Posted: 05/15/2003
As previously announced, negotiations with the Greater Cincinnati Youth Hockey League have been in the works for several months now. Starting with the 2003-04 season, the BTHL will add a "B" division and a Team Placement Chart has been adopted to objectively place teams in the respective divsions. This chart has been designed to help level the playing field between Large and Small Associations and takes into account the order in which teams are picked. Those two issues have been the primary factors used in the past to consider exceptions to our team placement rules.
Please note that with the adoption of this chart there will be NO EXCEPTIONS CONSIDERED for teams wishing to play down from "AA" to "A". However, in the process of negotiation a concession has been made and for the transition year a committee will be formed to consider exceptions at the "B" level. This is to ensure that traditional GCYHL teams are not inappropriately forced up to the BTHL "A" division. Be advised that the intent is to grant exceptions in limited and very compelling cases; comply with the chart as closely as possible when forming your teams. DO NOT rely on automatically having a petition granted.
An informational meeting has been scheduled for 1:00pm Saturday, May 24 at the Northlands Ice Arena. Ken Nagel will be on hand to answer any questions and as always, everyone is encouraged to attend. In addition to the merger issues, some work will be done on rules clarification for the upcoming season.