Seattle Pride Hockey Association is a USA Hockey sanctioned organization — here’s what that means for you and why membership matters.
A note on eligibility: SPHA's on-ice programs are open to adults 18 and older at the time of the program start date.
About USA Hockey
USA Hockey is the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in America. As a USA Hockey sanctioned organization, all SPHA participants are required to hold an active USA Hockey membership.
Member Benefits
Your USA Hockey membership includes a subscription to USA Hockey Magazine, excess accident and general liability insurance coverage, access to USAHockey.com, and eligibility to participate in USA Hockey National Championships and player development camps.
Seattle Pride Hockey Association unequivocally condemns USA Hockey’s recent policy change that restricts participation based on sex assigned at birth. This policy is harmful, exclusionary, and fundamentally at odds with the values of equity, dignity, and belonging that hockey—and sport more broadly—should represent.
Transgender and nonbinary athletes belong in hockey. Full stop.
We want to be absolutely clear with our community: there is no change to our programs, our mission, or who is welcome to play. Seattle Pride Hockey Association remains fully inclusive of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse players, just as it always has been. Our commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion is unwavering.
Like almost every hockey association across the country, players in our programs are required to register with USA Hockey for insurance and risk management purposes only. This administrative requirement does not reflect our values, nor does it change how we define eligibility, inclusion, or belonging within our tournament. We recognize that this requirement may feel painful, frustrating, or contradictory in light of USA Hockey’s stance—and those feelings are valid.
Let us be clear: we do not agree with this policy, we do not support it, and we are actively opposed to it. We are exploring every possible alternative to reduce reliance on systems that exclude members of our community, while ensuring player safety and event viability.
Seattle Pride Hockey Association exists because LGBTQIA+ players—especially trans and nonbinary players—have been pushed out of traditional hockey spaces for far too long. Our programs are, and will remain, a place where you do not have to justify your identity to participate, where your gender is respected, and where hockey is played in the spirit of joy, safety, and chosen family.
To our trans community members: you are wanted here, you are protected here, and you are essential to this tournament. We stand with you, we believe you, and we will continue fighting for a hockey world that does better than this.
Hockey is for everyone—and we mean everyone.
We encourage everyone to write to USA Hockey in opposition of their new policy:
USA Hockey, Inc.
1775 Bob Johnson Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80906-4090
Phone: (719) 576-USAH (8724)
Fax: (719) 538-1160
E-mail: usah@usahockey.org
In solidarity,
Seattle Pride Hockey Association
