Thursday, June 20, 2019  

Dear USA Hockey player and parent,

You recently received a summary of several significant changes to the USA Hockey SafeSport Program. Recent changes to federal law and by the U.S. Center for SafeSport require that adults in all sports and all organizations who have regular contract with minor athletes must complete SafeSport Training -- this includes adult-age players that play on a team in an age category that may also include minor-age players. In USA Hockey, the Youth (18U), Girls (19U), Junior, High School and Disabled Hockey levels of play all permit players who are, or will be, 18 years of age or older to participate on teams with players that may be under 18. To comply with law and to avoid being required to remove players from a team in the middle of a season, USA Hockey is requiring that all potentially affected players complete SafeSport Training prior to being added to or participating with a team.

You are receiving this email because you (or your son or daughter) were born in the years 1999 to 2002 and are eligible to play on a team in a classification that allows minor-age players. If you intend to play on a team in the Youth (18U), Girls (19U), Junior or High School classifications, you will be required to complete SafeSport Training prior to being added to the roster. Players that have not completed training will not be permitted on a roster and may not participate on any of the aforementioned teams until the training is completed. If you are 18 or over and are playing only Adult hockey, then you are not required to complete SafeSport Training.

If you (or your son or daughter) are under 18 at the time of training, USA Hockey is required to obtain parental consent for the player to complete training. If you registered on or after May 28, 2019, then the consent was incorporated into your registration; if you registered prior to May 28, USA Hockey will be contacting you soon to obtain the consent of the parents for a minor-age player to complete the SafeSport Training.

The training requirement must be completed every year prior to participation each season. The training is provided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and each player required to complete training must first take the “Core Center for SafeSport Training,” which is completed online and takes approximately 90 – 120 minutes. In subsequent seasons, players will complete the Center for SafeSport’s “Refresher Course,” which is also online and takes 30 minutes or less to complete. There is no cost to complete either training course.

We strongly encourage you to complete the training now so that there will be no delay in you being allowed to participate or join a team. The training can be accessed at www.usahockey.com/safesporttraining and will require you to have your USA Hockey registration number.

It is also important to know that all persons of adult age in USA Hockey programs (as with adults in all youth sports organizations) are considered mandatory reporters of child abuse, including sexual abuse. Accordingly, in the event of any actual or suspected sexual misconduct or child abuse, any adults must report such information to the U.S. Center for SafeSport and, when appropriate, to applicable law enforcement.

A copy of the USA Hockey SafeSport Program Handbook can be found at the USA Hockey website at www.usahockey.com/safesportprogram. Please refer to the SafeSport Handbook for details of these and other policies affecting USA Hockey programs. You can also reach out to your Affiliate SafeSport Coordinator or to USA Hockey if you have questions or need assistance.

Thank you again for all of your efforts in support of the safety of participants in USA Hockey programs.