way to participate in our enormous effort to keep our program affordable and rewarding for all! If you have any ideas or comments, please feel free to contact a member of the Board of Directors listed here.