Spring Tournament

This is the 25th Annual Spring Tournament, open to all active teams.

By completing an RSVP, you are committing to attend the tournament and pay the entry fee. You are also subject to any late fees and cancellation fees. The tournament is first come, first served until the maximum number of teams has been reached.

• Teams are guaranteed at least 3-4 pool-play games.
• The tournament is setup as pool-play, and teams are ranked based on the fall 2023 standings.
• The tournament first come, first serve.

SPRING TOURNAMENT TEAMS

American University
Auburn University
Coastal Carolina University
College of William and Mary
East Carolina University
Elon University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
High Point University
James Madison University
Liberty University
Loyola University Maryland
Messiah University
Monmouth University – canceled
Old Dominion University – canceled
Rowan University – canceled
Rutgers University
Sacred Heart University – canceled
Salisbury University
Stony Brook University
Towson University
University of California Berkeley / Davis
University of California Santa Barbara – withdrawn
University of Connecticut – canceled
University of Florida
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of North Carolina Wilmington
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rhode Island
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee
University of Texas at Austin
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Washington University in St. Louis
West Chester University
West Virginia University

TEAM ELIGIBILITY

• Must be an active NFHL member in good standing.
• Must have reviewed the current Membership Guide and completed and passed the Annual Assessment.
• Must have paid annual membership dues and not have an outstanding balance.
• There are no minimum game requirements.
• Non-local teams (traveling >90 miles) are required to use the NFHL booking links and stay at an NFHL partner hotel.

TOURNAMENT REQUIREMENTS

• Teams must be able to send a full team to the the tournament OR merge with another NFHL team (for 11 players minimum).
• All players must be eligible participants per each school’s specific club sports eligibility requirements. Rosters must be verified (signed and approved) by the school’s club sports rep.
• All non-local teams (traveling >90 miles) are required to stay at a NFHL partner hotel using the links on the event website.
• Teams must be available to play from 11am-7pm on Friday, 7am-7pm on Saturday AND from 7am-3pm on Sunday.
• Entry fee (2024): $950 per team
• ALL teams must abide by all deadlines.

DEADLINES

• RSVP: (updated) November 1st, 2023
• Entry Fee: February 1st, 2024 (if P2P is received, deadline extended to April 1st)
• Hotel Reservations and Tournament Survey: March 1st, 2024
• Preliminary Rosters: March 15th, 2024
• Tournament Shirt Orders: TBD
• Final Verified Rosters: April 12th, 2024

Spring Tournament Requirements

• Teams are guaranteed at least 3-4 pool-play games.
• The tournament is setup as pool-play, and teams are ranked based on the fall 2023 standings.
• The tournament first come, first serve. Teams must first RSVP and are required to pay dues by the deadline (see below).

Schedule

• All teams are required to be prepared and available to play between 11am-7pm on Friday, 7am-8pm on Saturday AND 7am-3pm on Sunday.
• If a team needs to request to play non-Friday games, they must indicate this on the RSVP form. The NFHL will do its best to accommodate all requests. Non-Friday game requests will be prioritized for teams traveling significant distances or with extenuating circumstances.
• Sometimes games need to be switched and rearranged – we need you to be flexible, patient, and open-minded.
• Teams must bring light and dark colored shirts/jerseys.

Registration Process

• All teams (full and honorary members) are invited to play in the Spring Tournament. It is first come, first serve.
• By submitting an RSVP, you are committing to coming to the tournament with a full team and paying dues. You will be required to pay tournament dues if you submit an RSVP (even if you cancel). Please do not submit an RSVP unless you are 100% committed to coming with a full team and paying dues.
• 2024 Dues = $950 per team.
• Tournament dues are non-refundable.

Deadlines

Teams that would like to participate in the tournament must abide by the following rules and deadlines:

• October 15th, 2023 – RSVP Deadline
  By submitting an RSVP, you are committing to coming to the tournament with a full team. You will be required to pay tournament dues if you submit an RSVP (even if you cancel). Please do not submit an RSVP unless you are 100% committed to coming with a full team and paying dues.
• February 1st, 2024 – Dues/P2P Deadline
  • OPTION 1: PAY ONLINE
    Easiest and fastest way to pay and avoid accruing late fees (late fees start accruing February 2nd – see below).
    ONLINE PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE THROUGH LEAGUEAPPS – click “login” above and pay using the TEAM ADMIN account. If you are a Club Sports Rep trying to make a payment on behalf of the team, please email kristin@nationalfieldhockeyleague.com and request that the invoice be transferred to your account.
  • OPTION 2: MAIL A CHECK
    If mailing a check, it must be received by the NFHL by February 1st (late fees start accruing February 1st – see below). If you have any concerns that your check will not make it to our office by February 1st, please also make sure your school submits a Promise to Pay (P2P) email (option 3) to avoid late fees.
  • OPTION 3: PROMISE TO PAY (P2P) FROM YOUR SCHOOL
    Download the tournament invoice to give to your school (to have them send us a check or pay online). Your school must send us a Promise to Pay (P2P) email by February 1st.  The P2P email must be sent from the team’s assigned school representative (Club Sports Director, etc.), or someone authorized on their behalf, and must include the following:
    • Verification that all paperwork has been submitted and that dues are being processed
    • Estimated timeline of when the NFHL should receive the check

    This P2P email must be sent to info@nationalfieldhockeyleague.com by February 1st. For schools that submit a P2P email, the deadline for the NFHL to receive payment is April 1st.

• March 1st, 2024 – Survey/Hotel Deadline

• • Survey – due March 1st
    All teams must complete the mandatory tournament survey (sent to the captain.coach email).
  • Hotel Reservations – due March 1st
    Teams traveling >90 miles are required to book their hotel reservations using only the booking links provided on our website. Teams should submit their reservation numbers in the tournament survey. Teams will be assigned to a hotel and must book as their assigned hotel.

• March 15th, 2024 – Preliminary Roster Deadline

• • Rosters – must be updated on the NFHL LeagueApps portal (using the team’s ADMIN account).
    • Add players: send them an invite via the Roster on LeagueApps. They will not appear on your roster until they accept the invitation and complete all registration steps. Players are considered ineligible until they have completed the registration, all waivers, and appear on your roster. All players must be fully registered and appear on your LeagueApps roster by March 1st.
    • Remove players: complete this form and we will remove those players from your roster.

• April 12th, 2024 – Final Roster Deadline

• • Rosters – must be updated on the NFHL LeagueApps portal (using the team’s ADMIN account).
    • Add players: send them an invite via the Roster on LeagueApps. They will not appear on your roster until they accept the invitation and complete all registration steps. Players are considered ineligible until they have completed the registration, all waivers, and appear on your roster. All players must be fully registered and appear on your LeagueApps roster by March 1st.
    • Remove players: complete this form and we will remove those players from your roster.

Late Fees

• Dues OR P2P not received by February 1st: a late fee of $50 will be charged to a team’s account (this will be added on February 2nd).
• Dues OR P2P not received by February 15th: an additional late fee of $50 will be charged to a team’s account (a total of $100 – both late fees – will be added February 16th).
• Dues OR P2P not received by March 1st: if the NFHL has not received a team’s dues or a P2P by March 1st, the team will not be allowed to participate in the Spring Tournament. The team will be removed from the tournament, placed on probation and their account deactivated. The team will only be reinstated with a majority vote from the NFHL Board and once the tournament dues and the late fees have been paid.

Cancellations/Withdrawals

All teams must cancel in writing (send email to info@nationalfieldhockeyleague.com). Teams that have submitted a written RSVP and cancel:

• On or before February 1st: still required to pay dues by March 1st. Failure to pay dues will result in probation from the league. A team put on probation will be reinstated once the dues have been paid.
• February 2nd – March 1st: still required to pay dues, any accrued late fees, PLUS a $200 fine by April 1st. Failure to pay dues, any accrued late fees, and the fine will result in probation from the league. A team put on probation will be reinstated once the dues, any accrued late fees, and fine have been paid.
• March 2nd – March 15th: still required to pay dues, any accrued late fees, PLUS a $350 fine by April 15th. Failure to pay dues, any accrued late fees, and the fine will result in probation from the league. A team put on probation will be reinstated once the dues, any accrued late fees, and fines have been paid.
• March 15th – day before tournament: still required to pay dues, any accrued late fees, PLUS a $750 fine by May 1st. Failure to pay dues, any accrued late fees, and the fine will result in probation from the league. A team put on probation and their account deactivated. The team will only be reinstated with a majority vote from the NFHL Board and once the tournament dues and the late fees have been paid.

“No Shows”

Teams that have committed to coming to the Spring Tournament (by submitting an RSVP and sending their dues) and cancel on the day of the tournament or do not show up for 1 or more games at the tournament (including playoff games):

• Will be put on probation until notified by the NFHL Board and must pay a fine of $950.
• The team will be reinstated only by majority votes by the NFHL Board.

Pre-Order Tournament Shirts

• All tournament shirts must be PRE-ORDERED ONLINE.
• Shirts will not be for sale at the tournament.
• Shirts ordered online will be available for pickup at the Registration Table at the tournament. We cannot ship shirts!

ORDER ONLINE HERE

Rules

Male Field Player Addendum: Male Players (Regular and OT) – “Up Two”: The number of male field players allowed for each team is determined prior to the start of the tournament. The team with more male field players, as listed on their final roster submitted to the NFHL, is allowed to field a maximum of 2 more than the number of male field players listed on the opposing team’s roster. The number of male field players on each team’s roster cannot change once the final roster is submitted, regardless of injuries, attendance, etc. The goalie is excluded from this rule.

Rosters

Teams must finalize their LeagueApps roster by the assigned deadline. Please note, all players listed on your roster must be eligible players (per your school’s club sports rules) or alumni of your school. If you are found to have any ineligible players on your team, you can face up to suspension from the league.

Your Spring Tournament roster can be viewed by logging into your NFHL/LeagueApps account (please use your team ADMIN account). To verify your roster, you must print a copy from LeagueApps and have your Club Sports Rep sign and date it.

Player Waiver And Release Form

All players must complete their waivers as part of the online registration process on LeagueApps. Players without waivers are not permitted to participate.

Directions and Field Information

• Virginia Beach Field Hockey Training Center (Fields 1 and 2, Sportsplex)
  • 2044 Landstown Centre Way, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
• Turf shoes only – NO spiked cleats
• Free parking is available for all teams and parents

Fans

• Teams are allowed to have as many fans as they like to attend the tournament.
• Free admission and parking for all fans.
• Please keep your fans updated if any changes are made.
• All fans are required to abide by all NFHL and Sportsplex rules.
• Fans who are disruptive and do not abide by the misconduct rules will be removed from the tournament and will jeopardize their’s teams entry in the tournament.
• We take this VERY seriously!

Misconduct Rules

MISCONDUCT RULES