| (Ed. Note — NY Hockey OnLine is sorry that this was not posted in a more timely fashion.) Mike Trimboli (Massena, N.Y.) was unanimously re-elected to a second three-year term as president of the organization on June 8 during the USA Hockey Congress Meeting in Denver that concluded the organization’s four-day Annual Meeting. “I’m humbled to continue to serve this great organization,” said Trimboli. “I’d like to thank our Congress for its confidence in me, and it is with much optimism that I look forward to the future.“It is always inspiring to see the passion and dedication that shines through during our Annual Meeting. We are so fortunate to have a collaborative environment with volunteers from across the country, our staff and other constituent groups working together as a team to drive the continued growth and evolution of the game.” GROWTH Participation numbers for the 2023-24 season were shared during the Annual Meeting and included 564,468 players, up by 1.49%. Youth players grew to 389,820, while adult players increased to 174,648. The number of female players hit an all-time high of 93,610 in 2023-24, up by 2.58%. The season also included record numbers of coaches (64,280/4.14% increase) and officials (31,125/9.87% increase). PLAYING RULES USA Hockey’s councils, committees and sections reviewed the numerous playing rule proposals that were submitted and will ultimately be voted on during the USA Hockey Winter Meeting this coming January in Nashville. Any rule changes approved will go into effect for the 2025-26 season and remain in place for a four-year cycle. ELECTIONS In addition to the re-election of Mike Trimboli as president, the Congress also re-elected Keith Barrett (Northfield, Vt.) as vice president and Youth Council chair and elected Tom Cline (Sylvania, Ohio) as vice president and Adult Council chair. Caitlin Cahow (Banford, Connecticut), Noah Grove (Frederick, Md.), Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.), Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.), Shelley Looney (Brownstown, Mich.), Chris Clark (South Windsor, Conn.), Matt Herr (Alpine, N.J.) and Bobby Butler (Marlborough, Mass.) were elected as athlete representatives to Congress, with Cahow and Grove also elected to serve as athlete representatives to the Board of Directors. In addition, Dave Margeneau (Maple Grove, Minn.) was elected as representative at-large to Congress, Bob Joyce (Newton, Mass.) as director at-large to the Board and Gordon Bowman (Plymouth, Mich.) as director emeritus. MULDER SALUTED Don Mulder (Fond du Lac, Wis.), who is retiring from his volunteer efforts with USA Hockey after five decades, received a standing ovation during Saturday’s Congress meeting. Mulder has served in varying roles within the organization, including the last 12 years as vice president and Adult Council chair. AWARDS USA Hockey honored several individuals as part of its annual awards program and also recognized its Service Award recipients during Friday’s President’s Awards Dinner. For the full recap, click here. At Saturday’s Congress meeting, USA Hockey president Mike Trimboli presented President’s Awards to volunteer Robert Esche(Utica, N.Y.), as well as staff members Tony Driscoll (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Heather Mannix (Plymouth, Mich.). OTHER NOTES It was noted and celebrated that U.S. national teams played in more gold-medal games in major international competition than any other nation in 2023-24, with gold medals in the Youth Olympic Games, IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship and IIHF World Junior Championship, and silver medals in the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, IIHF Women’s World Championship and IPC Para Sled Hockey World Championship.Attendees were reminded that the requirement for neck laceration protection for players in all USA Hockey age classifications, other than adults, in all games and practices, and also for on-ice officials under the age of 18, goes into effect on August 1, 2024. That legislation was passed by the USA Hockey Congress at its January 2024 meeting. |
