Introducing: The Carolina Scholastic Hockey League!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cary, NC - Monday, February 6, 2006

USA Hockey, USA Hockey Inline, Central Carolina Hockey and the Carolina Hurricanes would like you to know that youth hockey in North Carolina is about to get a big boost!

The Carolina Scholastic Hockey League (CSHL) has been formed as a 501(c)3 non-profit youth sports organization and has been created to support the organization and promotion of hockey as a viable and accessible club sport in the North Carolina public and private school systems, as well as providing program accessibility to home-schooled students.

This will be done with an eye towards understanding what will be needed to elevate the sport to the status of a varsity-level 'letter' sport by building an overall increased awareness of the sport, teaching the necessary knowledge and skills to participate, and maintaining a specific focus on scholarship.
Creating an 'Ecosystem' of Programs

The Carolina Scholastic Hockey League, which has been created through the kind sponsorship of the Central Carolina Hockey organization and support of the Carolina Hurricanes, will be sanctioned by the USA Hockey and USA Hockey Inline organizations, and as a result youth participating in these leagues will ultimately be eligible to compete against other schools at the state, regional and national levels.

CSHL understands that schools have been forced to face harsh financial realities, and difficult decisions have led to the year-over-year reduction in funding and inclusion of a variety of youth sports as a part of an overall physical education curriculum.

CSHL hopes to provide specific assistance in this area by providing a facility-independent non-profit organizational influence which can work with major sponsors, facility owners, equipment goods and services providers to create a cost-effective, high-quality 'ecosystem' of programs which are designed to be consistently delivered and easily accessible to students in the North Carolina public and private schools, as well as students receiving their education at home.

2005-2006 Middle School 'Pilot'

CSHL is actively engaged in developing a variety of competitive hockey league offerings for the 2006-2007 school year. We are working to build additional support for our programs with additional corporate and other major sponsors, and we are also working with equipment and services providers to ensure that we can provide a high-quality experience that also represents a good value for all participants. During the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year, we will be testing out our methods and infrastructure by conducting a limited number of 'pilot' activities.

2005-2006 proof-of-concept programs will include a Wake County Middle School inline hockey program which will be organized on behalf of a limited number of Wake County public and private Middle Schools. 5th-graders also may be eligible to participate, please contact us for more information. We are able to offer inter-school league play between up to 24 schools organized into 3 conferences. For the 2005-2006 season, each conference can support a maximum of 8 schools, each of which will call a particular inline facility in the greater Raleigh area their 'home rink'. Participating facilities include Jellybeans of Wakefield, Jellybeans of Cary, and the Carolina Sportsplex in Morrisville, NC.

Hurry, this league is forming now!! Contact us quickly, as our pilot program is limited in size and scope, and schools will be admitted on a first-eligible, first-serve basis. Want more information?

Check out CSHL's web site at www.cshl.us, or contact us via e-mail at info@cshl.us, or by phone at (919)342-7153, or (866)645-4323 toll- free.

You can also try to instant message us via AIM or Yahoo! Messenger at the screenname: cshlinfo.

CSHL - We're Goal Oriented!