Misplaced Pages

#608391

51-803: The Hitmen used to field a 16U team in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL) and 14U teams in the Metro Elite Hockey League (MEHL) before joining the USPHL High Performance Youth Divisions. This American ice hockey team-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a sports team in New Jersey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Minor ice hockey#United States Minor hockey

102-761: A separate but equal course. By 1974 women were becoming more vocal about their restrictions. Prior to 1936, ice hockey in North America was governed by the AAU and the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada . After the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) split ways with its national union, the AAU terminated its working agreement with the CAHA which had allowed for transferring of players and exhibition games between

153-633: A Game premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival . LeBron James founded SpringHill Entertainment in 2007 to produce the award-winning documentary, which chronicles his high school basketball career. The 2011 documentary Empty Hand: The Real Karate Kids , written and directed by Kevin Derek, chronicles four young karate competitors compete en route to the annual AAU Karate Championship national tournament. A 2013 AAU youth basketball documentary Little Ballers ,

204-670: A pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan. Based on the qualities of leadership, character, and sportsmanship, the AAU Sullivan Award goes beyond athletic accomplishments and honors those who have shown strong moral character as well. Golfer Bobby Jones was the first recipient of the AAU Sullivan Award in 1930, beating out other finalists Barney Berling (athletics), Clarence De Mar (athletics), Tommy Hitchcock (polo), Helen Madison (swimming), Helen Wills Moody (tennis), Harlon Rothert (all-around), Ray Rudy (swimming), George Simpson (athletics) and Stella Walsh (athletics) to take home

255-599: A separate group within the AAU organization. Masters Track and Field is now part of USA Track & Field (USATF). The live action short film The Winning Strain was filmed at the 1966 AAU Track and Field championships in New York City and was nominated for an Oscar in 1967 . 1999 HBO documentary Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports won the Peabody Award . In September 2008, More than

306-413: A woman to participate, her results would not be counted in the official race results. In 1970, the first New York City Marathon ignored the AAU rules and allowed women in the event even if it meant that their scores would not be official. For the second New York City Marathon in 1971 the AAU allowed women to participate if they started the race 10 minutes before, or 10 minutes after the men, or if they ran

357-521: Is an amateur sports organization based in the United States . A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 900,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. The philosophy of the AAU is "Sports for All, Forever." The AAU was founded on January 21, 1888, by James E. Sullivan and William Buckingham Curtis with

408-522: Is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America , the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey , while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and

459-697: Is set for debut in 2015 in cooperation with the Canadian Independent Hockey Federation (CIHF). The AAU James E. Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the best collegiate or Olympic-level athlete in the United States – making this award older than the Heisman Trophy (1935). The AAU Sullivan Award is a salute to founder and past president of the Amateur Athletic Union, and

510-573: The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 broke up the AAU's responsibility as the national Olympic sports governing body , the AAU focused on providing sports programs for all participants of all ages beginning at the local and regional levels. The AAU is divided into 55 distinct district associations, which annually sanction 45 sports programs, 250 national championships, and over 30,000 age division events. The AAU events have over 900,000 participants and over 100,000 volunteers. Starting in 1914,

561-790: The International Ice Hockey Association , which merged into the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace to become the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1947. With the merger, the IIHF chose to recognize the AHAUS as the governing body of hockey in the United States, instead of the AAU. Despite the decision by the IIHF, the AAU sent its own team to compete in ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics . The AAU

SECTION 10

#1732786759609

612-615: The Olympic movement to prepare athletes for the Olympic Games . The AAU conducted its first event, championships for boxing, fencing, and wrestling, on April 6, 1888, at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House . The open USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were organized by the AAU between 1888 and 1978. In 1923 the AAU sponsored the First American Track & Field championships for women . In 1897,

663-486: The 1970s, the AAU received growing criticism. Many claimed that its regulatory framework was outdated. Women were banned from participating in certain competitions and some runners were locked out. The sporting goods industry also criticized the AAU for stifling innovation by forcing outdated or overreaching standards on their goods and game equipment. During this time, the Olympic Sports Act of 1978 organized

714-401: The 2020–21 season), it would refer to its age categories by their age limits (with "midget" being renamed "U18", for example) rather than by names. It stated that the new names would be more concise, while there had also been concerns over use of the term " midget " in this context—as the word is now considered a pejorative towards dwarfism . To qualify in a category, the player must be under

765-438: The 2023–2024 season, AAU College Hockey includes Men's Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3, and a Women's Division, aiming to offer the best collegiate hockey experience while prioritizing the needs of its member conferences, programs, student-athletes, and staff. AAU Hockey sponsors national tournaments for minor hockey levels. A North American Championship for Squirt/Atom and PeeWee levels as well as Midget and Bantam levels

816-678: The AAU Board of Directors and presented to under-served New York City area youth. Other AAU Cares events were held in conjunction with the AAU Girls' Junior National Volleyball Championships in 2016 and 2017 respectively where the AAU teamed up with Feeding Children Everywhere to pack a total of 120,000 meals in total for hungry children. Currently in conjunction with the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships are Dig Pink® initiatives benefitting

867-582: The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships was held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex (now ESPN Wide World of Sports) for the first time. It was the first volleyball event to be played in the Fieldhouse at the complex, with a total of 127 teams attending. In 2012, the AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships was named the largest volleyball tournament in the world by Guinness World Records. The event

918-590: The AAU Youth Sports Program. As the popularity of the AAU Youth Sports Program increased, the AAU leaders decided to conduct two national championships simultaneously. The idea came to fruition when Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey proclaimed the first AAU Junior Olympic Games open on August 21, 1967 in downtown Washington, D.C., at the Departmental Auditorium on Constitution Avenue. Five hundred twenty-three athletes competed in

969-586: The AAU held its first national men's basketball championship . The winner was the 23rd Street YMCA from New York City. The first AAU women's basketball tournament was held in April 1926 at the Los Angeles Athletics Club. The Pasadena Athletic & Country Club Flying Rings were crowned the champions. In the 1960s and 1970s, the NCAA engaged in a bitter power struggle with the AAU. After

1020-632: The Amateur Athletic Union barred women athletes from competing in events that it sponsored. In 1914 they changed their rules and allowed women to compete in a limited number of swimming events. Just two years later in 1916, AAU was considering discontinuing their experiment in allowing women at swimming events. In 1922, the Metropolitan AAU in New York City approved a larger program of sanctioned events for women but still barred them from running events over one-half mile because they were considered too strenuous. The reason given for barring women

1071-643: The Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism Award by Sports Destination Management, Best Single Amateur Sporting Event by Sports Travel Awards, and Best Sporting Event by Connect Sports. The AAU Cares program was established in 2016 as the AAU's way of giving back to the community. The first event was held in conjunction with the 86th AAU James E. Sullivan Award. With the assistance of New York State Senator Kevin Parker, bicycles were assembled by

SECTION 20

#1732786759609

1122-817: The Official Rules of the AAU. The AAU formerly worked closely with what is now today the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to prepare U.S. athletes for both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, helping in the qualification of athletes to form the national team. As part of this, the AAU Junior Olympic Games were introduced in 1949, with athletes aged 8 to 16 years, or older in certain sports, being able to participate. Many future World and Olympic champions have appeared in these events, which are still held every year. In

1173-533: The Side-Out Foundation. The AAU Urban Initiative was created in 2015 to provide a holistic approach to athletics. It provides participation opportunities to areas that were historically under served. The initiative partners the AAU with local government, law enforcement, faith-based groups, business communities, educational institutions and other groups who work to bring communities together through sports in service to America's youth. Through mentoring,

1224-883: The US and Canada, news stories pop up from now and then that describes physical abuse on youth officials, in addition to verbal abuse. These problems were addressed in Hockey Canada's "Relax, it's just a game" campaign, which started in 2002. A youth official can usually move up the ladder to juniors after about 2 years of officiating, and after a few years move up to senior hockey. This is, as with players, different for each individual as their skill-curves are differently shaped. Many current and former officials feel that their officiating career has aided them in their professional life as well as being more comfortable with handling critical decisions and upset individuals. Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU )

1275-666: The age limit as of December 31 of the current season. In Finland , the Finnish Ice Hockey Association roughly categorizes minor hockey players to under school-ages and school-ages . Children over 16 are considered as juniors , although the youngest juniors are still at the school-age. Starting of season 2020-21 names of the minor and junior levels has been changed to represent the standards used in international competitions and other minor hockey leagues. New minor and junior hockey levels, reference to old level in parentheses:. In France , hockey teams use

1326-565: The athletes had been mounting for years to find an answer. Track and Field News discussed the subject with its cover article "Take the Money and Run" in November 1971. AAU got its start in New York City. But in 1957, the search began for a permanent national office site rather than renting office space in NYC. In 1970, the AAU officially moved its national headquarters to Indianapolis, serving as

1377-785: The catalyst which eventually bills the city as the “Amateur Sports Capital” of the United States. In 1994, the AAU joined forces with the Walt Disney World Resort, signing a 30-year agreement. As part of that agreement, many of AAU's national championships in many sports are played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista. In 1996, the AAU relocated its national headquarters to Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista , Florida . More than 40 AAU national events are conducted at

1428-933: The complex. The AAU headquarters is located within the former Walt Disney World Preview Center. Programs offered by the AAU include: AAU Sports Program, AAU Junior Olympic Games , AAU James E. Sullivan Memorial Award and the AAU Complete Athlete Program. The AAU has 33 national committees to organize its activities in particular sports. AAU operates under a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status granted in 1996. The Amateur Athletic Union offers participants sport programming in individual and team sports in their local community that they can join and compete with other athletes their own age. There are teams in most sports ranging from 9U to 18U, allowing youth athletes to play for championships in sports against other athletes similar in age and athletic development. The AAU offers sport programming for individuals and teams in

1479-561: The face of cross-ice mandates adopted by the USA Hockey district affiliate. During the 2012–2013 season, AAU junior and youth operations expanded rapidly and currently span coast to coast. More recently, AAU hockey has expanded their youth and Junior programs into Canada. Today, AAU is licensing playing opportunities at all youth age classifications, as well as scholastic, junior, collegiate and adult levels. Although some AAU clubs still use classification terms such as "mites" or "midgets",

1530-432: The following levels : using terms from the national languages of Switzerland. This has nevertheless evolve recently to U9, U11 so this has to be updated. In the United States, USA Hockey designates the following levels: Girls hockey operates under their own age classifications, namely 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U. Many organizations and leagues that have larger numbers of registered players tend to delineate within

1581-575: The following levels: In Germany, German Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels: The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels: Some levels (especially J18 and J20) are directly administered by the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, while lower divisions of the Juniors and below are administered by the respective sub-federation in each landskap . The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation designates

Jersey Hitmen - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-587: The following sports: The AAU Junior Olympic Games is the largest multi-sport event for youth in the United States. It has become the showcase event of the AAU Sports Program. The Games originated from ‘telegraphic' state track and field competitions. National Champions were determined through telephone and/or mail entries instead of head-to-head competition. In 1949, the AAU conducted its first ‘live' national meet in Cleveland, Ohio — giving birth to

1683-490: The goal of creating common standards in amateur sport. Since then, most national championships for youth athletes in the United States have taken place under AAU leadership. From its founding as a publicly supported organization, the AAU has represented U.S. sports within the various international sports federations. In the late 1800s to the early 1900s, Spalding Athletic Library of the Spaulding Company published

1734-500: The highest age groups in Canada and USA also participate in national championships. Minor hockey is not to be confused with minor league professional hockey . In Canada, the age categories are designated by each provincial hockey governing body based on Hockey Canada 's guidelines, and each category may have multiple tiers based on skill. In November 2019, Hockey Canada announced that beginning in 2020 (officially taking effect in

1785-648: The honor. In 1944, Ann Curtis, an 18-year-old swimmer from San Francisco, became the first woman to receive the AAU Sullivan Award. Curtis had captured eight AAU titles during the year. In 2024, the 94th AAU James E. Sullivan Award was presented to college basketball star Caitlin Clark , who became the first ever two-time winner of the award. Other finalists included David Taylor (Wrestler), Emery Lehman (Speedskating), Frederick Richard (Gymnastics), Madisen Skinner (Volleyball) and Noah Jaffe (Para Swimming) . Masters Track and Field officially began in 1968, and in 1971 became

1836-544: The inaugural AAU Junior Olympic Games in Washington, D.C. in 1967. National champions were determined in swimming and track and field. Eighteen AAU records in swimming and three in track and field were established. Since its beginning in Washington, D.C. in 1967, the AAU Junior Olympic Games have been conducted in 19 states and 31 cities across the United States. The Games popularity has exploded from

1887-436: The official AAU youth designations indicate the age group with the format "xU", where "x" is the maximum age number and the "U" indicates "and under". Officials for youth hockey are often youth players themselves, calling games in lower levels than the one they participate in themselves. As with players who start out playing youth hockey, officials start their officiating career by officiating youth hockey, making it up through

1938-521: The organization of national sports events. Prior to the AAU, the National Association of Amateur Athletes of America (NAAA) existed from 1879 to 1888. The AAU was co-founded in 1888 by William Buckingham Curtis to establish standards and uniformity in amateur sports. During its early years the AAU served as a leader in international sport representing the United States in the international sports federations. The AAU worked closely with

1989-730: The original 523 athletes to more than 18,000 participants representing all 50 states and several United States territories. The AAU Junior Olympic Games has been honored with Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism Awards from Sports Destination Management in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023. The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships is one of AAU’s premier and award-winning national events. The inaugural AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships took place on June 25, 1974 in Catonsville, Maryland. Nineteen teams participated, representing 10 states. In June 1997,

2040-657: The program teaches life skills, character development, and harmony. On September 16–17, 2023, the AAU Urban Initiative program held an inaugural 3v3 AAU Basketball Tournament at Times Square in New York City in cooperation with the NYPD. The AAU College Hockey was established in March 2023, through the collaboration of the Collegiate Hockey Federation and Amateur Athletic Union. Beginning with

2091-410: The ranks as their officiating skill increases. USA Hockey defines certain levels of their officials and so does Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation . Currently, many youth officials quit after a few games, mainly due to verbal abuse from parents, coaches and players. The other issue faced by young referees is a reluctance from older officials to give them more advanced games. In

Jersey Hitmen - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-505: The sport of ice hockey. AAU began licensing scholastic ice hockey programs at the HS Varsity and JV classifications about 2009. Then during the 2011–2012 season the AAU began licensing junior and youth leagues as well. The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) moved their operations from USA Hockey into AAU and Hockey Michigan was formed, providing traditional full-ice playing opportunities at the 7U and 8U age classifications (aka mites) in

2193-504: The then United States Olympic Committee and saw the re-establishment of independent associations for the Olympic sports, referred to as national governing bodies . The rise of professionalism in all sports in the latter half of the 20th century also hurt the AAU's viability. As a result, the AAU lost its influence and importance in international sports, and focused on the support and promotion of predominantly youthful athletes, as well as on

2244-624: The two countries. The AAU then issued an ultimatum to the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL) in August 1937, not to have any Canadian-born players in its league. EAHL president Tommy Lockhart chose to break away from the AAU and reached an agreement with the CAHA, then founded the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) to govern ice hockey. The AHAUS and the CAHA joined to form

2295-662: The two-year window allowed for each age group. In these situations, teams composed entirely or primarily of players in their second year of eligibility are designated 'major' teams, while those with players in their 1st year of eligibility are designated "minor" teams. (For example, ten-year-olds would be "squirt majors" while nine-year-olds would be "squirt minors".) This is especially true in "AAA". Some leagues separate players six years old and younger into their own group, often referred to using names like "Mini-Mites", "Mosquitoes", or "Microns." USA Hockey designates four skill levels: The Amateur Athletic Union has returned to licensing

2346-434: Was "under the table." As a result, many American athletes' careers were frequently cut short shortly after their subsidized participation at the collegiate level ended, even as Eastern Bloc and other international athletes frequently had their careers extended under the facade of being a part of national military or police service (usually being more honorary than productive work) which extended their amateurism. Pressure from

2397-559: Was held at ESPN's Wide World of Sports and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The 50th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in 2023 was the largest event to date with 5,194 teams (966 boys and 4228 girls) competing. It's the largest sporting event ever held at the Orange County Convention Center. Over the years, this premier AAU event has been recognized as a seven-time winner of

2448-536: Was precipitated by grumblings of the inefficiency of the AAU to manage the multitude of sports at the Olympic level. USA Gymnastics was formed initially as a feeder program in 1963 as a response to perceived poor performance by the American performers in the Olympics and at World Championships. The USWF was formed in 1968 as an effort to take over amateur wrestling as an independent governing body. Their position

2499-575: Was supported by the United States Olympic Committee led by Avery Brundage , who threatened a United States boycott the Olympics if an AHAUS team was recognized instead of an AAU team. The status of ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics was not resolved until the night before the Olympics began, after bitter negotiations. The International Olympic Committee allowed the AHAUS team to participate, but they were ineligible to win an Olympic medal. The Amateur Sports Act of 1978

2550-458: Was supported when FILA , then wrestling's world governing body, refused to accept membership of "umbrella" sports organizations like the AAU. The International Track Association was formed immediately after the 1972 Olympics. Prior to the formation of the ITA, track and field athletes were amateur athletes, as required by the Olympic creed of the day. The only income they received from their sport

2601-418: Was that if a woman was allowed to run more than a half-mile they would put their reproductive health at risk. But by 1923 the AAU allowed women to compete in most sports, including basketball. The AAU held women's basketball tournaments from 1926 through 1970. In 1961, the Amateur Athletic Union still prohibited women from competing in road running events and even if organizers broke the rule and allowed

SECTION 50

#1732786759609
#608391