Gauteng Ice Hockey Association (GIHA)
PO Box 8740, Edenglen, 1613
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.giha.co.za
1. Purpose
The purpose of this document is to clarify the floating rules applicable to the official Gauteng Ice
Hockey Association (GIHA) League.
2. Target Audience
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Coaches
Team Managers
Club Owners
Tournament Director
Players
3. Guidelines
General
a. All rules apply regardless of club in a case where a player plays for more than one club.
b. All requests for floating that are within the rules should be communicated to the following
members of GIHA 7 days prior to the game:
 League Director
 Convener of Coaches (To distribute to all Head Coaches)
 Referee in Chief (To distribute to all Referees)
c. Requests for Floating must be endorsed by the Head Coach and Club Owner/Chairman.
d. All requests for floating or changes outside these rules needs to be submitted to the parties
indicated in (b) 14 days prior to the game providing all the required information (If not provided
the submission date will be on the day all info is presented to ALL parties) and approval needs to
be sourced from the Coaches Forum and feedback provided in writing within 5 days. In the case
of feedback not being provided within 7 days, will not automatically indicate agreement and the
matter should be escalated to the President.
e. The process for approval of requests within the Gauteng Coaches Forum is as follows. The
requests must be forwarded to the Head Coaches by the Convener of Coaches. The Head Coaches
should be allowed at least 3 working days to make a decision and provide feedback to all Head
Coaches and the Convener in writing. Once approved by a joint decision of the Coaches forum,
the decision will be communicated to all members of GIHA and ratified at the next GIHA meeting.
f. Decisions for exemptions must always be weighed against factors such as:
 Contribution to growth in Ice Hockey
 The level of skill and experience of the player
 What is best for the player in that specific season
g. The order for floating in the Senior Divisions used in this guideline is as follows:
 2nd Division
 1st Division
Members of Executive Committee:
Marinus Willemstijn (President), Eddie Compton (Vice President), Geraldine Smith (Treasurer), Trudie Coetzee (Woman In Sport)
Riaan Willemstijn, Julie Boyd, Hannes Botha, Greer Brooks, Schalk Strydom (Club Representatives)
Affiliated to:
South African Ice Hockey Association (SAIHA)
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
Gauteng Sports Confederation (GSC)
Document Version: 1.04.00
Template Version: 2.02.00
Affiliated Clubs
Ice Hawks, Pretoria Capitals
Sabres, Vipers, Forest Knights
Associate Clubs
Sweepers, Forest Rats, Warriors
Page 1 of 4
Gauteng Ice Hockey Association (GIHA)
PO Box 8740, Edenglen, 1613
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.giha.co.za
h.
i.
j.
k.
 Premier League (PHL)
Junior Divisions are as follows:
 U12
 U14
 U16
 U18
 U20
Consent to play in higher divisions must be submitted to the League Director and Secretary of
GIHA prior to the first game played by the player(s).
In the case where a player was part of a Junior National Team in the previous season but will be
classified as a Senior Player in the new season the fact that he was part of the Junior Teams will
have impact and only once he makes the Senior Team will it once again make an impact on his
ability to float.
U12 will be an Age Appropriate division with no exceptions allowed for boys or girls older than 11
to play in this league. This can be revisited once U10 is included as a separate division.
Ages
l. The ages used to determine in which league a player may participate is based on the age the
player will turn in that specific year (1 January to 31 December).
m. For each division the player needs to be one year younger than the divisions’ age. For instance
U14 the player must be 13 and younger, for U16 the player must be 15 and younger, etc.
n. As example - if a player turns 16 on 31 December of the year in which the league is played, the
player will not be eligible to play U16 but has to play U18.
Junior Players - Boys
o. All Junior Players with the exception of U14 (To Be Arranged and Approved by the Coaches Forum
in cases where the playing standard of a player is as such that they should not be playing at the
current U14 level) must play in their own Division first. For example U14 players that also plays in
U16, must first play in the U14 league before being allowed to participate in the higher league.
The players’ primary league takes precedence over any other league.
p. Where a player plays in a Higher League the necessary written consent needs to be sourced from
the parents/guardians of the player.
q. Junior Players who have NOT been part of a Junior National Squad may float to any Higher
Division (Contact or Non-Contact Divisions)
r. Where Junior Players have been part of a Junior National Squad the following rules will apply:
i. Players may only float to the 1st – and/or PHL Divisions.
ii. The Player may not play in the 2nd Division.
s. Junior Players who have been selected as part of the Senior National Team will, as a rule, not be
allowed to play in any other division than PHL. Exemption may be sourced in cases where the
club does not have a PHL team or where other circumstances exist.
Members of Executive Committee:
Marinus Willemstijn (President), Eddie Compton (Vice President), Geraldine Smith (Treasurer), Trudie Coetzee (Woman In Sport)
Riaan Willemstijn, Julie Boyd, Hannes Botha, Greer Brooks, Schalk Strydom (Club Representatives)
Affiliated to:
South African Ice Hockey Association (SAIHA)
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
Gauteng Sports Confederation (GSC)
Document Version: 1.04.00
Template Version: 2.02.00
Affiliated Clubs
Ice Hawks, Pretoria Capitals
Sabres, Vipers, Forest Knights
Associate Clubs
Sweepers, Forest Rats, Warriors
Page 2 of 4
Gauteng Ice Hockey Association (GIHA)
PO Box 8740, Edenglen, 1613
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.giha.co.za
Senior Players - Men
t. Players who have been selected as part of the Senior National Team will, as a rule, not be allowed
to play in any other division than PHL. Exemption may be sourced in cases where the club does
not have a PHL team or where such circumstances exist.
u. If a Player have however not been part of a Senior National Team for 2 consecutive seasons the
player will then not be viewed as a Senior National Team Player any longer for this purposes.
v. Other Senior Players may only play in the Non-Contact (2nd Div) OR Contact (1st Div and PHL)
divisions.
w. Players who are not allowed to float between divisions may float from the lower division to the
higher division only once in a season.
x. Once the player has played a 2nd game in the higher division, the player must remain in the
higher division.
y. A player that plays PHL may only play 1st Div and PHL and may not play 2nd div.
z. If the players goes from 1st Div/PHL to 2nd div the following applies (Sit Out).
aa. All can float, but exceptions can be raised to Coaches Forum in cases where its felt stronger
players should not play in the 1st Division.
bb.
Should the player wish to return to the lower division after playing 2 games in the higher
division, he will have to sit out a minimum of 2 lower division games after the last higher division
game, before he will be allowed to play in the lower division again.
cc. If a player floated more than one division higher and played 2 games there, the player will be
required to sit out for two games in each of the lower divisions which he is returning too. Should
the player be lowest division of 3 divisions he will be required to sit out 2 + 2 games before he
can continue to play in the lowest division.
dd.
The game count in the higher division that contributes towards the 2 game count is based on
the season.
Ladies
ee. Woman’s Players may play one division lower than the criteria set for boys and/or men, except
for the U12 Division where ALL players MUST be age appropriate.
ff. The rules of the Men’s/Boys Divisions lady players will be participating in will remain unchanged.
If it’s a contact division the rules for contact will remain unchanged. Except where a Ladies Team
plays against a Boys/Men’s Team the ladies rules will apply.
gg. Where ladies under the age of 18 wants to play in a Boys/Men’s Division, the necessary written
consent needs to be sourced from the parents/guardians of the player.
hh.
The approval for woman players to play in a contact league is subject to GIHA and Coaches
Forum approval and can be revoked at any time.
ii. Any player that is deemed exceptional in the LOWER age group should be escalated to the
coaches’ forum and discussed for revoking the right to play in a lower league.
jj. U14 girls will not be allowed to float to U12 unless exception.
kk. Any Woman player who was part of a National Team may not play in the 2nd Division League.
Members of Executive Committee:
Marinus Willemstijn (President), Eddie Compton (Vice President), Geraldine Smith (Treasurer), Trudie Coetzee (Woman In Sport)
Riaan Willemstijn, Julie Boyd, Hannes Botha, Greer Brooks, Schalk Strydom (Club Representatives)
Affiliated to:
South African Ice Hockey Association (SAIHA)
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
Gauteng Sports Confederation (GSC)
Document Version: 1.04.00
Template Version: 2.02.00
Affiliated Clubs
Ice Hawks, Pretoria Capitals
Sabres, Vipers, Forest Knights
Associate Clubs
Sweepers, Forest Rats, Warriors
Page 3 of 4
Gauteng Ice Hockey Association (GIHA)
PO Box 8740, Edenglen, 1613
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.giha.co.za
Goalkeepers
ll. Goal Keepers can float to any division as long as the division is age appropriate in the case of
Junior Goalies.
mm. Floating of Goalies is only allowed if the team can prove that they do not have a goal keeper
for the specific division.
nn.
Goalies may also float between clubs if required.
oo.
Where there are exemptions for goalies or where there are deviations from the normal
rules, the club needs to provide written report on their current plans for goalie development
which should include names of identified goalies and time frames.
4. Tracked Major Change
2012-09-12: Draft compiled by Eddie Compton.
2012-09-17: (V 1.00.01) Marinus incorporated into the guideline template and sent for verification
to Eddie.
2013-02-23: Updated at GIHA Meeting
2013-03-24: Marinus Updated
2013-04-02: Final Approval and Release V1.01.00
2014-02-22: Make changes in GIHA Workshop
2014-06-21: Update the document for approval and distribution at GIHA meeting.
2015-01-27: Include Ages for Divisions
2015-02-14: Updated as per EXCO Meeting.
2015-03-09: Updated as per Meeting regarding the U12 division being Age appropriate only (point
(ee) (V1.03.02)
2015-03-10: Clarification added (Point j and k) (V1.03.03)
2015-08-15: Included Rule u – Term being considered a Senior National Team Player. (V1.04.00)
Members of Executive Committee:
Marinus Willemstijn (President), Eddie Compton (Vice President), Geraldine Smith (Treasurer), Trudie Coetzee (Woman In Sport)
Riaan Willemstijn, Julie Boyd, Hannes Botha, Greer Brooks, Schalk Strydom (Club Representatives)
Affiliated to:
South African Ice Hockey Association (SAIHA)
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
Gauteng Sports Confederation (GSC)
Document Version: 1.04.00
Template Version: 2.02.00
Affiliated Clubs
Ice Hawks, Pretoria Capitals
Sabres, Vipers, Forest Knights
Associate Clubs
Sweepers, Forest Rats, Warriors
Page 4 of 4