Travel Hockey Financial Overview

Click HERE for a PDF download of the following information.

Registration Fees

MAYHA travel team registration fees cover the cost of ice time, referees, scorekeepers, coaching stipends, uniforms, initial team account deposits, pucks and other rink equipment, two tournament entry fees, MAYHA staffing expenses, league expenses, and various miscellaneous costs.

Initial Team Account Deposit

Travel teams will have $150 of each team member’s registration fee transferred to their team account after tryouts. This serves as the initial balance in the team account managed by the team manager. For example, if there are 15 players selected to a team, then $2250 will be the initial team account balance to be used for team expenses.

Team Expenses

Travel team families are responsible for covering additional team-related expenses such as non-parent coach travel costs and entry fees for tournaments beyond the two included. Other potential expenses may include end-of-season coach’s gifts, state tournament expenses, dryland training costs, and team parties or dinners. Team managers will typically collect team expenses in two or three installments throughout the season.

All travel players and families are expected to split travel costs evenly throughout the season. Each player/family will pay the same amount whether they travel with the team each weekend or not. Exceptions will be made in the case of an extended injury or illness (including concussion) where the player is not medically cleared to participate in games and practices for a period of three or more weeks. The parent/guardian must submit a request for a refund or adjustment to the youth hockey director following the refund policy protocol.

Each family is responsible for their own individual travel expenses (hotels, meals, gas).

Travel Expectations and Expense Estimates

MAYHA programs are committed to utilizing USA Hockey’s American Development Model (ADM) as a guideline to determine the appropriate range for the number of games each team plays throughout the season, ensuring a balanced approach to skill development and competition.

Families may use the provided estimates as a general guideline for anticipated team expenses and the number of travel weekends or games for each age group. Travel distances can vary based on the age division and level of play. Players selected for “A” teams should expect to travel farther.

Travel Team Fundraising/Raffles

Travel teams may conduct fundraising activities, such as raffles, during their home tournament. These fundraising efforts can significantly reduce team expenses, and teams are encouraged to fully utilize their home tournament to help offset costs. The following policies apply to team fundraising:

• All fundraising proceeds must be used solely for team expenses.
• Any fundraising efforts outside of the team’s home tournament must receive prior approval from MAYHA’s executive director. The director may deny the request if it may impact rink-wide fundraising or sponsor relationships.
• Teams may only reimburse families up to the initial team deposit amount of $150. Any funds raised that exceed this amount may not be returned to individual players or families.

Financial Assistance

Families needing assistance with their registration fees are encouraged to apply for financial aid, which may cover a maximum of 2/3 of the player’s registration fee. Families may apply using this application on the website, and the youth hockey director will notify families within two weeks following receipt of the financial assistance form.
Financial aid only applies to registration fees and cannot be applied to late fees, team fees, travel expenses or equipment rental. All policies governing the payment of fees apply to fees that remain after a player is credited with a financial aid amount.

Explaining This Season’s Travel Fee Adjustments

Travel team fees have been updated to reflect the following program changes and improvements:

• The volunteer fee structure has been removed and replaced with a new volunteer credit system.
• Tryout preparation skates are now included in the cost of registration.
• The initial team account deposit has increased from $75 to $150 to better support team expenses throughout the season and reduce the need for managers to collect additional payments.
• Paid scorekeepers will now be used for league games. Registration fees have been adjusted to reflect this added staffing cost.
• Hudl game review software will be provided for 14U, 19U, and High School teams to support player development and team tactics review.
• We are now more accurately accounting for uniform expenses, particularly the cost of stocking and replacing game socks.