REMEMBER THIS EVENT IS FOR FUN

  • All games will take place at Chenango Valley State Park.
  • Games are played four on four and will be 40 minutes long consisting of two 20 minute halves with a 5 minute break between halves.
  • All participants must be the appropriate age for their division. There are NO exceptions. Any player found to be in violation of this rule will be removed from the event and banned from any future participation in the event at any age level.
  • Final rosters are due one week prior to the event.
  • All players are required to be registered and roster by USA Hockey and the team organizer is required to submit the USA Hockey team numbers that cover all the kids playing on a given Pond Fest team no later than one week prior to the event. No exceptions.
  • All teams and all players play at their own risk.
  • Each team will have no more than sixteen (16) players on a roster and no fewer than six (6). We recommend youth teams do not exceed 8-10 players per team to allow significant ice time to all the participants. The minimum number of players to begin a game is four. There are no goalies in the games, although players that usually play as a goaltender are welcome to skate out as a player to join their team.
  • Teams or individuals that do not show up, forfeit, or are otherwise disqualified, will not be refunded any portion of the entry fee under any circumstances.
  • Players can play for only one team.
  • Each team will play three games.
  • In the event of bad weather, no games will be rescheduled.
  • Event officials reserve the right to determine schedule and competitive divisions based upon age, player ability, experience or other factors.
  • Divisions will be created at the discretion of the event executive director.
  • Game starts, intermissions, and endings will be signaled by one horn which will regulate activities on all rinks simultaneously.
  • All players are required to wear proper hockey skates and HEC approved helmets AND faceshields, along with full hockey protective equipment.
  • Teams need to be ready to play at their designated start time. If a team does not have players ready to play at their start time then no missed ice time will be made up.
  • Prior to every game, each team will provide a player or coach to scrape the rink.
  • Teams switch ends after the first half.
  • Minor penalties: hooking, holding, tripping, interference – typical hockey penalties — result in a goal allowed to the offended team.  Offended team also receives possession of the puck.
  • Major penalties: all offenses of a physical nature – including, but not limited to high sticking, cross-checking, elbowing, roughing, body checking etc – will result in a goal allowed to the offended team.  Player causing major penalty is ejected for the remainder of the game and his team will play shorthanded (3 players) for the remainder of the game.
  • Abuse of on-ice or off-ice officials – including, but not limited to – yelling, swearing or arguing – will be considered a major penalty and will simply not be tolerated.
  • No goalie equipment or goalie sticks are allowed, although goalie skates are allowed. No player can serve as a designated goalie. Each player on ice is expected to play the entire surface. If a player/team is guarding their goal, the opposing team shall be awarded a goal.
  • Players are required to have light AND dark team jerseys/hoodies/pinnies to avoid any duplicate colors by teams playing each other.
  • Off-ice officials may be present to assist in game scoring, penalty calls, puck replacement etc. Off-ice officials will have final say in all game play decisions. Off-ice officials reserve the right to award goals-against to teams whose play is detrimental to the “spirit of the games.”  In the event of “player-called” game play, players are expected to behave in a manner that is reflective of the “spirit of the games and event."
  • There will be no fighting. Players, coaches, parents or spectators involved in on or off ice fights will be removed from the park without replacement and no refund of any fees.
  • There is no checking. As noted, a checking offense results in a major penalty.
  • There are no slapshots. Slapshot fouls result in a minor penalty to the offending team.
  • Players shall not fall or lay on the ice in an effort to protect or block the goal area or any part of the ice surface. A violation shall result in minor penalty. This is a danger to the player and all other players in the game.
  • Lifting the puck above knee level is prohibited. A violation results in the loss of possession. This is a matter of safety.
  • Making contact with the puck using your stick above the waist will result in a change of possession. This is a matter of safety.
  • If the puck goes out of bounds, the last team to touch the puck losses possession.​
  • No offside calls.
  • No icing calls.​
  • During all restarts of play, there will be proper spacing by the team without possession so as to allow the team with possession an opportunity to restart the game in a fair manner.
  • All games are played running time. Player substitutions are made “on-the-fly."​ Some coaches in the past have agreed to do line changes on a coaches whistle signal for younger age groups, this is fine with us but Pond Fest will not coordinate these line changes and they must be done in agreement between the teams playing each other.
  • While we will make our best efforts to conduct the event as planned, the event director reserves the right to cancel or modify the event at his sole and absolute discretion for any reasons he sees fit. Due to the nature of such an event, the event director also reserves the right to determine the number of teams that will participate in the event.
  • Entry fees are absolutely nonrefundable.