AA and House Youth Hockey Fees 2014-15

By CAYH Editor

Finally! Clubs increase fees for the first time in what seems like forever. Wait, this is not a good thing!!! However, it does return a certain relevance to this feature on the blog. We had gotten away from doing this every year since most clubs work hard to keep increases to a minimum. Thanks to the Blackhawks' ongoing success, increasing enrollments helped clubs to hold the line. No more.

I plan to compare this season's fee to the original database and write a post about those clubs that have increased fees the most (and least) from the 2010-11 season. But here is the bad news:

Your fees likely went up $100 - $150!

Like this is news? Ok ok, so your friends at the club across town's fees went up also. Is that better? Hourly charges for ice from those in the ice rink business are up. More teams on the ice means more competition for ice slots. And thanks to the Leafs Ice Centre and the IIC, they are NOT building new rinks any time soon!

Increased demand + static supply = BIG $$$$$$$

I spoke with a board member of a club by email last year, and it was his personal opinion that we will see dramatically higher costs over the next 5 years due to the explosive growth that youth hockey has experienced. Do you want a for instance? If you want to play Central States at the Falcons (and who doesn't amirite?), you will pay $600 more than last year for the privilege!

YIKES

I would say this means we are looking at the average NIHL season fee going up from $3,500 to $4,000 in 5 years.

YIKES

I am publishing a Google Docs version of the master 2014-15 fees database. This should make it easy for you to compare the fees charged by most clubs. Clubs are organized by travel B league for proximity with the former SSHL first, NWHL next, and NSYHL last. Central States (CSDHL), NIHL, and in house are also included. You will find the link after the jump.

Youth Hockey Club Fee Database 2014

Sources: Club websites and registration packages.

This document is copyrighted by Chicago Area Youth Hockey blog.  Please link the blog, not the document.

I cannot find the fees for every club. These clubs are highlighted to remind you of this fact. If you know anything about a missing club, please email me. The database will automatically update when changes are made. Also, I do not have all of the travel Mite information in here just yet. Gee thanks CUHL! Now I have to visit 20 more webpages. Look for this information to get added next week.


NB: Change From Last Year

Having seen how people use the database, I have stopped adding the fundraising fee and tryout fee to the ice bill. You are now free to work your Excel magic and include or exclude items from your formulas as you will.


Corrections To The Database

I want this resource for the hockey community to be as accurate as possible. If you notice any discrepancies, please contact me or email me:

See all posts on this topic here.

http://www.capitalchristmasclassic.com/

Notes

A couple of notes on the database. First, any league members outside the immediate Chicago area are excluded. Second, the database may be missing some information but I will try to make it as complete as I can make it. For example, I do not know the uniform charges for most clubs but many have them and it is probably $200. At other clubs, the jerseys are included. You figure it out, because I can't. If you have some information that will help complete the table, please post it anonymously in the comments below or email it to me.

Next, I have endeavored to make the prices as comparable as possible. Discounts such as early registration, multiple player, or goalie are excluded for this reason. The highest fee is presented for tryouts and conditioning for those clubs that vary the fee according to the age group. This year, for the first time, I have added the mandatory tryout and/or registration fee to the total. This enables a more complete picture of actual cost, but makes comparison to the previous databases a little tricky. The mandatory tryout and/or registration should be added to the total, but I leave it up to you to do. I did not do this for the house fees due to the fact that the tryout fee can be included in the house fee or, if charged, different (less) than that charged for travel. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule.

Raffle tickets have evolved into fee reduction opportunities. Because of this, the dollar amounts of these raffles should be included in the fee in the database regardless of how it is presented by the club. Non-resident prices are used for all park district clubs.

There is considerable variation in what is included in the ADM/minor/silver mite programs. Furthermore, there were several USA Hockey mandates related to mites that were implemented recently, and that has affected what travel hockey clubs offer at the 8 and under (8U) age group ... and the price went down at several clubs as a result.

Finally, you must investigate what is included in the fee in order to evaluate the overall value you will receive from a given club. When looking at the fees, keep in mind that AA travel clubs are on the ice 3-5 times per week and have some degree of off ice or dry land training while house teams typically only get on the ice 1-3 times per week. Finally, no one but you can determine the value of the experience a coach or the philosophy of an organization.

As always, your mileage may vary.





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