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 has made the decision to continue utilizing USA Hockey as the governing framework for our programs.
We want to be transparent about why we have made that decision—particularly given USA Hockey’s current participant eligibility policy and the impact it has had on transgender and nonbinary athletes.
Our continued affiliation with USA Hockey does not mean we agree with or support policies that exclude transgender athletes. We do not.
SPHA remains committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and affirming hockey environment for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse players. Our values around that have not changed.
Our decision to remain with USA Hockey is instead based on organizational governance, risk management, and our responsibility to protect the long-term sustainability of SPHA.
For SPHA, USA Hockey provides much more than an insurance policy.
USA Hockey provides a broad infrastructure that includes:
USA Hockey itself describes its membership benefits as including official playing rules, SafeSport, risk management, insurance, officiating certification, training, and game-reporting systems.
For SPHA, and virtually every hockey organization across the country, that entire ecosystem matters.
Some organizations have explored leaving USA Hockey and purchasing standalone insurance. We understand why an organization might consider that option, particularly if its rink does not require USA Hockey sanctioning.
However, obtaining an insurance policy or certificate of insurance does not by itself replace the broader infrastructure provided by a national governing body.
A certificate of insurance can satisfy a rink’s requirement to demonstrate that an organization carries certain coverage. But the more complicated questions arise when something significant happens: a serious injury, an allegation of negligence, a disciplinary dispute, an eligibility challenge, or a participant who threatens legal action against the organization.
SPHA has experienced situations where participants threatened legal action over disciplinary or eligibility decisions. Having an established governing structure and dispute-resolution process available through USA Hockey provided an important layer of protection and support.
Without that framework, an independent organization must determine how those situations will be handled, who will administer the process, and what legal and financial resources will be available when a dispute escalates.
For a small nonprofit like SPHA, that matters. Defending even one significant legal claim can become extraordinarily expensive. Depending on the circumstances and applicable coverage, an organization operating independently may need to retain and coordinate its own legal counsel and manage the associated defense costs and risks.
Leaving USA Hockey would mean more than finding another insurance policy.
An independent organization must establish and clearly communicate the rules and standards under which its programs operate—or formally adopt another established ruleset. It must also determine how those rules will be interpreted, enforced, and updated.
That includes things like:
USA Hockey maintains a national playing-rule system, including its current rulebook and casebook, and operates a structured officiating education and certification program.
For SPHA, replacing that infrastructure independently would require significantly more than purchasing insurance.
We also recognize that some LGBTQIA+ hockey organizations have made a different decision.
In some cases, organizations operate in areas where their rinks do not require USA Hockey sanctioning and instead require only proof of insurance. Those organizations may be able to purchase alternative coverage and operate under a different governance and rules structure.
Some organizations have therefore determined that the benefits of remaining with USA Hockey no longer outweigh the concerns they have with its current policies.
We respect that organizations must make the decision that is appropriate for their own circumstances.
Every organization has different rink requirements, insurance options, resources, legal considerations, tournament relationships, and tolerance for organizational risk. What is feasible for one organization may not be feasible for another.
SPHA’s board of directors has determined that, given our circumstances, we are not comfortable assuming the additional responsibility and risk involved in replacing the broader USA Hockey framework.
This Is Not an Endorsement of USA Hockey’s Eligibility Policy
We want to make this distinction absolutely clear.
SPHA strongly disagrees with USA Hockey’s current participant eligibility policy.
We believe transgender and nonbinary athletes belong in hockey. Our commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion has not changed, and our programs remain committed to providing a welcoming and affirming environment for our community.
Our continued use of USA Hockey is a decision about organizational infrastructure and risk management—not an endorsement of policies that conflict with our values.
We can disagree with a policy while also recognizing that USA Hockey currently provides infrastructure that SPHA does not have a comparable way to replace.
As a board of directors, we have a responsibility to protect the organization, its members, volunteers, programs, and financial resources.
That means considering not only what we believe philosophically, but also what risks we are asking the organization to assume.
Until there is a credible alternative that can replace the broader ecosystem USA Hockey provides—not simply the insurance component—our board of directors does not believe it would be responsible to walk away from that framework.
If a viable alternative emerges in the future that provides comparable insurance, governance, rules, officiating, dispute resolution, risk management, and participant protections while better aligning with our values around inclusion and access, we will absolutely be willing to evaluate it.
Our commitment to inclusive hockey remains unchanged.
We will continue advocating for a hockey environment where transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse athletes can participate fully, safely, and without having to justify who they are.
Hockey is for everyone—and we mean everyone.
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
