WAHA Boundaries/Out of District Guidelines

Per an agreement between Green Bay Area Youth Hockey Association (GBAYHA), De Pere Youth Hockey (DPYH) Association, and WAHA prior to the 2015/16 Season, the following school district boundary rules took effect:

Green Bay Area Youth Hockey Association Districts

• Green Bay School District
• Ashwaubenon School District
• Howard-Suamico School District
• Wrightstown School District

De Pere Youth Hockey Districts

• De Pere Unified School District
• West De Pere School District
• Denmark School District

The School District boundaries apply to a family’s place of residence. The school that a player is attending is irrelevant in determining a player’s home association.

The DPYH Player Registration system includes multiple questions that must be answered honestly. The questions allow DPYH to determine the proper classification and requirements of each registration. Families should reach out to the DPYH Registrar or President with questions during registration. Situations may be referred to the WAHA Region 3 Directors.

Falsifying the address of residence for the player, or previous Association information will not be tolerated.

• Players residing in Pulaski School District, Luxemburg-Casco School District, Seymour School District, Freedom School District, Oconto School District, Door County, Kewaunee County, other school districts outside of Brown County can choose the nearest Association that meets their needs.
• Once an Open District player is claimed through USA Hockey by an Association, that association becomes the player’s permanent “home” Association.
• Questions regarding open district rules or moving to a new residence and the impact it has on a player’s home Association should be directed to the WAHA Region 3 Directors.
• A family that moves to a new residence within the open district area that is adjacent to the player’s previously-established “home” Association, such that players from that area sometimes choose that same Association, is still considered as belonging to the same “home” Association.  In other words, moving does not automatically allow a family to re-choose an Association.

For example:  

• A player that belongs to DPYH, living in the Freedom School District, who moves to the Seymour School District, or moves within the Freedom School District, or even moves to the Pulaski or Luxemburg-Casco School District still belongs to DPYH.
• A player living within the Appleton Area Youth Hockey Association boundary who moves to the Seymour School District still belongs to the Appleton Area Youth Hockey Association.
• Specific scenarios should be directed to Association Registrars or Presidents and WAHA Region 3 Directors.
• A family that moves into a defined boundary of an Association becomes a member of that Association.

• A DPYH family who would like to play a season for a different Association must be released by the DPYH Board of Directors and approved by WAHA to make the transfer.
• A written request including the desired destination Association must be submitted to the DPYH Registrar.
• The DPYH Board decides on the request at an upcoming Board Meeting, usually after hearing the family’s request – in person or in writing, depending on the situation.
• If the DPYH Board grants the request, the WAHA Tier II Player Request form is filled out by DPYH executives and submitted to WAHA for approval and communication to the destination Association.
• All DPYH outstanding debt and fees must be addressed before a release can be granted. Part of the WAHA Tier II Player Request process is a “financial” release. The releasing Association (DPYH) must provide the “Financial” release or WAHA will prohibit the player from being rostered for the destination association.
• The destination Association is not obligated to take an Out-of-District (OOD) player. If the destination Association rejects the player, that Association must grant a release and provide the WAHA Tier II Player Request form to send the player to a different Association or back to the home Association.

• A family from a different association who would like to play a season for DPYH must be released by the home association Board of Directors and approved by WAHA to make the transfer.
• A written request including approval from the home Association must be submitted to the DPYH Registrar.
• The DPYH Board decides on the request at an upcoming Board Meeting, usually after hearing the family’s request – in person or in writing, depending on the situation.
• If the DPYH Board grants the request, the WAHA Tier II Player Request form is signed by DPYH executives and submitted to WAHA for approval and communication to the home Association.
• All outstanding debt and fees from the home association must be addressed before a release can be granted. Part of the WAHA Tier II Player Request process is a “financial” release. The releasing Association must provide the “Financial” release or WAHA will prohibit the player from being rostered for DPYH association.
• DPYH is not obligated to take an Out-of-District (OOD) player. If DPYH rejects the player, that Association must grant a release and provide the WAHA Tier II Player Request form to send the player to a different Association or back to the home Association.
• Releases should be acquired and provided much earlier than the start of tryouts (recommended in August).
• Releases must be re-acquired each season from the home association. WAHA does not support a multi-season release.

• A family who belongs to a non-DPYH Association and wishes to play on a DPYH team for an upcoming season may be allowed to do so. However, DPYH is not obligated to accept Out-of-District (OOD) players.
• DPYH must follow all WAHA rules in effect. WAHA currently prohibits a DPYH team from having more than 2 Out-of-District players
• A family who desires to play on a DPYH team for an upcoming season is encouraged to communicate to the Registrar during the off season, as early as possible (May or June), as team planning and budgeting are underway well before the registration window opens.
• DPYH will determine if the addition of OOD players at a given age-level will force larger team sizes that are not within the optimal range for the age-level. OOD players may be denied or limited if it is detrimental to the team sizes.
• A player from a nearby Association who wishes to be eligible to be accepted on to a DPYH team must be granted a pre-release from their home Association that is approved by WAHA and sent to DPYH prior to the start of tryouts for their age-level to be considered.
• An Out-of-District family that desires to be considered for a DPYH Team should petition the DPYH Board by written request to the DPYH Registrar to the August Board Meeting. A decision may be delayed by the board or deferred to the “DPYH Process for Determining Team Size and OOD Limits” if the Board chooses, as the decision may depend on projected team sizes that are determined once registration numbers are collected.
• See “DPYH Process for Determining Team Size and OOD Limits” below.

DPYH Process for Determining Team Size and OOD Player Limits

• The DPYH Coaching Director, DPYH Board, and Registrar maintain regular communication during the months leading up to tryouts to determine the estimated number of teams and team sizes, and potential situations and recommendations for the upcoming season.
• Due to the late registrations and late cancellations that DPYH has seen for many seasons, the final decision regarding the number of skaters, goalies, or team size range and the maximum number of OOD players a coach and the evaluation team must adhere to for the team selection at a tryout could occur as late as the beginning of the tryout.
• If the DPYH Board does not rule prior to the tryout for a given team or age-level, the final decision regarding the number of skaters, goalies, or team size range and the maximum number of OOD players a coach and the evaluation team must adhere to for the team selection at a tryout is made by reaching an agreement by at least 2 of 3 committee members composed of:
• President (or Registrar or another executive committee member designated if unavailable or conflict of interest)
• Coaching Director (or other coaching committee member designated (if chairperson is unavailable or is head coach of team being decided on or has conflict of interest))
• Coach Age-Level Liaison (or other coaching committee member designated if liaison is unavailable or has conflict of interest))

• Any player who transfers to DPYH who played for any non-DPYH Association the previous season (includes Tier I Associations) must request a Financial Release (WAHA Tier II Player Request form) from their previous Association and have it sent to the WAHA Region 3 Registrar and approved prior to being rostered on a DPYH team.
• Players who had a full release already submitted do not require a separate Financial Release as the financial portion was included in the full release.
• Obtaining a Financial Release may occur after DPYH teams are selected but must occur prior to the USA Hockey official roster deadline (mid-November).  DPYH assumes returning players and OOD players who do not have a financial release prior to tryouts will obtain one successfully as soon as possible after being selected to a DPYH team.

Girls’ Teams (see GBAYHA website <add link> with most updated girls team information)

• A player from a nearby Association that does not have a Girls’ team option may request to play for a GBAYHA Girls’ team without requiring a full release from their home Association.  In other words, the home association can’t deny the transfer.  Only a financial release will be required prior to being rostered on a GBAYHA team if GBAYHA accepts the player.
• The player is not considered an Out-Of-District player for the purpose of the WAHA limits on OOD players per team in this situation, for the season that these conditions are met.

Youth (Co-ed) “A” Teams

• In accordance with current WAHA rules, a player from a nearby Association that is not a Division 1 Association could be selected for a Division 1 “A” team without requiring a pre-release from their home Association.  In other words, if a Division 1 team accepts the OOD player on an “A” team, the player is allowed to “play up” to the Division 1 Association and the home association can’t deny the transfer.  Only a financial release will be required prior to being rostered on the Division 1 team if the Division 1 team accepts the player to a team.
• A player from a nearby Division 1 Association must be granted a Release from their home Association that is approved by WAHA and sent to the Division 1 team prior to the start of tryouts for their age-level.  Then DPYH may accept the OOD player on a team.