Minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level . Players are classified by age , with each age group playing in its own league . The rules , especially as it relates to body contact , vary from class to class . In North America , the rules are governed by the national bodies , Hockey Canada and USA Hockey , while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region . Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments , and the highest age groups in Canada also participate in national championships . Yes and AAA teams can play in the internationals . Canada . In Canada , the age categories are designated by each provincial hockey governing body based on Hockey Canada ' s guidelines , and each category may have multiple tiers based on skill . Age Categories . Smaller communities will often combine the Mite and Tyke levels into a single Initiation ( or Pre - Novice ) category . Skill Categories . There are two broad grouping of skill levels : competitive and non - competitive . A competitive team will hold tryouts and players will be selected for the roster depending upon skill level and fit . Competitive . Higher - skilled players will typically play on a ' representative ' ( a " rep " or " travel " ) team that will travel to play rep teams from other areas . Rep teams are classified by skill . Not all associtions will have teams at all skill levels , depending on size and the popularity of hockey , however even small communities may field competitive teams at multiple levels . ( For example : Orillia , Ontario with approximately 800 youth hockey players , has 1 competitive teams at each level ' A ' , and their their top players can compete for a regiona " AAA " team . In comparison , Markham Ontario has 2000 youth hockey players and fields 6 teams , 2 at AAA , AA , & A . ) The classifications are made by the hockey Canada branch or the local Hockey Canada branch or it ' s Member partners . British Columbia . In British Columbia , BC Hockey has a different system for competitive teams . Rep teams are exclusively inter - city , and are labeled as A1 , A2 , A3 , and A4 . A larger association will have their best team in each division labeled as an A1 team , where a smaller association may have their strongest team may be labeled as an A2 , A3 , or A4 team . Other teams from the same association would be labeled one level below . France . In France , hockey teams use the following levels : Germany . In Germay , German Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels : All levels are administrated by the respective sub - federation in each province except for the federal leagues that are administrated directly by the German Ice Hockey Federation : DNL , Schüler - , Jugend - and Junioren Bundesliga . Sweden . In Sweden , Swedish Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels : Some levels ( especially J18 and J20 ) are directly administrated by the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation , while lower divisions of the Juniors and below are administrated by the respective sub - federation in each province ( landskap ) . Switzerland . In 2007 , the " Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband " ( the Swiss Ice Hockey Association ) defined uniform age categories , using terms from the national languages of Switzerland . United States . In the United States , USA Hockey designates the following levels : Some leagues also have a younger level referred to as " Mosquitoes . " Officials . Officials for youth hockey are often youth players themselves , calling games in lower levels than the one they participate in themselves . Just as players start out playing youth hockey , officials start their officiating career officiating youth hockey , making it up through the ranks as their officiating skill increases . USA Hockey defines certain levels of their officials and so does Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation . Currently , many youth officials quit after a few games , mainly due to verbal abuse from parents , coaches and players . While a certain number quit due to other reasons , the most common reason is that . In the US and Canada , news stories pop up from now and then that describes physical abuse on youth officials , in addition to verbal abuse . This is very rarely reported in other countries , either because it ' s less prone to occur there , or that it won ' t get the same news attention . These problems were addressed in Hockey Canada ' s " Relax , it ' s just a game " - campaign , started in 2002 . A youth official can usually move up the ladder to juniors after about 2 years of officiating , and after a few years more up to senior hockey . This is of course , just as with players , different for each individual as their skill - curves are differently shaped . Many current and former officials feel that their officiating career has aided them in their professional life as well , being more comfortable with handling critical decisions and upset individuals . The combinations of CEO or lower - level boss along with being an official and police officer along with officiating is quite common in many countries .