Competitive Contact: no body checking, but not 'no contact'
Rule numbers: USAH 604(a) USAH 604(b) USAH 604(c)
Body checking is prohibited at 12U and below, in all Girls' and Women's classifications and in non-check Adult classifications; these make up the Competitive Contact category. When a Competitive Contact team plays a Body Checking team, body checking is prohibited. A body check in Competitive Contact play is a minor; one that recklessly endangers an opponent is a major plus a game misconduct, and a match penalty is available. The rule's note stresses that Competitive Contact does not mean no contact. Players focused on gaining the puck who keep established body position, or a player who angles an opponent and closes the gap, are making legal contact. Deliberate contact with no effort to play the puck is penalized.
- On the ice
- Legal competitive contact: play on. Illegal body check: minor.
Example
In a 12U game, two players lean on each other along the boards while both chase the puck: legal. A third player then drives a shoulder into an opponent who no longer has the puck: a minor for body checking.
Common mistake: Calling every shoulder-to-shoulder battle at 12U or in girls' hockey, or allowing a hit because one of the two teams is in a checking category.
Sources
- USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey, Rule 604(a), p. 179 (PDF p. 213)
- USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey, Rule 604(b)-(c), p. 180 (PDF p. 214)
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