Following is a summary of the responses received from the intramural ice
hockey survey posted earlier in the year. This survey will again be
posted sometime later this year, so if you didn't respond the first time
around, be ready for the next time...
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Intramural Ice Hockey Survey
Summary of Responses
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Section 1: TEAMS -- Players, Fees, Ability levels, Equipment
1.1) How many teams in total participate in the program?
This ranged from 5 teams all the way up to over 100 teams. The number
of teams usually reflected the size of the student body.
1.2) Who is allowed to participate in the program (students, staff,
fraternities, non-students, etc.)? Is the program co-ed, or are
there distinct male-female separations? If the program is co-ed,
what is your estimate of the male-female ratio?
In general, students, spouses, faculty and staff may participate. Some
schools have sports "passes" which may be purchased for non-students.
Fraternities and sororities are included in "students". All responses
indicated that females participate, but that there are far more males than
females, especially in the more competitive levels of play. Some schools
allowed alumni to participate.
1.3) Is there a per-team/per-player fee to particpate?
If so, how much? If not, what covers the cost?
For responses that indicated a team fee, this fee ranged anywhere from
$20 to $450. For the lower-priced fees, the athletic department usually
picked up other costs. The higher-priced fees seemed to cover everything
including ice time.
A few schools indicated a team forfeit charge. If a team forfeits a game,
the team gets charged a certain fee. This fee ranged from $5 to $30 per
game.
1.4) How are different ability levels separated? If teams are divided
into leagues, describe the leagues. Comparison to college, high
school, and amateur hockey would be appreciated. For example:
"Our 'A' league is our most competitive league,
similar in quality to high school and/or
Div. III hockey. Our 'D' league is our least
competitive league; participants can barely
skate and have almost no hockey skills."
All responses indicated some sort of separation of ability levels. Most
common was a lettering scheme with four levels -- A, B, C, and D -- where
A league was high school quality and D league was beginner quality. Some
schools had only two divisions, for example, "Competitive" and
"Non-Competitive". Some schools had a "women's only" division.
1.4.a) How many teams are in each league?
Some schools had an even distribution of teams throughout each league. Most
schools had very few teams in the most competitive league, and the most
teams in the least competitive league. For schools with A thru D leagues,
3 teams was the average in A-league, while abotu 40 teams was the average
for D-league.
1.4.b) Which leagues allow checking? Which are non-checking?
Some schools had all non-checking. One had all checking. Those with the
A thru D system usually had A-C checking and D non-checking, with C league
broken into checking and non-checking divisions.
1.4.c) How do players get into a particular league? Are there try-outs?
Do teams just register for what league they feel they belong in?
All responses indicated that players/teams registered for whatever league
they felt that they belonged in. Some schools allowed weaker teams to
move down if necessary. Some schools forced teams which are too strong
for a particular league to move up.
1.5) What type of protective equipment is required? Is this supplied by
the program, or must players buy it on their own? Do players sign
any sort of "injury waiver", or does the intramural department cover
them?
All schools required at least helmets. Most required all protective
equipment, including gloves, shin pads, shoulder pads, elbow pads, and
mouthpieces. No responses indicated that a cup was mandatory, but I'm
sure we all know better than that.
About half the schools provided protective equipment for those participants
who did not have their own. Almost all schools provided goalkeeper
equipment. No schools indicated that any sort of waiver must be signed
by the participants.
1.6) Are team jerseys (all players have same color, with a unique number
on the back) required? Are these supplied by the program, or must
teams buy their own?
Most schools had no team jersey requirement. However, these responses
indicated that teams generally wear uniform jerseys anyway. Almost all
schools had pinnies available for teams without a coherent color, or for
color conflicts.
1.7) Does each team have a coach(es)? Does each team have a captain? Is
there any ice time allocated for practices? If so, please detail.
All responses indicated that each team must have a captain for administrative
reasons (attending meetings, getting schedules). Few teams have coaches.
Usually, a coach would just be a friend who could "oversee" the team during
a game.
In general, teams need to rent their own ice time for team practices. Some
schools indicated that their rink has open ice time during the week which
is available either by signing up, or by some sort of lottery. This ice
time can be used for practices or pickup hockey.
Section 2: OFFICIALS -- Equipment, Performance, Salary, Officiating systems
2.1) Where are officials acquired for games (local officiating chapter,
students, intramural staff)?
Almost all schools hired students to serve as officials. One school
used local USA Hockey officials.
2.1.a) If the officials are not from a local officiating chapter, how
are they trained? How are they evaluated?
Responses included no training/evaluation at all, training/evals by
the intramural staff, clinics, or a P.E. class in officiating.
2.1.b) Who schedules the officials? How much is the scheduler paid?
Most schools had one of the intramural staff scheduling the officials,
which was included in his/her regular pay. Some schools had a student
hired to do scheduling (approx. $300/yr), and some schools had the
officials work out schedules amongst themselves.
2.1.c) What percentage of the intramural officials are certified referees
(ie. patched officials)?
[This question not on original survey.] At RPI, 3 out of the 18 ice
hockey officials were certified by USA Hockey, which is 17%.
2.2) Are the officials paid? If so, how much? If not, why not? Are
they paid by the game, or by the hour? How are they paid (student
payroll, under-the-table, etc.)?
Almost all responses indicated that the student officials are on the
student payroll, making either work study fees, or an hourly fee which
ranged from $5.00/hr up to $10.00/hr. Average was $6.25/hr.
2.3) What equipment is required of the officials (whistle, black-and-white
sweater, black pants, helmet, etc.)? Is this equipment supplied by
the program, or must officials buy it on their own?
All responses stated that skates, whistle, and b&w striped jersey were
required. Most schools provided whistles and jerseys. Helmets were
optional at all schools. Black pants were required at one school.
2.4) What rule book is followed (USA Hockey, NCAA, Federation, AHL, NHL)?
Are rule books supplied? Are any rule book tests given?
Most schools used NCAA rules. One used USA Hockey, and one used Federation.
Rule books were supplied to officials in some schools, and two responses
indicated that rule book test were given to the officials. As a side note,
at RPI, we will be switching from NCAA to USA Hockey rules this coming year.
This will allow for greater enforcement of injury potential infractions.
For example, a checking from behind minor carries an automatic 10 minutes
misconduct penalty to the offender. Also, coincidental penalties allow
for immediate substitutions in USA Hockey (and AHL & NHL).
2.5) Give a brief evaluation of the competency of the intramural ice
hockey officials.
Most schools have decent officials who know the rules well. Quality
of officiating seems to vary at any given school, as well as style of
officiating (loose, tight). Some responses stated that officiating
in the upper leagues left something to be desired.
2.5.a) What duties are they required to perform (line calls, penalty
calls, moving nets, etc.)? Are the officials an active part of
the game, or just there to basically oversee things?
All responses indicated that the officials are an active part of the game,
making the same calls as certified referees. Most schools had the refs
move nets between games. Offsides calls were more common at the lower
levels, while penalties were prevalent at the higher levels of play.
2.5.b) How do players and/or fans interact with the officials? Are the
officials left alone, or do they get abused often?
Most responses stated that fans were not very abusive, usually because
there were few fans present. Players seemed to be the cause of any
abuse, especially at the higher levels of play. Amount of abuse ranged
from small disputes to yelling/swearing yielding misconduct penalties, or
possibly game suspensions.
2.6) What officiating system(s) is/are used (1-man, 2-man, 3-man)? If
3-man is used, is it 1 ref and 2 linesmen, or 2 refs and 1 linesman?
One school used 1-man for the lowest level of play. Almost all other
schools used 2-man for most games. A few schools used 3-man for the
playoffs, and one school used 3-man for the A-league regular season games.
For those schools using 3-man, it was always 1 ref, 2 linesmen. As a
side note, the NCAA should be switching to 2 refs, 1 linesman this year.
In our program, we might experiment with this system in place of the
1 ref, 2 linesmen when we do 3-man system games, though it is my opinion
that the 1R-2L system is still superior to the 2R-1L system.
Section 3: GAME-PLAY -- Location, Timekeeping, Scorekeeping, Stats
3.1) At what rink(s) are the games played? Is this on or off campus?
Are fans allowed to attend? If so, what kind of attendance is
common?
All responses stated that games are played at an on-campus ice rink,
and that fans are allowed, but very few tend to show up. At RPI, the
games are divided between an on-campus rink, and another off-campus
rink, which allows 6 or 7 games to be played each night. Some responses
indicated that fraternities usually bring more fans with them.
3.2) About when does the season start/end? At what time during the day
or night do the games begin/end? How often is the ice re-surfaced
during this time?
Average start and end months were mid-October and mid-March. Almost all
schools played games during the evenings from Sunday to Thursday. Games
started as early as 6pm (average 8:30pm), and last game started as
late as 2am (average 12am).
Some responses indicated that ice is re-surfaced between each game, some
twice a night, some only once at the beginning of a night of play.
3.2.a) Who schedules the games? How much are they paid?
All responses indicated that someone on the intramural staff schedules
the games, and is usually paid by the university payroll. Average pay
was about $400 for the season.
3.3) How long, in real clock time, does a typical game last?
All schools allocated at least an hour or 1.5 hours for a game. Some
schools granted longer games to the A and B leagues.
3.3.a) How does this time break down into periods/halves? For example:
"Both teams on the ice at 10pm for warm-ups.
First half starts at 10:05pm, and ends at 10:29pm.
Rest period, then second half starts at 10:31pm.
Game ends at 10:53pm, followed by a re-surface."
Varied responses on this one. Most stated that there was a brief warm-up,
followed by either 2 halves or 3 periods, using running time for the
halves/periods.
3.4) Is a scoreclock used during the games? If so, who runs it, and what
are they paid? How long is a period, and how many periods are there?
If no scoreclock is used, then how is time kept, and how are players
notified?
Many responses. Some schools had a volunteer sit in the penalty box and
keep time on a stopwatch. Some schools had the referees keep time and
blow whistles at the end of a period. Some schools had another game
official on hand to run a scoreclock. One response stated that the
scoreclock at their school was used only for the playoffs.
3.4.a) Are penalty times recorded? How long is a minor/major/misconduct?
All responses used either the standard 2/5/10 timing, or the 1.5/4/8 timing
which is usually used for 15 minute periods, though one response indicated
the use of 3/6/10 penalty timing (with 15 minutes periods). Strange.
3.4.b) Is it stop-and-go time, or running time?
About half the responses said stop-and-go, and half said running time. Some
of the running time responses indicated that they used stop-and-go during
penalties.
3.5) Is some sort of game report form used?
Most schools used a game report, along with injury reports if necessary.
3.5.a) Who fills out and signs the game report?
Almost all responses stated that the officials and/or scorekeeper fill out
and sign the report. One response required the co-signing of the managers
also.
3.5.b) Are goals/assists recorded? Are penalties recorded?
Almost everyone stated that goals, assists, and penalties are recorded.
Some responses indicated that only major/misconduct penalties are recorded,
and others indicated that assists are only recorded during playoffs.
3.6) How are injuries handled? Is there any first-aid on hand?
Most responses stated that campus police/medical unit is readily available.
Some responses stated that the arena supervisor has first-aid equipment
on hand.
3.7) Are game protests accepted? If so, how are they handled?
Some schools did not accept protests, some responses do not know whether
protests are accepted or not, and some accepted protests, usually based
solely on player eligibility. For those protests, several people said
that the protest must be filed at the intramural office within 24 hours
of the game. One response stated that a protest deposit of $10 must be
made, and that the deposit is returned if the protest is upheld, and
forfeited if the protest is denied.
3.8) If a game ends in a tie, what is done, if anything?
Almost all responses stated that regular season games ending in a tie
go down as such. Some schools used a quick 1 or 2 minute sudden death
period (time permitting), and one school used a "penalty shot" method
of breaking ties.
3.9) Are there playoffs? If so, how are they handled? How are ties
broken? Are any awards given to the winners? If so, what are they?
All schools had single-elimination playoffs. Ties are broken either in
a sudden death period, or a "penalty shot" shoot-out. Most schools had
some sort of award for the winners, either trophies or t-shirts.
3.10) Are team rosters kept? Are they checked regularly for "ringers"?
If a player is disqualified from a game, and must sit out during a
subsequent game, who checks up on this?
All responses indicated that team rosters are kept, and some schools
had periodic roster checks for ringers. Some schools only performed
roster checks if a complaint was issued by a team. Some schools checked
participants for a valid athletic card. For disqualifications, either
no checking up was done, or an intramural staff member would enforce it.
3.11) Are standings kept/posted throughout the season? Are stats kept
on individual teams or players?
All responses stated that standings are kept and posted periodically
throughout the season. Almost no schools kept team/player stats, though
one response indicated that they kept stats one year, and it was a big hit.
Section 4: IN SUMMARY
4.1) What, in your opinion, is your program's strongest point(s)?
Selected responses:
"It allowed for a lot of fun hockey that was structured. You were
matched with people of your ability."
"There is a long season and a lot of ice time."
"Wide participation, good officiating, generally sportsmanlike play."
"Participation."
4.2) What, in your opinion, is your program's weakest point(s)?
Selected responses:
"Informal program, lack of interest on part of students. Equipment
(goalie pads and body protection) was worn out."
"There are too many teams... ... Also, the A and B leagues are so
competitive that it is hard for players to move up onto these teams."
"Teams should be classified by ability. No open hockey/practice time."
"Organization is a bit lax, especially lately in the reffing area. I'd
love to see it become more professional."
"... Costs are so high compared to our other sports due to the fact that
Yost [sports arena] is a high-cost maintenance building."
"Scheduling time."
4.3) Comment on anything you would like to see changed in your intramural
ice hockey program. What is your general evaluation of the program?
Selected responses:
"Overall it's pretty good... ... I'd like to see fewer D league teams,
but I don't like the idea of telling these people they can't play."
"Overall, a very good program."
"It's generally good, and most people are happy with it. There are lots
of little things that could be done to really make it nice."
"The overall operation of the hockey program is 'good'. Signups are run
smoothly as are seasons..."
"... I was/am very appreciative of the ice time for the regular intramural
leagues and the pickup games/practice time that the university allowed..."
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Whew! Finally done... it's not easy compiling this stuff together, but
I truly hope that the information above will be beneficial to all those
involved in providing the best possible intramural ice hockey program for
your school. It has definitely been an education for me, and as the
head referee for our ice hockey program at RPI, I hope to be implementing
a bunch of new changes this year to make our program even more fun, smooth,
and professional.
I'll repost this survey sometime in mid-season again, hoping to reach and
get response from as many programs as possible. Thank you once again to
all those who took the time (and it _is_ a good amount of time) to answer
the survey. -- kennyz
--
Kenny Zalewski -- Information Technology Services at Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 83 Albright Court, Troy, NY, 12180
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