At the January 2006 Board of Directors planning meeting, it was determined a set of guiding principles was needed for NCP events.   The guiding principles were then drafted and circulated to the provinces for feedback and input.  A telephone conference call was held with the provincial representatives on 17 May 2006 and further work was done on the principles.

The purpose of the guiding principles is to provide everyone involved with the Championships and making decisions around these events with some minimum standards for participant eligibility, hosting criteria, timing of events, etc.

Guiding Principles for:

Outdoor National Championship Program Events

1. The Outdoor National Championships will be scheduled in conjunction with the national teams’ international calendar and as necessary changes may have to be made to the dates to accommodate the international calendar of events, national team invitations, etc.;
2. Participation in outdoor national championships, either as an athlete or a coach, could serve as a requirement for provincial and national carding, as well as national team selection;
3. Medals only to Canadian teams
4. All coaches and officials at the Senior and Age-restricted championships will meet the required minimum standards as set and agreed upon with the Coaching Association of Canada and FHC’s Long Term Athlete Development model;
5. All host venues must preferably be a water-based facility** for the championship and be prepared to sign a hosting agreement with FHC;
6. Organizing Committees must make an effort to obtain sponsorship or costs commitment within their National Championship budgets to fundraise in order to reduce the costs involved in hosting the event;
7. FHC will fund umpires travel and a Tournament Director for these events and an Umpire’s Manager where possible
8. The junior age classification for the tournaments will be in accordance with FHC’s Long Term Athlete Development model (once approved by the membership).

**other surfaces will be considered for the Under 19 so as not to limit hosting opportunities.

Guiding Principles for:

Indoor National Championship Program Events

1. The dates and sites of the Indoor National Championships will be set by the Provincial Associations;
2. FHC will support the National Championships by processing the entry fees and posting results as well as providing up to date tournament technical regulations;
3. Officials including the Tournament Director will be appointed and supported by the host province and the participating teams, if the FHC officials budget is exhausted
4. All coaches and officials at the Senior and Age-restricted championships will meet the required minimum standards as set and agreed upon with the Coaching Association of Canada and FHC’s Long Term Athlete Development model; and
5. The junior age classification for the tournaments will be in accordance with FHC’s Long Term Athlete Development model (once approved by the membership).

Guiding Principles for:

Other Tournament Events

1. The dates and sites of the “Other” tournaments sanctioned by FHC will be set by the host association, e.g., club, school, etc.;
2. FHC will post the dates and other tournament information on FHC’s web site and circulate a tournament bulletin, etc., via email info service;

Participation at FHC Tournaments

Any province which holds Provincial Association Membership (PAM) with FHC is eligible to enter a team in any sanctioned NCP Tournament.  Applications for entry in tournaments must be received at the National Office before the defined deadline date. An entry cannot be accepted without a deposit of $500 per team.

Player Eligibility

All participants, i.e., athletes, coaches, umpires, etc., who take part in a FHC sanctioned tournament must be a current member in good standing with Field Hockey Canada.  Members in good standing with FHC are compiled in the National Membership Database and hold a valid FHC Membership Number.  All participants representing foreign teams must be current members of their National Association and in good standing.

The eligibility of players shall be validated by the Tournament Director and/or their designate, prior to start of the Tournament.

All players in FHC Sanctioned Tournaments are eligible for announced and/or unannounced doping control by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Coaching Certification

FHC has implemented minimum certification requirements.  These requirements are accepted and managed in cooperation with the FHC Executive, Coaching Association of Canada, and National Championships Committee.  Please check the minimum requirements here.

Official Team Party

The official team party shall be outlined in the annually updated Technical Regulations.

FHC Doping Policy

In 2004, Field Hockey Canada accepted the Canadian Policy on Doping in Sport. Team managers and coaches should check the Canadian Policy at www.cces.ca.

Unannounced dope testing can be conducted at any time at Field Hockey Canada competitions.

FHC Policies

All administrative and governance policies of FHC apply to the NCP program.  See corresponding section on this web site.