2008 Festival Registration
Nov. 27-30, 2006   Empire Polo Club
Indio, Calif.
 

Welcome to the 2008 National Hockey Festival

2008 Legacy & Champion Teams

For the 2008 Festival, Under-19 and Under-16 teams will have the opportunity to enter the event under the following categories:

1. Legacy Teams - Teams granted legacy status in 2004 based on consecutive years of Festival attendance, ownership and region. No additional teams will be added following the 2004 designation (view list). All legacy teams must submit registration and fees by the April 15 deadline.
   
    
2. Defending pool champions - Teams that won their pools in the previous year's Festival (view list). All champion teams must submit registration and fees by the April 15 deadline.
    
3. General lottery  Teams randomly selected from a pool of all valid applications. Teams must submit the complete Festival Registration application form and fees by the April 15 deadline to be eligible for the lottery.

All teams submitting applications for the 2008 Festival must pay the required fees and submit the required registration information by the published deadline to be eligible for selection.

The deadline for entry for Adult Open and Mixed Teams is Sept. 15. Registration is accepted in these groups on a first-come, first-served basis until the division is full.

Terms of Selection:

Team Contacts must agree to the following terms of Festival selection when entering a team in the Festival:

1.      Legacy Team Exemption

Teams or clubs with a history of five consecutive Festival appearances from 1999-2003 were granted a Legacy Exemption and automatic entry into the National Hockey Festival.

i. Legacy eligible teams must have had a history of five consecutive Festival appearances from 1999-2003.

ii.     Legacy eligible teams must continue to show continuity as a club, team or program based on two or more of the following criteria

1.       team/club name

2.       team/club ownership, coaching staff or other organizing authority

3.       region represented

b.       Legacy teams must be confirmed and exemptions granted by USA Field Hockey prior to the announced deadline for Festival registration.

c.      Legacy clubs will be allowed exemptions based on the number of teams that club entered in the 2003 Festival with the following stipulations:

i.      Legacy exemptions will be granted for no more than four U19 teams per club and no more than two U16 teams per club.

ii.     Legacy exemptions will not be granted for more teams than a club entered in the 2003 Festival.

iii.     Legacy teams may submit up to two additional teams in the U16 division and two additional teams in the U19 division for the General Lottery.

d.       Legacy Exemptions supersede any other method of automatic qualification into the Festival. Teams may not gain additional exemptions over and above their Legacy allotments as a result of winning pool championships.

e.      Legacy Exemptions are non transferable. Legacy teams/clubs may not sell or otherwise transfer ownership of exemption to another team, club or individual without the consent of USA Field Hockey. Violations of this rule may result in the cancellation of the team’s or club’s Legacy status, disqualification from future Festivals or other penalties as imposed by USA Field Hockey.

f.       All Legacy registrations and fees must be received at the USA Field Hockey National Office by the announced deadline. Failure to submit all required registration information and fees prior to the deadline will result in the forfeiture of Legacy status.

g.      Clubs failing to submit and register the awarded number of legacy teams will forfeit the legacy status for that team in future Festivals.

h.       Additional Legacy teams will not be added as a result of continuous participation in the Festival. The Legacy program may be discontinued at any time as announced by USA Field Hockey. Additional teams may be added by USA Field Hockey based on trends in the sport, Festival venue, regional development or other factors to improve the quality of the event.

i.        Legacy status may be permanently revoked by USA Field Hockey for Code of Conduct violations, deceptive actions, failure to maintain the original demographic/geographic composition of the original legacy-granted team or other actions or activities detrimental to the spirit of the sport or the integrity of the Festival team selection procedure.

j.       USA Field Hockey reserves the right to discontinue the Legacy Exemption program or review, examine, award, revoke or deny Legacy Exemptions.

2.      Champions Exemption

a.        Teams winning pool championships at the National Hockey Festival are eligible for a Champions Exemption and automatic qualification for the following year’s Festival.

b.       Champion Exemption teams must declare their intention to participate in the Festival for the following year prior to the announced deadline for registration.

c.        Registration and fees for Champion Exemption teams must be received at the USA Field Hockey National Office by the announced deadline. Champion teams not submitting the required registration, information and fees prior to the deadline will forfeit their exemption status and will not be eligible for that year’s Festival.

d.       Champion Exemptions are non transferable. Champion teams/clubs may not sell or otherwise transfer ownership of exemption to another team, club or individual without the consent of USA Field Hockey. Violations of this rule may result in the disqualification from future Festivals or other penalties as imposed by USA Field Hockey.

e.        Teams may not earn Champions Exemptions over and above the number of teams they may have registered as a result of Legacy Exemptions.

f.        Teams may not transfer Champions Exemptions across age groups. Champion exemptions earned in the U16 division must be satisfied the following year in the U16 division. U19 champion exemptions must be satisfied the following year in the U19 division.

 

3.      General Lottery

a.        USA Field Hockey will conduct a general lottery of all eligible entries to determine selections to the National Hockey Festival. the Lottery will be conducted under the supervision of USA Field Hockey's auditing firm.

b.      Registration and fees for all teams must be received at the USA Field Hockey National Office by the announced deadline. Teams not submitting the required registration, information and fees prior to the deadline will not be included in the lottery.

c.        Clubs may enter up to six teams in the lottery. Teams receiving Legacy Exemptions may submit up to two additional teams in the lottery.

d.       Clubs/teams are expected to field any or all teams selected by the lottery. To discourage fraudulent or multiple entries for the same team, clubs or individuals retracting or unable to fulfill  commitments based on the number of club squads selected are subject to penalties that may include suspension from the Festival, forfeiture of any or all fees or other penalties as imposed by USA Field Hockey.

e.       Lottery selections are non transferable. Lottery teams/clubs may not sell or otherwise transfer lottery selection to another team, club or individual without the consent of USA Field Hockey. Violations of this rule may result in disqualification from the Festival or other penalties as imposed by USA Field Hockey.