- Tournaments

Your team may decide to enter in-town or out-of-town tournaments or jamborees (for 6U and 8U). Typically it's best to sit down with your coach and identify tournaments that the coach would like to play in. Once you have a plan, present the plan to the team.

Every family (even those who don't play in the tournament) is responsible for its share of tournament fee and coach costs (applies only to teams with non-parent coaches).

You may not pull players from other teams to participate in a tournament, even lower level teams. Only exception is if a goalie is needed you must have permission from the Director of Hockey, Head Coach of the chosen goalie. and have the registrar process a new Certified Roster with the substitution goalie. This must be a goalie from an even or lower level team.

Most tournaments are hosted by a few large companies that are linked below. Beyond these tournaments, some clubs host their own tournaments. 

• Big Bear Tournaments
• HockeyTime Productions
• MyHockey Tournaments
• Ultimate Tournaments
• TCS Hockey
• Showdown Tournaments
• Synergy Tournaments
• Co-Ed Hockey Tournaments (maintained by a Facebook group)
• All-Girls Hockey Tournaments (Google Spreadsheet maintained by this Facebook group)

**Nashville has become a very popular tournament destination, as such tournaments may special entry rules that you will need to pay special attention to. Due to the sheer volume and limited ice, the number teams accepted to these tournaments is extremely low. Best advice is to apply early and also have back up plan.

6U and 8U teams participate in jamborees (friendly games) and tournaments (games with a championship game) throughout the season. Fees are covered by all players on the team, regardless if they are able to partipate. Below are typical annual events that are held each season, but teams should look to local clubs and companies for exact dates.

• -Chesterfield Hockey Association - Thanksgiving and Winter Break 6U Jamborees
• -Chesterfield Hockey Association - Thanksgiving and Winter Break 8U Tournaments
• -Synergy 8U Tournaments
• Meramec Thanksgiving 8U Tournament
• St. Peters 6U Snowball Jam
• St. Peters 8U Snowball Jam
• Cyclones 6U & 8U Winter Classic - New Years
• Mid Mo 6U & 8U Winter Blast - MLK
• Kirkwood 8U Presidents Day Tournament
• Springfield Kings 6U & 8U President's Day Tournament
• Blue Note Cup 6U/8U
• Affton 6U & 8U St. Patrick's Day Tournament

Once your team has agreed on a tournament, you will need to do the following things:

1. Complete Tournament Application - You should submit your tournament application ASAP so spots don't fill up. Never assume that you are in the tournament just because you sent in the application. Always verify with a contact from the tournament that your team's spot in the tournament is secured. Tournament companies want your team to have a good experience and as such they do their due diligence to ensure teams are competitive. At times if they cannot field enough competitive teams, they will move you to a different city/tournament/date or have to cancel all together.
2. Submit Your Down Payment
3. Submit Hotel Preferences - Most tournaments require you to stay at a tournament-approved hotel, "Stay to Play." You should send those to the tournament director ASAP. All players must stay at the required hotel. Families cannot use hotel points, book through a discount site, etc.
4. Collect Hotel Reservation Information - Some tournaments handle this differently, but some require the team manager to collect credit card information and reservation dates from each family.
5. Travel Permit: If you are traveling outside of the Missouri Hockey district, you must get a travel permit from Missouri Hockey. The cost for the permit ranges from $10 to $30 depending on when you order the permit. Travel permits must be submitted for approval at least 3 weeks prior to travel.

• Click here for all the Travel Permit details and forms

Some other things to consider:

1. Tournament Schedule - You should expect to learn of your game days/times 7-10 days prior to your tournament. Some tournaments can start early as early as 7:00am on the first day and go as late as 6:00pm on the final day. 
2. Plan Team Outings - Oftentimes teams will plan dinners or activities to do when out of town. This is an excellent way to team build. Also consider looking into getting a banquet room one night at your hotel for the kids to play or eat in. If they are unused, the hotel will often give you one for little to no cost.
3. Door Posters - Most teams prepare door signs/door hangers for each player. Good practice is to only use first name or their jersey number on these signs. This helps the kids and parents know where everyone's rooms are. If you're doing multiple out of town tournaments, you can collect them before everyone goes home so you can re-use them or have players bring them each time you travel. Be mindful of what you use to hang them as to not damage hotel room doors.
4. Goody bags - Teams can choose to create goodies bags full of snacks, drinks, etc to enjoy during their time out of town.
5. Volunteers - You will need volunteers for opening the penalty box door for each game during the tournament games.
6. Policies - Many hotels/tournament companies will publish guidelines for behavior and policies to be followed by players and parents during the tournament and at the hotel. Policies could include: quiet hours, no shiny (knee hockey), arrival time to rink, etc.