NTDP- USA Hockey’s National Development Program for boys and girls
NED- New England District (made up of 5 states- CT, ME, NH, RI & VT)
Select Teams- Teams made of players selected by each state within the district. Select ages are based on the next season age of the player-not the current year.
Festival- Weekend determined by NED each year for games to be played for the Select teams- 2012 dates are Thursday, March 22 through Sunday, March 25. Location is rotated each year to a different state within the District- 2013- RI

WHAT IS FESTIVALS

The objective of USA Hockey’s Player Development Program is to select and train the most competitive men’s and women’s ice hockey teams to represent the United States at the Olympic, National, National Junior and Select levels of international competition.

The attainment of that goal begins each summer as USA Hockey hosts a series of Select Festivals and Player Development Camps for boys players ages 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and girls players ages 14, 15, 16, and 17. Nearly 1,300 athletes representing each of USA Hockey’s 11 Districts participate in the week-long Festivals and camps, which attract scouts and evaluators from every level of hockey. Festival participants receive on- and off-ice training under the direction of leading USA Hockey coaches, along with current and former National Hockey League and Women’s National Team players. Participants are chosen through an evaluation process conducted at the local and District levels.

LOCAL AND DISTRICT EVALUATION PROCESS

Each state in the New England District conducts tryouts to send a representation to the New England Festivals. These 5 states include CT, ME, NH, RI, and VT. The final outcome is to send the 17 best players (15 skaters and 2 goalies) at each the all of the boys' age groups and 12/13 girl age group, with the 14/15 and 16/17 girl age groups fulfilling allotments from each state and determined by NE District Girls directors.

During the New England Festivals, the kids are there to showcase their talents. They are not there to win a tournament for their perspective state. There is NO championship game. Every team gets 4 games for the players to demonstrate their talents in playing the game of hockey. For the 16/17 year olds, 5 teams for each age group are created by mixing the 85 representatives, putting players from each state on different teams. During the Festival weekend, a host state is responsible for coordinating and executing the event. One of the more critical parts for this weekend is the coordination of the festival evaluators. New England has put together some of the best evaluators; the evaluators come from Division 1 and Division 3 New England College and USA Hockey National Development Team coaches. The 17 best players from each age group are selected and sent to the National Festival weekend.

New England also provides a festival opportunity to the 12 and 13 year olds. Even though they do not move on to the National Festivals, New England provides an opportunity for these young skaters to experience the festivities. This helps take some of the novelty out of the experience if they make it in the latter years and they can focus on the task at hand, showing off their skills and playing hockey.

NEW ENGLANDS WORK IS NOT DONE

New England provides more player evaluation and player development after the National Festival selection process is complete. New England provides a 3-5 day camp for the 13-17 year olds. Location may vary but over the past few years, the boys have been in UCONN and the girls have been at Saint Anselm College in NH. All these camps are conducted in late June to early August and vary by age group. These dates and locations will be announced during the Festival Weekend. These camps are based on yearly cost and normally range from $500 to $600 per year, again depending on age groups and length of camp. This is to provide a setting that allows athletes to compete at their highest level. It is not a tournament, but rather a grueling week of training and competition meant to showcase our players. Winning is not the top priority. The top priority is that players experience a camp of development, on ice and off ice knowledge and outstanding competition with a range of coaches from New England's Prep Schools and Colleges.

They are invited by the New England Festival directors during the Festival Weekend. All players who attend the New England Festivals are eligible to attend the development camps. The camps are filled to capacity each year by using a first come, first served registration process. Early sign up and attendance is recommended.

NOTE- Select Boys 17 NED Camp is now conducted during the Festival Weekend and will start Thursday night and end Sunday. There is no longer a Select 17 Boys Summer Camp.

NOTE-As of 2013, Boys 14 & 15 teams will be mixed teams of players across NE, like the Boys 16 & 17.

SO WHAT ARE THE COST AND COMMITMENTS IF YOU ARE SELECTED-

Cost- based on 2012 tryouts/teams and camps

Maine

Be at Try-Outs as posted on MeAHA website- cost $40
Selected Players- 2012 Team Fee $200, Team Maine Items (optional)- Jacket $50-60, T-Shirt- $10, Hat $10

The Maine Player Fee covers players' payment to the Host for the tournament, Coaches expenses and practices

NOTE- As of 2013, the player fee will increase and there will be NO gate fees, final cost TBD.

NED Yankee Conference Festival Weekend

1. Normally the 4^th weekend in March, rotated each year to a different state- 2013 is in Rhode Island-

2. There may be a Camp format either for Seletc Boys 17 or 16 TBD If there is a Camp format, the payment will be done through NED and the Camp will start Thursday night.

3. In addition to the player Team fee or Camp fee, the family’s cost is the Hotel expenses (Hotel location determined by the hosting state), food and other purchased items availabe at the rinks.

NED Summer Camp- 2013

Dates will be available at Festival Weekend and during the players meetings
Average cost is around $500- available for Boys and Girls 13-17