Tony Czifra, NRHA Competitions Director issued this statement today to PRH.
Hi All
This is advance notice for all Clubs and Regions that the NRHA are looking to be a bit quicker this season for registrations and league entry forms. The plan is to have fixtures fully in the diary and cast in stone by end of May. This will then be given to the General Secretary and Marketing Director of the NRHA to send out to all, with details of a revised registration process for players, and also affiliation requirements as usual.
The Calendar will also be available as an interactive tool on www.nrha.co.uk for all to use, thanks to the support of Dave Wilson of Colchester RHC. To see an idea of what this will look like, check out the excellent work done by Dave on this, at the following web address :
http://home.clara.net/rollerhockey/ecrha/calendar/calendar2002-2003/test2_index.html
This improvement in efficiency will mean that all clubs will be given a deadline of being registered /affiliated etc by end of July for whatever leagues you wish to enter - I believe that will be the deadline, but don’t quote me as it may change slightly. Due to all the regions agreeing to have the England Roller Hockey Fixtures Meeting (May 10th), this means INCLUDED WITH NRHA REGISTRATION/AFFILIATION DOCUMENTATION you and your Clubs will actually be able to SEE the dates events/leagues/cups will be taking place - which will then help you decide what you are entering for the coming season - MONTHS before the first event takes place.
This means that Nationally and Regionally we will be in a position to have hockey starting, as it is supposed to, on 1st September - if we wish it. Some regions don’t want that (they prefer a longer break over a long summer) and that will be reflected in the fixtures mtg on May 10th. 2 months are lost EVERY season while the NRHA looks to see what entries come dribbling in, so this will address that problem, although - and hence the ADVANCE NOTICE - this will mean a bit of work at Club/Region level to get funds in place to register/affiliate clubs quicker than usual. In reality, I expect that player registrations will still NOT all be received from Clubs in one go, but it will mean the Club working frantically the nearer it gets to a Competition to ensure players are eligible in time for Leagues they have entered. Please note - for National Leagues, LATE ENTRY will not be allowed for the upcoming 2003/4 season, having caused a lot of problems this season.
I know that especially the North and East regions do like to get going quickly and not waste time. If you have plans for International Invitiation Tournaments, or events like the Jubille Cup, Rom Riley Trophy etc - YOUR REGIONAL COMPETITIONS EXECUTIVE will need to authorise the date for these so there is no clash with National or Regional Fixture formats. Make your views/needs known to your Regional Competitions Executive who will be representing you at the meeting on May 10th.
Please also note that a PERMIT for such events is also required, available from the NRHA General Secretary.
Regional Competitions Executives are as follows :
ECRHA - Tony Noble. Email : elyrhc@0800dial.com
NCRHA - Peter Lonsdale : lonsdalepeter@hotmail.com
SCRHA - Paul Williams : Mayflowerrhc@btopenworld.com
SECRHA - Adrian Smith : skeight@aol.com
National - Tony Czifra : a.czifra@ntlworld.com
Have a great end of season, and good luck in the Leagues and Cups you are involved in. This year has seen massive changes for Roller Hockey in the UK, and the 2003/4 season will see even more. I’m really excited by it, and I hope you are too.
LET’S PLAY ROLLER-HOCKEY ! !
Thanks & Brgds
Tony Czifra
Director - Competitions & Officials
National Roller Hockey Association
Fax/Phone : 
0709 239 6339
(Charged at National Mobile Rates)
