
Jeff Z. Klein,
nytimes.com
Below, the full set of rule changes proposed at USA Hockey's Winter
Meeting last weekend in Colorado Springs. The proposals seek to raise
the minimum age for body checking in boys hockey from 11-12 to 13-14,
make all contact to the head-and-neck area illegal at all age levels
and, in those classifications in which fighting does not result in
immediate expulsion, provide for extra penalties when one player tears
off an his own helmet or an opponent's helmet during a fight.
The rules will be voted on at USA Hockey's annual congress in June.
The rules proposed last weekend to USA Hockey's board of directors are
intended to cut down on injuries and arose out of last October's Mayo
Clinic summit on concussions and head trauma. Dr. Michael Stuart of the
Mayo Clinic is also the chief medical officer for USA Hockey, and he
helped frame the rule change proposals and presented them to the board.