Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the costs to play and how do I pay?

Full-time players pay in full upfront, and it costs them $12 per skate (i.e., if there are 11 skates in a session, you pay $132). Full time players have a guaranteed position to play and pay a cheaper price per skate compared to spares.

Spares fill in when space is available and pay $17 per skate.

E-transfers are preferred and can be sent to dphpickup@gmail.com.

 

2. Do goalies pay to play?

No, our goalies do not pay to play. If fact, if there are any surplus monies at the end of each session, we use them as a way of expressing appreciation for our goalies.

 

3. When is the schedule released?

We know our summer/fall session by early September. The session will usually run from October to late December.

We know our winter/spring session by December, but the ending date we don’t know until March. It usually runs from early January to the first week in April.

 

4. Can I try it out before committing to play full-time?

Yes, you can spare as often as you like before making the committment to playing full-time.

 

5. If I’m a full-time player and miss a skate, do I get reimbursed?

If you miss skates because of an emergency or medical reason, you will be refunded at the end of the session. Otherwise, we judge each case on its own merit. If any player contracts covid or has valid concerns around COVID-19, they will get a refund at the end of the session for any skates they missed.

 

6. As a spare, how do I know if I’m going to play?

We use www.benchapp.com (or the mobile app) to manage attendance. Each week, full-time players have until 2 days before game time to decide if they are playing or not. If they do not indicate their intention to play, an invitation will go out to spares.

Spares are accepted on a first come, first served basis until we reach our maximum of 20 players. BenchApp lets you know immediately if you are accepted to play, and if the roster is full for that game you may choose to join the waitlist. Those on the waitlist are notified of an opening in the roster and the first to reply gets to play.

 

7. Do I have to attend the skills sessions? I’d prefer to just play in the pickups.

No, you do not have to attend the skills sessions. But full-time players pay for all skates whether or not they attend as a way of supporting DPH. In other words, full-timer players can choose to attend the skills sessions, the pickup game or both. In fact, a bonus of being fulltime is that you can attend any skills session even if you choose not to play on that day, with no additional fee.

 

8. Can anyone attend a skills session?

Yes, you don’t have to be a fulltime or spare player in DPH to attend skills sessions. If there is room after DPH players have indicated if they are playing or not, we take up to 30 players per skills session. Each session costs $17.

 

9. How does a typical pickup run?

A typical 12-1:15 pickup runs like this: at 11:50 the doors to the arena are opened; at 12:10 we are on the ice skating around and shooting on goalies; from 12:15-12:25 we run one or two skill drills (including at least one warmup for goalies), and from 12:30-1:15 we play a 45-minute pickup game.

 

10. Are there any COVID-19 protocols that we should follow?

There are currently no mandatory rules around Covid, however, common sense would have us stay home when we are feeling unwell. Unfortunately, we know that age is a significant risk factor and ice rinks have poor ventilation which makes it easy to pick up a virus. Something to keep in mind.