Dear NYS/USA Hockey Official,

Welcome to the start of the 2025/26 season. A bright recent look into the future of NYS/USA Hockey Officiating. Staff is working on opportunities to move you forward, with Training, Evaluation program, Mentor Program, new instruction camps. We have staff members to help in educating you to move forward.

If you are a Level 1 official new or returning, we want to encourage you to come back next season. We understand that there are many challenges facing new officials. From the education process, to getting through those first few games. Hopefully, you received mentorship that assisted you along the way. Therefore, consider this your invitation to stick with your local team of officials and continue to serve the game and support your local hockey community. NYS will also be offering a Level 1 in person session to help new officials get the expertise they need for a game situation. There will be ice, and local supervisors there to assist in anything needed to guide you along. Look for times and dates on our web page.

For all our returning officials, we wanted to share updates regarding the 2025-26 Membership Registration process. As promised during Summer 2024, this season will feature the launch of the new online USA Hockey Learning Center. We took a brief hiatus from online education requirements last year, but the Online Education Modules and new Playing Rule Exercises (replacing the Open Book Exam) have now returned, bringing our education program back to the world-leading product our membership deserves.

Please note, the USA Hockey Learning Center will replace the old USA Hockey Courses system that supported online classroom seminar registration and checking your membership registration progress. Accessing the system will require USA Hockey "Single Sign-on" (SSO) credentials which will be provided to you through direct email either prior or following the 2025-26 Membership application process. Once you receive these SSO credentials, we strongly encourage you to record this information in your rulebook.

Speaking of which, this season begins a new four-year playing rule cycle. Which means all officials will receive a new rulebook. A PDF copy of the 2025-29 Playing Rules and supporting Rule Change Summary document can be downloaded at USAHockey.com, and a new USA Hockey Rulebook mobile application is in early development with expected launch by August 2025. Please note, the 2025-29 Playing Rules do not take effect until August 1, 2025.

Lastly, access to the USA Hockey Game Reporting system will work through your USA Hockey Single Sign-on credentials using a link that will be placed in the drop-down menu under the Officials tab at USAHockey.com once the USA Hockey Courses system is shut down.

Staff wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable off-season and look forward to you attending a seminar, so get your registration in and seminars completed as we can get you back on the ice of the greatest game.

Thank you for your dedication. 

Sincerely,

Rick Pratt, NYS RIC 

For more information, officials should visit: https://www.usahockey.com/learningcenter