Elliott, please help with Residence Question

[Rude Dog]

Elliott, I'm hoping you or someone else on this board knows the answer to my question.

We have a Mite 2 who started and has played in our Association for 4 years. He moves up to Squirts next year so we need clarification on the Participation Rule.

His parents were divorced after he started playing hockey. His Mom moved outside our Association boundary and he now goes to school outside of our Association boundary. His Dad continues to live in our Association boundary.

The rule states that Residence is defined as: The community in which the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) having primary custody live(s) the majority of time when tryouts begin.

His parents have joint legal and physical custody, so no parent has primary custody. The question is, can he continue to play in our association without obtaining a waiver? Thank you!

[HockeyDad41]

Elliott, I'm hoping you or someone else on this board knows the answer to my question.

We have a Mite 2 who started and has played in our Association for 4 years. He moves up to Squirts next year so we need clarification on the Participation Rule.

His parents were divorced after he started playing hockey. His Mom moved outside our Association boundary and he now goes to school outside of our Association boundary. His Dad continues to live in our Association boundary.

The rule states that Residence is defined as: The community in which the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) having primary custody live(s) the majority of time when tryouts begin.

His parents have joint legal and physical custody, so no parent has primary custody. The question is, can he continue to play in our association without obtaining a waiver? Thank you!

If they are doing 50/50 physical custody then I would interpret the rule to say he can continue to play in his current association without a waiver.

Beside the point is the fact that this is a no brainer. If the kid wants to continue to play in his current association with his buddies he should be able to. It would take a pretty big dbag association pres to deny a waiver like that.

[elliott70]

He can play in either mom or dad lococale. Or if school works for them.

Stay where he was would be the wise choice as that is one less change for the kid.

[Rude Dog]

He can play in either mom or dad. Or if school works for them

Stay where he was wiuld be the wise choice as that is one less change for the,kid

Thank you both for your response. This is really good news for the kid. He's a great kid who had to go through his parents divorcing and now he and his Dad were worried that he would be forced to play in a different Association next year. He loves hockey and wants to continue to play with his friends that he grew up with. His Dad is afraid he might not want to play anymore if he couldn't.

I agree that it's a no-brainer but I think we all know there is no such thing when seperate associations/rivals are involved. If he was a kid who could barely skate it would probably be a no-brainer. However, he is a very good goalie and stands out in his age group.

Awhile back we played against a team from the Association that he now attends school in. After the game both coaches came and asked me who our goalie was. I told them his name and one of them said, "Oh, he goes to school in X, right?" (So he already knew exactly who he was.) Then he asked me if he would be going to their Association next year. I said, "I'm not sure, but I doubt it. He grew up here and his Dad lives here."

So he's on their radar and we know they would obviously like to have him. We will get confirmation of this from our own District Director and hopefully put this to rest so He and his Dad don't have to worry about it anymore.

Again, thank you for the replies.

[preferhockey]

Just let the kid play where hopefully the parents can agree.