U9 AND U11
FEMALE TOURNAMENT TEAMS 2025 / 2026

• Do you have a female hockey player born in:

- 2015 / 2016 - U11 (Atom)
- 2017 / 2018 – U9 (Novice)?

• Are you interested in meeting other hockey families with girls in the NorthEast?
• Are you interested in playing a few extra games with an all female team?

IF YOU ARE, THE NORTHEAST ACES U9 & U11 TOURNAMENT TEAMS ARE FOR YOU!
What is a tournament team?

• Female hockey players can be rostered on 2 teams; a co-ed team in their home town, and an all female team made up of players from around the North East. The tournament team will not practice regularly, but will attend a few select female tournaments throughout the season.
• NOTE: with the introduction of carded teams, technically a female could also be rostered on one of those teams as well however the challenge is that the “all female” tournaments typically are scheduled on Hockey Sask’s designated carded weekends, thus making it impractical to do both.

Why play on the tournament team?

• Once the girls get to U13 (Pee Wee), the goal of the NorthEast Aces program is to have full-time female teams to play on. The tournament teams provide the opportunity for the girls to get a glimpse of this - to experience the female game, meet girls with similar interests from the North East, and have some FUN playing the game they love!
• Please Note: there will be additional costs associated with playing on these teams to cover tournament registration fees-see page 2 for more information. All interested players should register on-line immediately so we can determine how many teams we can ice!

If you have any questions please contact:
 

Laura Little	mobile: (306) 873-9098	e-mail: nightingale16@gmail.com
Brad Hicks	mobile: (306) 921-8732	e-mail: bhicks@bourgault.com

Or go to neaces.ca to register. Registrations will be accepted until 30SEP25.
See Frequently Asked Questions on Pages 2 & 3

U9 AND U11
FEMALE TOURNAMENT TEAMS 2025 / 2026
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which tournaments are usually attended?

• Prince Albert has a large all-female tournament the first weekend of January that is typically attended.
• March Ice in Saskatoon is another great one as it is typically the 3rd weekend in March, so just after the North East league completes for the year.
• Teams have also attended tournaments in Nipawin, Regina, Martensville, Clavet, Leroy and elsewhere within Saskatchewan depending on what the team wants to do! This is always up to the team to decide!

Does this team interfere with their regular hometown co-ed team?

• The goal here is always to avoid conflicting schedules, which is one of the reasons the Prince Albert and March Ice tournaments tend to work out well. Most coaches are willing to work around those two weekends to facilitate their female players.

What is the $25 registration fee used for?

• These teams must be registered with Hockey Sask, so there is a fee associated with administering that.

How much more does it cost to play?

• This obviously can vary with the number of tournaments that the team attends and the number of players on the team, as entry fees are the major expense.

Tournaments at the U9 level usually have fewer and shorter games, therefore entry fees range from $500 to $850, whereas at the U11 level they are more typically $1,000 to $1,250.

• Funds are also needed for any practice ice and team building the team chooses to do!
• In the past fees have been around $150 per player.

Do you need anything to be able to coach or be on the bench?

• The same rules apply to these teams since they are formally registered with Hockey Sask, thus you must have the coaching requirements detailed on their website: Coaching Requirements « Hockey Saskatchewan .

More Frequently Asked Questions on Page 3

U9 AND U11
FEMALE TOURNAMENT TEAMS 2025 / 2026
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How are the teams formed?

• Teams will be formed based on the number of interested players.                                                                                                                            As the maximum roster within Hockey Sask is 21 players, this will involve one of the below pathways:

 

MORE THAN 21 PLAYERS PER AGE DIVISION

• Similar to the ‘skilled-alike’ strategy taken within the NEMHL, teams will be formed with the intention to create balanced and competitive teams for the purpose of tournament play in order to enhance the development and enjoyment of all participants. Please remember that tournaments sanctioned by Hockey Sask are required to establish the expected performance level to allow teams to enter in an appropriate level (in the 2024/25 season, tournaments were entered at the A, B, and C levels).

 

LESS THAN 21 PLAYERS PER AGE DIVISION

• One team will be rostered, however again adhering to the ‘skilled-alike’ strategy in the NEMHL, the goal would be to bring an appropriate roster size (10 to 14 players) to each tournament at the performance level of the tournament.

• Regardless of which team format above is used, the goal will always be for each player to attend 2 to 3 tournaments!

 

MORE THAN 21 PLAYERS PER AGE DIVISION

• EXAMPLE: 26 player register in the U11 division.
• 2 teams will be formed, with 12 to 14 players on each.
• The coaches will determine the rosters based off their knowledge from the NEMHL pre- season tournament and any NEMHL games played.
• One team will target attendance of A/B tournaments; the second will target attendance of B/C tournaments.

 

LESS THAN 21 PLAYERS PER AGE DIVISION

• EXAMPLE: 20 player register in the U11 division.
• 1 team will be formed, with the full 20 players.
• The team will target attendance of A, B, and C tournaments.
• The coaches will determine which players will attend which tournaments based off their knowledge from the NEMHL pre-season tournament and any NEMHL games played, while ensuring the roster size isn’t too large at any tournament (10 to 14 players at each tournament).