Posted on

How to pre-register your team for Winter 2020-21 Hockey Season using a mobile device

Over the last week or so we received an overwhelming response from teams wanting to play hockey in the Winter 2020-21 season. Many of you have already pre-registered.

It is great to see that everyone still loves, and misses ice hockey as much as we do.

If you have already pre-registered your team for the season to secure your spot, thank you! Welcome to the NCHL, we appreciate your commitment to us.

As pre-registration progressed, it became clear to us that some people were having issues finding the “Join New Season” button on Breakout. It is there if you use the desktop version of the site but is not there on mobile version, and the app.

To make things clearer we made a video that shows how to pre-register your team using a mobile version of the website.

The pre-registration process for new teams has not changed. If you are pre-registering a new team for Winter 2020-21 Season all you need to do is pick the right season after creating your team.

More information on how to join a season with a new team can be found here: http://www.nchl.com/how-to-register-your-hockey-team-for-winter-hockey-league/

Since we have received so many pre-registrations, most likely we will have to cap the season at a certain number of teams.

If you are planning to pre-register for winter, do not delay, please do so now.

All teams that pre-register before we open winter season registration will be offered a spot in the league. We are not asking teams to put any money down for a deposit.

We know these are hard times and many players are not thinking about league fees right now, but we need to know when to cap registration. Because of this we are asking you to pre-register your team right now.

Teams that pre-register also get another advantage over teams that do not.

You will receive a 48 hour, exclusive window to register your team for winter, once details are released and registration is open. The rest of the public will not be able to register and put a deposit down during this time.

We hope we can accommodate everyone, but the reality may be that arenas will cap how many ice times are available during the season and that will reduce our ability to accept teams.

Thank you for your support during these hard times.

We are all in this together, and better times will return. There will be hockey.

From all of us at the NCHL, thank you.

Stay healthy and safe.

A Better Way to Play!

Posted on

Pre-Register For Winter 2020-21 Today!

While good news has been hard to come by the last couple months, we hope that this news can cheer you up!

As of today we are opening a pre-registration for the Winter 2020-21 Season. We do not have any dates for the season (though we will aim for our regular September start), and we are not looking for any money down from you. This idea is just to guarantee teams a spot in the league and also gives us a better idea of how many teams we will have this winter.

With all of the economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 situation, multiple leagues have folded in the cities that we operate in. With so many teams looking for a new home, we might have to cap our team amount, and this is the only way to guarantee your spot. The best part is it will cost you $0!

There is also another advantage to signing up. While the order you pre-register does not matter for schedule selection in the fall, it will give you an exclusive 48 hours to sign up your team when we do open full registration. This means you can get in before all the teams that did not pre-register!

GMs can pre-register by going to www.BreakoutPlay.com, selecting your city, and then choosing the Winter 2020-21 Pre-Registration Season.

Thank you,

The NCHL – A Better Way To Play!

Posted on

NCHL Summer 2020 Season Cancelled

It comes with a heavy heart that as of April 30th, the NCHL Summer 2020 Season is officially cancelled. With no timelines for arenas reopening, we don’t see any way to return with any semblance of a Summer Season as we know it. It will be the first time in 15 years that we are not going to have a Summer Season.

This does not mean that we cannot have any hockey this summer! We are keeping our ears to the ground to find out when rinks will be open and operational again. When this happens we will be first to secure ice and try to schedule a mini season, a tournament, or something else so that we can play at least some hockey this summer.

As for the money you have paid for the Summer 2020 Season, you have two options as a team: Your GM can get a full refund, or you can keep your team’s credit on account, and your team will receive a $100 bonus credit when we return to hockey*. All credits will automatically be moved over and applied to the next invoice, but if you would like to get a refund instead, please fill out this form: https://crsdc.formstack.com/forms/nchl_refund_request_summer_2020

Keep in mind that if you ask for a refund, you will lose your team’s $100 bonus credit.

*Your team must have at least $1000 on account to receive the $100 bonus credit.

We are also working hard to have a pre-registration open on May 1st for the Winter 2020-21 Season. We will not be accepting any deposits or payments. We know how tough these times have been on everyone, and money for winter hockey is not a priority right now for most players. If you are planning to have a team in the winter, pre-register tomorrow, there will be a good benefit to doing so! More details will be available tomorrow.

We thank you for your patience and for being a part of the NCHL!

The NCHL – A Better Way To Play

Posted on

NCHL 2019-20 Winter Credit Update

Hello NCHL family,

Last month we had to make the unfortunate decision to cancel the rest of the NCHL 2019-20 Winter Season. With games still remaining for teams, we decided that we would credit everyone with extra games next Winter Season. Since then, we have received feedback from our customers and we have decided that instead of extra games, most customers would rather receive a credit towards their account.

Team accounts will now be credited for their regular season games that were cancelled, plus the 1 playoff game each team is guaranteed. If you are a team GM and would like to receive a refund, please email us at accounting@nchl.com. Please note that all refunds will be subject to a $50 processing fee.

Thank you for your patience and for being a part of the NCHL. We look forward to getting back on the ice!

Posted on

NCHL DELAYS THE START OF SUMMER 2020 HOCKEY SEASON

Being unable to play hockey for the last three weeks has been absolutely soul crushing. And the worst part is we do not know when we will be able to play again.

We have been watching the COVID-19 situation unfold day by day to see if we can spot any clues as to when arenas will be reopening so we all can start playing again.

Each municipality has their own way of dealing with the crisis, some cancelled all public events until June 30th in their facilities (it is unclear if playing recreational hockey with 20-30 people in the arena constitutes a public event at this point, and whether community facilities are expected to follow suit), while others haven’t said anything yet at all about when they will reopen their doors.

It is is under this kind of uncertainty we must make decisions about the summer 2020 hockey season, and it is really, really hard.

What we do know however, is this.

There are two possibilities, one is we are able to put on a shortened summer season if there is enough time to do so, or we will have to cancel the season all together.

At the moment we know for sure we can not start the summer season on time for May 1st.

Our hope is we can still play this summer even if it means having a shorter season, because if the choice is between playing hockey in a shortened season or not playing hockey at all, we will always choose playing hockey.

We started the NCHL because we love the game and not being able to play is absolutely devastating on so many levels.

There are plenty of factors that are beyond our control, but we know there is a drop dead date somewhere between now and the end of May.

That is, if we do not have any kind of certainty by the drop dead date, we will be unable to make the summer 2020 season go.

It will be the first time in 15 years that we will not have a summer season, we hope that this is not the case, but we need to be prepared for this possibility.

In either case, we will make sure that your team is taken care of and we do what is right by you.

If we shorten the season it will be a logistical nightmare do so, but we know you want to play, so we will do everything possible to make it work.

We will need to adjust the number of total games, the way the schedule packages work, the deadlines, and other steps that we can’t foresee at the moment. We will refund the difference to your team GM.

If the season is cancelled, we will refund in full the summer fees you have paid.

Effective immediately, all published deadlines for summer 2020 season are suspended, and the start of the season will be delayed.

We will continue watching the situation as it unfolds day by day and update you as soon as we are able to do so.

Thank you for choosing the NCHL and your patience with us during these unprecedented times.

We hope you are staying safe and healthy.

We will get through this.

NCHL – A Better Way To Play!

Posted on

NCHL Officially Cancels Winter 2019-2020 Hockey Season In Calgary, Edmonton, Richmond and Grande Prairie

On Friday March 13th, 2020 we made the difficult decision to suspend all NCHL, Discover Hockey and Draft Tournament activities, essentially hitting pause on everything we do and joined the fight to flatten the curve. This was one of the hardest things we have had to do in the past 15 years.

The simple truth is, we love hockey, in fact we are a little nuts about it. We love sharing this passion for the game with you on a nightly basis, but your well being is our number one priority. So while we all want to be out there, carving up the ice and scoring goals, we can’t risk spreading the virus.

We appreciate your help and commitment in joining us in this fight by staying at home and limiting contact with others, because the sooner we all stop the spread, the sooner we can get back on the ice and play the game we all love.

Given this new normal we had come to the unwanted conclusion that we are running out of time to complete the regular season and play out the playoffs. We just don’t know when the arenas will open again, and it makes it impossible to plan the playoffs under this level of uncertainty.

We also understand that your season was cut short due to circumstances outside of anyone’s control. Some of you had three games to play and some had as many as five more guaranteed games remaining.

We are all in it together and we are trying as best we can to find our way through it.

After spending a considerable amount of time reviewing our policies and thinking about what we can do to treat everyone fairly, we have decided we will make up all guaranteed games you did not get this winter hockey season (winter 2019-20) in the upcoming winter hockey season (winter 2020-21) by increasing the number of games you will be playing next winter, because after all, we all want to continue playing hockey.

And so with a heavy heart we must inform you that winter 2019-20 hockey season is now officially cancelled.

Thank you for your patience and support during these difficult times, it is greatly appreciated and we will get through it together.

We have set up a special link where we will be positing answers to your frequent questions, please check there before sending us an email as we are not equipped to handle a large volume of customer interactions resulting from the current situation – http://www.nchl.com/covid-19-faq/

We hope to see you all on the ice sooner than later.

Posted on

NCHL Winter Hockey Season Cancelled Due To COVID-19

On Friday, March 13th we made the difficult decision to suspend all NCHL, Discover Hockey and Draft Tournament activities, essentially hitting pause on everything we do and joined the fight to flatten the curve. This was one of the hardest things we have had to do in the past 15 years.

The simple truth is, we love hockey, in fact we are a little nuts about it. We love sharing this passion for the game with you on a nightly basis, but your well being is our number one priority. So while we all want to be out there, carving up the ice and scoring goals, we can’t risk spreading the virus.

We appreciate your help and commitment in joining us in this fight by staying at home and limiting contact with others, because the sooner we all stop the spread, the sooner we can get back on the ice and play the game we all love.

Given this new normal we had come to the unwanted conclusion that we are running out of time to complete the regular season and play out the playoffs. We just don’t know when the arenas will open again, and it makes it impossible to plan the playoffs under this level of uncertainty.

We also understand that your season was cut short due to circumstances outside of anyone’s control. Some of you had three games to play and some had as many as five more guaranteed games remaining.

We are all in it together and we are trying as best we can to find our way through it.

After spending a considerable amount of time reviewing our policies and thinking about what we can do to treat everyone fairly, we have decided we will make up all guaranteed games you did not get this winter hockey season (winter 2019-20) in the upcoming winter hockey season (winter 2020-21) by increasing the number of games you will be playing next winter, because after all, we all want to continue playing hockey.

And so with a heavy heart we must inform you that winter 2019-20 hockey season is now officially cancelled.

Thank you for your patience and support during these difficult times, it is greatly appreciated and we will get through it together.

We have set up a special link where we will be positing answers to your frequent questions, please check there before sending us an email as we are not equipped to handle a large volume of customer interactions resulting from the current situation – http://www.nchl.com/covid-19-faq/

We hope to see you all on the ice sooner than later.

The NCHL – A Better Way To Play!
Posted on

COVID-19 – Frequently Asked Questions – What happens next?

The truth of the matter is no one know what happens next, this is an unprecedented situation so all we can do is take the wait and see approach. At some point the world will return to normal, and social distancing/isolation will end.

We do not know when this will happen, and at the moment no one does. But we are monitoring the situation on an hourly basis and will keep you updated once we have more information on anything that may affect you and your team.

Please continue checking back at http://www.nchl.com/covid-19-faq/

We will post what we know there as we do not have the capacity to respond to every single inquiry in a timely manner as most of the inquiries are about the same questions.

Posted on

COVID-19 UPDATE: How it affects your NCHL ice hockey schedule

We continue to regularly monitor concerns associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) and wanted to take a moment to provide an update as it relates to NCHL activities.

Our top priority, as you know, is the safety of everyone involved with the NCHL.

The Public Health Agency of Canada currently assesses the public health risk associated with COVID-19 as low for Canada and for Canadian travellers.

Public health risk is continually assessed as new information becomes available. Updates on COVID-19 can be found at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

At this time, all arenas and recreation facilities that we have spoken to are still open for activities.

We have not been ordered to pause the NCHL schedule.

We ask that all players and officials use judgment while attending games in the foreseeable future and follow the following recommended procedures.

• Practice frequent and meticulous hand-washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands

• Cover your nose and mouth when coughing and/or sneezing with a tissue or flexed elbow

• Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms

• Quarantine anyone who is sick (players, coaches, roommates etc.)

• Ensure safe food sources; thoroughly cook meat and eggs

• Handshake lines after games should include fist bumps with gloves on or elblow touches

• Use individual water bottles; do not share them

• Towels should not be shared in any way

Multiple hockey organization throughout the world have posted some guidelines for staying healthy on an off the ice. Dr. Michael Stuart from the Mayo Clinic, who is also a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation Medical Committee, has shared the importance that everyone follow the guidelines above and regularly visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization websites for additional information.

We are in constant communication with various forms of government and facility operators and will update you as soon as the situation changes.

At this time, all games are still scheduled to proceed as normal.

The NCHL – A Better Way to Play

Posted on

5 Reasons You Can’t Miss Out On Summer Ice Hockey This Year In Calgary

Ice hockey is more than just a game, it is a lifestyle. If you don’t play summer hockey yet, you need to read this because you won’t be able to take another summer off!

#1 – Amazing Start Times

Did you know that games in the summer start and end much earlier than during the winter season? It is quite normal for hockey games to start around 8-9PM and sometimes even earlier during the summer season. Awesome right?

The reason for this is simple. There is no minor hockey taking place between the months of May and August, and this means all of the best ice times are available for us, the adults.

So if playing in the winter seems like working the graveyard shift, summer will feel amazing with the kinds of starts we are talking about. We the adults deserve good ice times too, right?

#2 – Only Once A Week

One day a week isn’t too much to ask is it? After all if you really love the game, you can spare one day out of your week to play it, right? Actually it is not even a day, it is mere hours.

Think about it, if your game starts at 8PM, you can be there at 7:45PM, dressed in 15 and hop on the ice for the warm up. Play for 75 minutes, hop off the ice, shower in 5 and you are back to the patio somewhere by 9:45PM. The night is young, party on!

Or if you are more like us, you showed up early for your game to meet the team for pre-gamers, take your time getting dressed, enjoy the game, hang out a bit more in the dressing room with everyone and then slowly transition into the parking lot with the team. The night is still young, you are in flip-flops and shorts with a cold one in one hand, a dog in another, what could be better?

This is your night, and the hall pass was issued a long time ago when you got your weekly summer schedule in May. The funny thing is, you will still roll home well past midnight, but you had way more quality time along the way. What’s not to love?!

Bonus, you still have 6 other days to do all the things you want to do in the summer, like golf, BBQ, softball, etc.

#3 – Zero Weekend Games

In the winter hockey season games can fall on any day of the week, including the weekends, which is ok. You probably won’t be going camping when it is -30° C outside.

Of course things are different in the summer. As soon as May Long hits, everyone is rushing out of the city to their favourite camp site. Understandable. Who wants to be cooped up when it is “warm” outside ;).

This is exactly why there are NO weekend games at all during the summer, including playoffs. Sweet! Now you can still play the game you love, go away on the weekend and enjoy the summer. Best of both worlds, right?

Are there games on Fridays since technically it is not the “weekend”, you ask? Nope. No games on Fridays. So you can safely plan your summer weekends starting now. All games will be played on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer ice hockey season.

#4 – Staying With It

Let us ask you this. How many times did you swear under your breath that is after you caught it during your first shift back on the ice and wished you would have never taken the summer off? Every year it becomes a bit harder to come back in mid-season shape if you don’t continue playing hockey in the summer.

What is worse, your hands aren’t getting any favours from your either. The timing is off, the legs are lead and so it continues until you get back to where you were before you stopped. Each year it takes a bit more time. But what if you never stopped?

We are not saying you suddenly will develop McDavid-esque type speed and your hands won’t be silky smooth like Johnny Hockey if you play summer hockey, but the decline will be slower and you won’t be swearing as much as you would have. The timing will still be there, your legs won’t feel like bricks and it wont take any time to get back on the horse, because you never got off it in the first place.

The other thing to consider which is maybe even more important is this. You camped all summer, golfed, BBQ’d and consumed conspicuous amounts of beer, may you be a prime candidate for a heart attack when you step back on the ice?

The mind is willing but the flesh is weak, as the saying goes. Lots of guys push themselves as hard as they did during the winter season on their first shift. Not smart if you did not play in the summer.

So don’t lose your hockey shape, don’t lose what little hockey skill you may have remaining 😉 and stay safe by playing summer hockey. Do yourself a favour, your body will thank you for it, even if it is only once a week.

#5 – Time For Yourself

If you are not yet convinced that you should not stop doing what you love during the summer hockey season consider this. Winters are busy, especially if you are coaching minor hockey like a lot of us do. If you are a head coach, hats off to you! It is busy, busy!

When do you get to enjoy yourself? In the summer. The weather is nice, the ice times are early, the beers are cold, games are only once a week and there are no weekend games. You can hang out with the gang, play the game you love without having to run around all over the place. So take back summer, and enjoy hockey. It is your time!

Bonus Reason #6

You probably know this one already, but the league fees are quite a bit less in the summer. Yes there are less games overall, but in absolute terms, it is much easier on your wallet to play summer hockey than winter hockey and that is a fact.

The playoffs are identical to winter, so right there you are getting a better value in the summer, no doubt. Heck, if you go all the way your team could get 3-4 bonus games to finish off the season, and if you are in the right division, go all the way to Provincials!

So let us ask you, is there a reason why you are not playing summer hockey this year? Please let us know, because the way we see it, there should be none!