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Spring Hockey Update

March 24, 2020

On Monday March 23, 2020, the Governor of Michigan issued an Executive Order in Response to COVID- 19 to “Stay Home, Stay Safe” until April 13, 2020. This has caused all the rinks in Michigan to temporarily close and suspend all activities. Many rinks in Michigan have temporarily taken their ice out to reduce expenses during this time. They will need time to restore their facilities once the Executive Order is lifted   to be able to resume normal operations. Some rinks have stated they may not be putting ice back in until the fall season which means associations and teams looking for spring / summer ice may need to find  other nearby facilities to use.

The MAHA Executive Board met on Tuesday March 24, to discuss tryouts for spring and fall teams that had been previously scheduled or postponed until April 7, 2020. USA Hockey has given the Affiliates authority to make decisions, based on current events and local circumstances, during the pandemic.

Therefore, Effective Immediately the MAHA Executive Committee is prohibiting any tryouts, formation of teams, offering of contracts, recruiting etc. for ALL USA Hockey Member programs in the Michigan Affiliate (aka: Everyone) until further notice. This includes all levels of Youth and Girls hockey, for which tryouts were originally to take place in either March or April.

MAHA will monitor issues related to the COVID-19 Pandemic and will provide direction on when tryouts and related activities will be able to begin. Once it is clear when these restrictions will be lifted, and when rinks will be able to resume operations, a new date will be set.

I am sure having to pause these activities is difficult for everyone. But, we urge you to continue to follow the advice of our healthcare professionals and stay healthy. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to hockey just as soon as we are able to. We will do our best to stay on top of this ever-changing situation and continue to adjust to meet the healthcare guidelines, and to provide a safe environment for our participants.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in the matter.

2020/2021 Spring/Fall Team Tryouts

To All Association Presidents, Coaches, Team Mangers and other Team Officials,

The following information below contains very important information regarding try-out season that is upon us.  A violation of anything below may result in a one year suspension.

Now that Districts are over, teams are going to start posting try-outs and prepping for next season. However, there are multiple teams within each district that are still going to states and even some making a push towards nationals.  This is an important time for them and should be focusing on the games ahead, coaches have already begun to try to communicate, poach, or recruit players for next season.  Here are a few things you should know:

1 - Whether it's through you, your coaches, manager, or even a parent on your team, any communication thereof deemed to be recruiting of another rostered player / family on a different team is considered tampering  (MAHA Rule, page 39).

2 - Whether it's through you, your coaches, manager, or even a parent on your team, you may not ask for a player not on your roster to skate in your team's practice, even with a note from the coach (

3 - You are allowed to blanket/mass-market your try-out schedule, but it may not be a targeted list. The difference is mass market is for anyone and everyone being invited to an open try-out.  A targeted list has specific names or specific emails listed, as designed to target and recruit a specific subset of players.

4 - If a family not on your team reaches out to you to skate, it is your prerogative to allow them. If you do so, they must have a written letter (or email) with permission from said coach (note the difference from pt 2 is who initiated the communication). If they don’t have permission form their current coach, you must thank them for calling and tell them you can talk to them once their season is complete.

5 - Due to the new try-out rule, commitment letters are not valid to players crossing seasons.  In other words, you may not offer a Fall 19-20 spot to a player until after the appropriate fall try-out time period. 

6. - Last - any coaching staff looking to move associations in the Spring / Fall may not have more than 50% of its players from the previous regular season.  This is in effect for all age and divisional classifications.

We're CHANGING the Culture of Body Checking

Click on the link to learn more on how USA Hockey has ratified the Declaration of Safety, Fair Play and Respect.

2019/2020 Pilot Programs

More information available at link below.

Information on the 2020 MAHA Player selection camp can be found at the link below!

MAHA Player Selection Camp

2020 MAHA Player Selection Camp registration is now open!

Links for Rostering 2019/2020 season

Safe Sport training

Changes to this program were sent to all registered coaches in June 2019. Go to the USA Hockey website for additional information.

2019/2020 MAHA Background Check

Background Checks are same as previous years. They must be done before you participate with your team.

D4 Monthly Meeting

MAHA District 4 Council typically holds meetings on the second Tuesday of each month, but this is subject to change based on director's availability.  See the D4 Calendar or contact d4chair@maha.org for next meeting date and time.

Visit the CALENDAR page for a by month view of events.

MAHA Annual Guide

The MAHA Annual Guide contains the Rules and Regulations under which we operate.  Coaches and Managers have a responsibility to know these rules.
To access the Guide, click here