National Competitions Rules and Regulations 2021-22
Ahead of competitions registration opening on Wednesday 8th September we have now published the 2021-22 National Competition Rules & Regulations, and can be found here.
Throughout the past year, the lack of hockey has given the National Leagues Committee lots of time to think about the next season. As a result, the Rules Additions document for the new season, has been completely reworked. On top of it being a Rules Additions document, it also includes this season's competition structures which would have been a separate document in the past. It is about 30 pages worth of good content so we will summarise what we feel are the biggest changes/additions.
- The Fringe system has changed. Adults can no longer be fringe players. Fringe Players can now only be U18 players, and U22 players (that hold/have applied for Irish Citizenship). On top of that there is no limit to how many fringe players your team has and they will now count towards your minimum player count (in the past you needed to have 8 + 1 regular players to utilise fringe players). We believe this change will give our juniors and future Team Ireland prospects more playing time as well as give clubs a chance to enter more teams into Senior Leagues.
- The League Cup will now become part of the regular season schedule in that, all senior teams are automatically entered into it.
- There is also additional competitions for both U13 and U15 called the 3-on-3. These will serve as small-scale, small-stakes events designed to provide more creative playing opportunities for current players while also giving new players as well as new teams a better chance to be introduced into organised competitions. They are open to players from both Division A and B and new players entering the game. Teams require less players to enter, there are leniencies towards jerseys and skater/goalie loans, and it will allow all players to develop their fundamental skills for inline, skating and stick handling. Ideally participating teams will be grouped by regions to avoid long travel times, although we have to see how many teams enter from where. These we hope will also serve as good training days for new referees, rather than throwing them straight into chaotic league matches. The exact rules of 3-on-3 can be found in the document. Make no mistake, this serves as an additional competition to the regular leagues, not as a replacement. We also hope that we can organise something similar for U11s but that depends on interest and availability.
- We have also added more matching kit rules that vary from League to League. U13 and U15 teams must wear at least 1 matching jersey for all games. U18, League 1 and League 2 teams must have at least 2 sets of jerseys (light and dark) for all games, and Elite teams must have 2 sets of matching jerseys, matching pants and matching helmet colours (leniency period will apply) for all games. The list of rules/requirements can be found in the document.
- In the document we have also included sections that relate to scheduling rulings and venue requirements for each level of play, so that clubs can look to hosting IHI events at home in the future.
Team registration will on Wednesday for all competitions, so please check your emails regularly.
In regards to season start dates, we are waiting for clarification from Sport Ireland on the new rulings in the Republic of Ireland before we determine the path we're taking to start this season.
We would also like to remind you to submit your club's registration form for this season if you have not already as well as solve any debts you have to Inline Hockey Ireland.
If you have any issues, concerns or questions, please contact National Leagues Coordinator by email artem.muskulidi@inlinehockeyireland.org
