by Jessica Shayne

Created on: February 21, 2009   Last Updated: February 26, 2009

How To Organize a Hockey Tournament.

Hockey tournaments are usually fun for all involved but can be disastrous if not organized properly. Here is some useful information that you can use as a reference when planning your own tournament. This article is geared towards those that belong to an established hockey association but even if you do not, most of the following will still apply. A person in charge of organizing a tournament is typically called a convenor. As a convenor you are responsible for everything from trophies to conflicts and everything in between. You will need to be at the arena for the entire tournament, or have someone there in place of you, should any problems arise.

On the first day of the tournament introduce yourself to the head coach of each team and answer any questions he/she might have. This is when you will collect their travel permit issued to them by their association and give the coach his package (explained later in this article), which you have prepared for them. First on your list of duties is to secure a location, most likely your local arena. Call or meet with the arena manager to discuss ice rental fees, available ice time and any rules set by the arena.

If your association does not have a set tournament entrance fee, add the required ice time cost with the cost for referees and anything else you want paid for by the entrance fee. If your fee is too low you risk losing money on your tournament, however if it is too high some teams may refuse to enter. Once a date is set, you need to get some teams together. For the sake of this article we'll use 12 teams, but tournaments can be run with as few as four teams up to twenty or more teams.

Usually the maximum number is set by your hockey association, but if not, you will have to be certain you have booked enough ice time before sending out invitations. It is helpful at this point to work out a mock schedule so you know where you stand with available time. Since most associations have now designated contacts for each division, mail or email those contacts with all of your tournament information. Your invitations should at least include the following: -Tournament date and location -Entry fee amount -A form for team information -Your contact information A team information form is a blank form that the coach or team manager of the invited team must fill out and return to you with the tournament entrance fee. Space should be allocated on the form for the team name, player names, jersey

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