Carolina Amateur Hockey Association

Designated USA Hockey Affiliate Association 
for North and South Carolina

“Ensuring every day will be a great day for hockey!”

Carolina Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) is the USA Hockey governing body for ice hockey in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. Formed in 2000, CAHA's mission is to encourage, foster and promote the development and growth of the sport of amateur hockey in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The CAHA Championship Tournaments are the qualifying tournaments to advance teams to the Southeastern District Tournament and the USA Hockey National Championships.

CHANGES TO 2021 CAHA TOURNAMENT DUE TO COVID-19 EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 15,2020

This change to the 2021 CAHA State Tournament is effective immediately and is being put in place due to COVID-19 spread. This includes a change in the tournament format and backup plans in case COVID-19 restrictions cause the 2021 CAHA Tournament to be cancelled.  USA Hockey is meeting in January to determine whether the USAH National Championships should take place, change locations, or delayed. CAHA is operating on the assumption that they will take place and is planning accordingly.

The following changes are being made to the 2021 CAHA Tournament:

Tournament Location – South Carolina Tournaments (currently 14U and 16U) will be held as planned in a Best of 3 format in Charleston, SC. North Carolina Tournament will be moved to the Winston-Salem Annex in Winston-Salem, NC. This venue will give us the opportunity to extend out the tournament over an additional day and provide a venue with more space to spread out spectators in this 3,100 seat facility.

Tournament Timing – South Carolina Tournaments will remain on the same timing and the North Carolina Tournament in Winston-Salem will be expanded from Friday 2/26/21 to Monday 3/1/21. The schedule will be available by 12/28/21.

Tournament Format – the North Carolina Tournament will now be a 2-game minimum where teams will play 2 preliminary round games with the top 2 teams moving into the Championship Game.

Tournament Seeding – teams will be seeded using MyHockeyRankings that are released on 2/17/21. Teams will be responsible for verifying their MyHockeyRanking games, scores, and opponent information by 2/17/21. Games not included in MyHockeyRankings will not be included in the calculation to select teams.

ALTERNATIVE PLANS – CAHA has adopted alternative plans if the 2021 CAHA Tournament cannot be played due to COVID-19 restrictions or precautions.

PLAN B - CAHA will adopt “Plan B” which will be a Best of 3 series between the top 2 teams in each age group as determined by the MyHockeyRankings on January 27, 2021. The determination to move to Plan B will be made on February 1, 2021. This Best of 3 series will take place between February 1 and February 28. The adoption of this plan will be made if the state or local orders require that events like a tournament cannot be held but individual games can be played. South Carolina teams are already in a Best of 3 format so Plan B only applies to North Carolina teams.

PLAN C - CAHA will adopt “Plan C” if the Tournament or Best of 3 “Plan B” cannot be played by 2/28/21 due to state or local COVID-19 restrictions. Plan C will consist of selecting the top seed in the tournament to move on to the USA Hockey National Championships. The top seed is determined by MyHockeyRankings on 2/17/21. This determination to move to Plan C will be made by March 1, 2021.

ALL NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA TIER II TEAMS MUST COMPLETE BOTH THE TOURNAMENT APPLICATION AND THE COVID-19 ADDENDUM TO PARTICIPATE IN A STATE TOURAMENT.

The tournaments are open to all Tier I and Tier II Youth and Girls teams in applicable age classifications. Participation in the CHL is not required for Tier II teams.

This application also serves as the formal declaration form for teams that bypass the CAHA Championship Tournament and advance directly to the Southeastern District Championship Tournament or the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament.

This form must be completed by the Head Coach or Team Manager for any team making a declaration for the Southeastern District Tournament or the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament or making an application to participate in the CAHA Championship Tournaments. Teams will not remit fees with this application.

Declaration/Application Deadline:
The deadline for formal declarations and applications to participate in this tournament is December 21, 2021.

Tournament Dates:

North Carolina - to be held on February 26-27-28 & March 1 at the Winston Salem Annex. 14U - games begin the morning of Sunday, February 28 and conclude with the Championship Game on Monday, March 1. 16U & 18U - games begin the morning of Friday, February 26 and conclude with the Championship Games on Saturday, February 27.

South Carolina - games will be held as planned in a Best of 3 format as follows: 14U – February 27-28 in Charleston, 16U – February 5-6 in Charleston.

Fees:
Teams will not remit fees with this application.

The fee schedule will be based on the number of applicant teams and full payment of fees will be due no later than January 30, 2021. In the event an applicant does not remit full payment of fees by January 30, that team will be withdrawn from the tournament.

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