What is USA Hockey’s Role in Amateur Athletics?

USA Hockey is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. As the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States, among its many other activities, USA Hockey organizes and trains men’s and women’s teams for international tournaments, including the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and IIHF World Championships.

Participating in international competition, while an important piece of USA Hockey’s activities, is not its entire focus. USA Hockey’s major emphasis is on the organization, support and development of grassroots hockey programs across the United States.

What is the Structure of the U.S. Women’s National Team?

The U.S. Women’s National Team is not a standing team, meaning that it is not a full-time team with a full-time commitment. There are players identified in a player pool, from which players are invited to participate in U.S. Women’s National Team activities. In a typical non-Olympic year, the team competes in two international competitions and holds three-to-four separate training camps. All participation is voluntary. A player who participates in all invited activities is involved for approximately 60-70 days over the course of a year. When not with the team, the players are provided with suggested training programs to follow, but it is up to the players to decide whether or not to follow the suggested training or to train on their own. Many players choose to train together, but others train on their own and follow different programs. Some of those players also play in college, or in the National Women’s Hockey League (where they are paid by their teams). During an Olympic training period, which typically runs from September 1 to the beginning of the Olympics, the players named to the U.S. Women’s National Team participate in a residency program where they train and compete in advance of the Olympic Winter Games.

What is USA Hockey offering the players and what are the players demanding of USA Hockey?

It is important to note that negotiations with members of the U.S. Women’s National Team have been underway for several months and USA Hockey has increased its level of support during those negotiations. Below is the latest offer made to the players. During the negotiations, the demands from the players have only increased, with their most recent proposal dated March 8, 2017, described below.

What is USA Hockey’s Proposal?

USA Hockey has offered terms to the Women’s National Team players for the Olympic training and performance period that include the opportunity to be provided with more than $90,000 in training stipends and other performance incentives for gold-medal performances in both the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championship and the Olympic Winter Games. In the case of silver-medal performances in both events, players could receive $74,000 each. USA Hockey’s offer to the players is more than 50% greater than what they received in 2014. These figures do not include other substantial expenditures by USA Hockey for housing stipends, travel allowances, meal expenses, medical and disability insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite level support staff to train and prepare the players.

In non-Olympic years, players are typically together at various times throughout the year for approximately 60-70 days, for two competitions and three to four camps. Most players receive $24,000 each in cash training stipends, allocated by USA Hockey through funding provided by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Players are also eligible for a performance bonus up to $7,500 for winning gold in the world championship. Those funds are in addition to other expenditures for housing, travel, meals, insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite level support staff to train and prepare the players, a total that exceeds $1 million annually.

What are Players' Demands?

According to our calculations, the players’ demands would result in total player compensation in an Olympic year of approximately $210,000 per player if the team attains a silver medal and $237,000 for a gold medal. The total includes requested player compensation, per game payments, travel for a guest to every event and exhibition game, roster bonus, performance bonuses, training stipends, and benefits and payroll taxes that would be required under the proposal. This does not include the operational expenses of the team, including housing stipend, travel allowances, meal expenses, medical and disability insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite-level support staff to train and prepare the players, which in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games totaled more than $2 million. Further, the demands from the players also include a wide variety of other financial obligations to USA Hockey, such as business class airfare on flights of more than three hours, day care, nanny support and increased staffing that total more than $1.3 million.

Additionally, in a non-Olympic year, according to our calculations, the players’ demands would result in approximately $146,000 per player for a silver-medal performance and approximately $149,000 each for gold. The additional operational expenses of the team noted above are not included in those figures. Further, the demands from the players (business class airfare on flights of more than three hours, day care, nanny support and increased staffing, etc.) total more than $830,000.

In total, the player's demands, including compensation, benefits and other expenses of operating the program, exceed $8 million in an Olympic year and $5.7 in a non-Olympic year.

What Are the Next Steps in Reaching an Agreement?

USA Hockey will continue to have conversations with representatives of players that are part of the U.S. Women’s National Team program. The clear objective is to resolve the situation so that the players previously selected to play in the upcoming IIHF World Championship are those that represent our country. From the outset, USA Hockey has been clear it will not employ players; however, that does not mean USA Hockey is opposed to a yearly agreement which outlines allocation of direct athlete support and other training resources that USA Hockey is willing to provide to players. USA Hockey has moved its offer significantly during the course of the current negotiations and believes its offer is comparable or better than any federation that sponsors women’s ice hockey.

Players Have Said USA Hockey Will Not Provide Them With a Living Wage. What's the Story?

Providing players a living wage implies USA Hockey employs players and it does not. Simply, USA Hockey does not pay players a salary – women or men – and instead provides training stipends and support to help put athletes that participate on our national teams in the best possible position to compete for a gold medal. USA Hockey is not a professional sports league, rather a non-profit organization that fields teams for international competition with players who participate on a voluntary basis. In a non-Olympic year, players from the U.S. Women’s National Team are typically involved in official team activities for a period of 60-70 days over the course of a year, while in an Olympic year, players have typically trained together in a residency program for the six months prior to the Games.

How Does USA Hockey Support Girls and Women’s Hockey?

USA Hockey has a long-standing commitment to the growth and development of girls’ and women’s hockey. Some of the many examples include: