USA Hockey

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United States

Organization	USA Hockey
Joined IIHF	1920
President	Ron DeGregorio
IIHF Men's Ranking	7
IIHF Women's Ranking	2
Website	http://www.usahockey.com

USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has nearly 600,000 registered members. The 'USA Hockey Rules' and 'Casebook of Ice Hockey' are updated every two years in odd-numbered years. In off years, a "rules emphasis" is released as an addendum for the rulebook, and during rule-change years any USA Hockey member may submit a rule change proposal to the Board of Directors for consideration.

USA Hockey runs national championships for boys' Tier I and Tier II and girls' divisions at all age levels, knock-out cup competitions for Junior A, B and C boys' leagues, and a total of 10 championships (National, Elite, Elite non-checking, 30-and-over, 40-and-over, 50-and-over, 3 rec-league levels, 2 novice levels) for men's hockey. It also operates the Select 15, 16 and 17 festivals for elite players entering high school, the Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Championships for adults and annual coaching and officiating camps for coaches and on-ice officials at all levels. It also operates the National Team Development Program, based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and composing of a select group of players that have tried out and been selected as the most talented in the nation. It competes in the North American Hockey League in addition to playing NCAA Division I colleges and in International competition. It is not uncommon to see a number of NTDP alumni make it to the NHL. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, six first-round selections (including No. 1 pick Erik Johnson) were former members of the NTDP. In 2007, three NTDP members were selected in the first round, with James vanRiemsdyk going 2nd overall. The NTDP plays home games at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.