| Most recent season or competition: 2011 NARCh Finals Pro Division |
|
| Sport | Roller hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Commissioner | Daryn Goodwin |
| Motto | The world's greatest roller hockey. |
| No. of teams | Pro Division Finals – 18 WinterNationals – 5 |
| Country(ies) | Canada[1] United States[1] |
| Most recent champion(s) | Finals: Mission Snipers WinterNationals: LA Pama Cyclones |
| Most titles | LA Pama Cyclones (7) |
| Founder | Paul Chapey & Jeff Mason |
| Official website | http://www.narch.com/ |
NARCh (North American Roller Hockey Championships) is the premier tournament series for competitive travel roller hockey. It was started in 1994 by Paul Chapey and Jeff Mason. In 2002, Chapey and Mason sold their interest in NARCh to Daryn Goodwin, a NARCh employee. Goodwin is currently the sole stock holder in NARCh.
NARCh is not only the largest roller hockey tournament in the world, but also the largest hockey tournament, recently hosting 435 teams at its Finals in San Jose in July 2008. In addition, the youth portion of the tournament has grown to become the largest youth indoor sporting event in the world.
The first NARCh Finals were held in 1994 at the All American Sports Mall in St. Louis, Missouri and featured 39 teams.
The annual division champions of NARCh are widely accepted as being the best roller hockey teams in the world.
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The WinterNationals are tournaments held annually in January and February. They are not qualifiers for the NARCh Finals, but are entirely separate tournaments. From 2008-2010, the tournament was split up into two events: the East Coast WinterNationals and the West Coast WinterNationals. In 2011, the Winternationals returned to their traditional one-tournament format.
| Year | Host City | Host Arena |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Huntington Beach, California | Coast 2 Coast |
| 1998 | Lakeland, Florida | Lakeland Center |
| 1999 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2000 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2001 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2002 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2003 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2004 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Crystal Palace |
| 2005 | Reno, Nevada | Reno Events Center |
| 2006 | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Sports Complex |
| 2007 | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Sports Complex |
| 2008 (West Coast) | Irvine, California | 949 Roller Hockey Center |
| 2008 (East Coast) | Bethpage, New York | Skate Safe America |
| 2009 (West Coast) | San Jose, California | Rollin' Ice at Silver Creek Sportsplex |
| 2009 (East Coast) | Bethpage, New York | Skate Safe America |
| 2010 (West Coast) | San Jose, California | Rollin' Ice at Silver Creek Sportsplex |
| 2010 (East Coast) | Bethpage, New York | Skate Safe America |
| 2011 | San Jose, California | Rollin' Ice at Silver Creek Sportsplex |
The Regionals are held March through June annually across North America. They act as qualifiers to the NARCh Finals. The cities the regionals are currently being held in are:
The NARCh Finals are held annually in July and are NARCh's largest event. The winner of the Finals is awarded the NARCh Cup.
| Year | Host City | Host Arena |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | St. Louis, Missouri | All American Sports Mall |
| 1995 | St. Louis, Missouri | All American Sports Mall |
| 1996 | Chicago, Illinois | Odeum Expo Center |
| 1997 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Great Pacific Forum |
| 1998 | Alpharetta, Georgia | The Cooler |
| 1999 | Alpharetta, Georgia | The Cooler |
| 2000 | Brampton, Ontario | Brampton Centre for Sports & Entertainment |
| 2001 | Estero, Florida | TECO Arena |
| 2002 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Xcel Energy Center |
| 2003 | Estero, Florida | TECO Arena |
| 2004 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Sports Plus |
| 2005 | Estero, Florida | Germain Arena |
| 2006 | Mississauga, Ontario | Hershey Centre |
| 2007 | Estero, Florida | Germain Arena |
| 2008 | San Jose, California | Rollin' Ice at Silver Creek Sportsplex |
| 2009 | Mississauga, Ontario | Hershey Centre |
| 2010 | San Jose, California | Rollin' Ice at Silver Creek Sportsplex |
| 2011 | Estero, Florida | Germain Arena |
The divisions (age range) and subdivisions (tiers of play within division) for NARCh tournaments are listed below.
| Division | Age Requirement | Subdivisions |
|---|---|---|
| Atom | 8 and under | Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Mite | 10 and under | Club, Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Squirt | 12 and under | Club, Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Peewee | 14 and under | Club, Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Bantam | 16 and under | Club, Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Midget | 18 and under | Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Junior | 21 and under | Gold, Platinum |
| Division 1 | 24 and under | Platinum |
| Men's | 18 and up | Silver, Gold, Platinum |
| Women's | 14 and up | Gold, Platinum |
| Girl's | 18 and under | Gold |
| High School | Player must be attending high school | Gold |
| College (NCRHA) | Player must be attending college | |
| 35 and Over | 35 and up | Platinum |
| NARCh Pro | 18 and up |
NARCh Pro is a division of NARCh in which professional teams compete for cash prizes and the NARCh Cup. As of the 2010 NARCh Finals, the cash prizes are $15,000 for the winning team and $5,000 for the runner-up.[2] The current teams as of the 2011 NARCh Finals are: [3]
| Team | From |
|---|---|
| Detroit Mission Stars | Michigan |
| I-95ers | Florida |
| ISCA Grizzlies | New Jersey |
| Kristo Sport France | France |
| LA Pama Cyclones | California |
| Larceny | California |
| Las Vegas Tour Rebels | Nevada |
| Mission AKS Empire | California |
| Mission Axiom | California |
| Mission Labeda Snipers | New York |
| Mission/Bauer Next Gen | California |
| Mississauga Mission Rattlers | Ontario |
| Revision Vanquish | New York |
| Tour Bordercats | Michigan |
| Tour Excitement | New York |
| Tour Mudcats | Pennsylvania |
| Tour Roadrunners | New York |
| Tour Scorpions | Florida |