BTHL - Team Placement Chart
2005-06

Notes:

1. Association size is defined by the number of skaters registered by an association and is further explained in the related document Association Size Classifications. The cut-off used (for Small, Medium and Large) will be adjusted on an annual basis to accomodate the growth of the sport and the continually changing membership of the league. The intent is to have approximately 1/3 of our membership placed in each of the 3 classifications in any given year.
2. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Teams represent the order in which teams are selected. ie: The first team will have the first pick of all available players; the second team will select players from what is left after the first team has selected; and so on.
3. Team not permitted in this division under any circumstances.
4. The numbers in the body of the table refer to the maximum quantity of "2nd year" players permitted to be rostered on the team at any given time during the season. As per our bylaws, no players (regardless of age) can be added to a roster after Dec 31st. Please note that "2nd year" refers to player age, NOT experience.
5. An association with this many travel teams in a given age group will be bumped up to the next "Association Size" for that age group.
6. A "House" team is defined as a team formed without tryouts, cuts or "pre-selection" of any kind. This could be a single team (from a small association) -or- 1 of multiple teams formed with the intention of being relatively equal in strength.
7. This chart will be reviewed on an annual basis and finalized at our annual meeting. Associations have control over bracket placement by selecting teams using the defined criteria. Please note that exceptions will not be permitted under any circumstances. To repeat, teams can always move up a divison but THERE WILL BE NO PETITION PROCESS TO CONSIDER EXCEPTIONS.

Generally speaking, the result of this chart will be:

1. The top teams from "Small" organizations will play in our "B" division (unless primarily a "Major" team)
2. The top teams from "Medium" organizations will play in our "A" division (unless primarily a "Major" team)
3. The top teams from "Large" organizations will play in our "AA" division (without exception)

• Large associations have the luxury of having a high number of players to choose from when selecting travel teams and therefore will typically form strict "birth year" teams at the top. As they move down into their 3rd, 4th and lower teams, they are permitted to use progresssively more "2nd year" players. The thought is that the more experienced players will be selected by the top teams and we try to compensate the lower teams by allowing them a higher quantity of older players. It's not a perfect system but it does help provide opportunities for players of all ages to participate on competitive hockey teams at a higher level than a strict Major/Minor system would allow. Please note that we are considering ALL travel teams within an association when making this determination, not just the BTHL teams. While we'd like to have all teams as members of the BTHL, we recognize the fact that some of our members field "AAA" teams or in some cases may be within the geographic limits of other competitive TierII leagues.
• Medium sized associations will consistently (but not always) field 2 travel teams and will be expected to place their top team in "AA" only if it is predominantly a "2nd year" (or in other words a "Major") team. In addition, the "2nd" team will typically be permitted to play in the "B" division (unless it is a "Major" team).
• Small associations will rarely field more than one travel team in a given age group. We would normally expect that single travel team to participate in the "B" division. However, in the rare instance where it is a primarily "Major" team, it will be required to play in the "A" division. Note that in no case will it ever be required to play in the "AA" division.

Revised: 05/30/2005

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