PRESS RELEASE - AAU Inline Hockey

AAU Hockey Continues Growth

The AAU Inline Hockey program just experienced its 10th year of significant growth in membership and programming!

The addition of over 60 new facilities and league programs with AAU sanctioning in the 05-'06 season have made AAU Inline Hockey the 7th largest sport in the AAU!

Ice Hockey Added

The AAU is proud to announce that ICE HOCKEY has been added to the AAU Hockey program in 2006-2007.  Student athletes still in high school or younger, effective September 1st, are eligible.

The initial programming for AAU ICE HOCKEY will be to provide leagues and facilities with the ability to operate their programs within their own rule structure.

Benefits of AAU Membership

Comprehensive Insurance Coverage: A benefit of membership in the AAU is an industry leading, comprehensive sport insurance program coverage.
>> More details.

Multi-Sport Youth Membership: A membership by a youth athlete  in one AAU sport is good for all sports under the umbrella of AAU.  Therefore, athletes and coaches do not need to purchase a membership for each sport, one card fits all. >> JOIN AAU

Helpful Online Features:

Register online for multi-year AAU memberships for both individuals and clubs - 1, 2 or 3 years!

AAU Hockey Partnerships

The AAU Inline Hockey has just completed its third season working in cooperation with the recognized Olympic Inline Hockey National Governing Body, USA Rollersports.  AAU furnishes grass roots programming support through its central hockey committee and the nationwide linkage of AAU District Offices.

AAU Hockey Junior Olympic Games: The Hockey Junior Olympics International youth divisions grew to over 60 teams from China,Australia,Canada,Great Britain,Columbia,Mexico and the USA.

Next year promises to be even larger with the addition of girls 12u & 16u and boys birth years. Tour Hockey is the official sponsor of the Team USA program, with additional funding support by Ace Jersey and Southern Sports supply. Product sponsors include Labeda Wheels & Sports Armour.

FIRS World Inline Hockey Championships: The AAU and USARS recently hosted the FIRS World Inline Hockey Championships in Detroit, Michigan, July 14 through 22nd.

The event was held in conjunction with the AAU Hockey Junior Olympics with over 300 youth teams from the USA and 15 international programs in attendance. 1018 games were played in the World Championships, AAU Hockey Junior Olympics-international and club divisions. These events received numerous accolades and media attention through out the world.

Inaugural High School Championship: The inaugural high school inline hockey championships were held in St. Louis, Missouri - a successful and well received event for all participating players and clubs.

On the heels of this event, several new states have committed to sending hockey teams for the 2007 High School Championships. High school hockey programs are some of the fastest developing of AAU programs in the USA.

TORHS AMERICA: The AAU & USARS first year relationship with the TORHS AMERICA program was seen as a success for the sport of inline.

The TORHS America senior men's division was sanctioned by USARS as the official men's USA championships and was also sanctioned by AAU as their official senior men's championships.

A total of $60,000.00 was awarded in the Pro Series 1 & 2 series. The AAU Hockey Junior Olympics,TORHS America and the FIRS World Championships had over 500 teams playing 1600 games in 24 days at the Taylor Sportsplex in Michigan this past July.

Checkout the web sites for results www.aausports.org & www.usarollersports.org.

Learn to Skate Program
The AAU and USARS programs have implemented the "Learn to Skate" program sponsored by Reebok-CCM, Tour and Ace jersey. 

The Fall of 2006 has already been booked by several new  facilities that  have been incorporated since the January "Let's Play Hockey Show" in Las Vegas at the Paris convention center.  Their ideas were shared by rink operators to encourage the approximate 100 program operators who attended the "Think Tank" sponsored by AAU & USARS.   We are planning several more follow-up seminars for this years Lets Play Hockey Show in Las Vegas. Register now at the web site www.letsplayhockey.com

Reference Manuals

The AAU & USARS program have helped fund and create new referee and coaches manuals and certification tests for the sport of inline hockey.  USARS has updated these existing programs and we look forward to their implementation on a nationwide basis. Several educational seminars are currently being implemented for September. Reebok-CCM & Tours are sponsoring these programs.

Promote Inline Hockey

Collectively, AAU Hockey has been cooperating with other organizations and businesses to help promote & grow the sport of inline roller hockey.  In the near future, we'll be announcing several exciting opportunities currently being developed both nationally and internationally for our athletes.

National Governing Body web sites
www.usarollersports.org
www.teamusajrprospects.org  

World Governing Body
www.rollersports.org

Grass roots organizations
www.aauhockey.org and www.torhs.com

Keith Noll
AAU National Chair- Hockey
USARS Hockey Committee

www.aauhockey.org