DATA METHODOLOGY

RinkStop maintains a directory of more than 9,500 hockey listings — rinks, teams, players, and leagues across roughly 80 countries. This page describes how that data is sourced, how it is kept current, and how errors are handled.

Where the data comes from

Directory records are combined from the following sources:

• Official league feeds. NHL, AHL, KHL, PWHL, NCAA, IIHF, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and other federations publish team rosters, schedules, and venue lists. These are the primary sources for active-team records and league rosters.
• Public federation and association directories. National federations publish rink and arena registries, club registrations, and competition results.
• Box-score archives. League box-score archives provide career statistics, season-by-season tables, and historical records for individual players.
• User submissions. RinkStop’s directory-submission forms let team operators, rink managers, and members of the public submit listings or corrections. Submitted listings are reviewed by a RinkStop editor before they appear on the site.
• Direct outreach. Where public data is incomplete (particularly in non-traditional markets), the editorial team contacts leagues, clubs, and federations directly to confirm venue details, registration status, and contact information.

How we verify a listing

Every listing page shows one of four verification states:

• Organization verified. The listing was confirmed directly with the organization (team, rink, league) by the RinkStop editorial team.
• Official source verified. The listing was created from an official source (league registry, federation site, federation press release) and is updated when the source updates.
• Community submitted. The listing was submitted by a user and reviewed by a RinkStop editor before publication. It has not been independently verified against the organization.
• Unverified. The listing was aggregated from public data of uncertain provenance. It appears on the site pending verification.

Each listing page also shows the date it was last updated and the source(s) used to create it.

How often data is updated

Update cadence varies by entity type:

• Active professional teams (NHL, AHL, KHL, PWHL, top European leagues): roster, schedule, and standing data are refreshed daily during the season.
• Amateur, youth, and developmental teams: rosters are refreshed weekly during the season and at the start of the off-season.
• Players: career statistics are refreshed weekly during active seasons and quarterly in the off-season.
• Rinks and arenas: venue details are reviewed at least annually; status changes (open, closed, renamed, expanded) are processed within five business days of being reported.
• Leagues: structural data (founding year, country, divisions, current champion) is reviewed annually; in-season standings refresh daily.

How corrections are handled

Corrections are processed through the same channel as all other feedback: the Corrections page. When a correction is accepted, the listing is updated, the page renders the corrected value on the next refresh, and the source attribution is updated if the corrected data came from a different or higher-quality source.

How to submit a new listing

New listings are submitted through /add-listing. Every submission is reviewed by a RinkStop editor before it appears on the site. Submitting a listing does not transfer ownership of the listing to RinkStop; the listing remains attributable to the original organization, and ownership can be claimed by the organization through /claim-your-listing.

Youth and minor content (under 18)

RinkStop covers youth hockey extensively — from learn-to-skate programs and youth-house leagues to AAA, junior, and college recruitment. Some of that content is directed at children (under 13) and some at adolescents and teens (13–17). We treat this content with two policy frameworks:

COPPA — Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

Under COPPA, U.S. operators of websites and online services directed at children under 13 must obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from those children. RinkStop does not collect personal information from anyone under 13. Player profiles, team rosters, and league directories do not display home addresses, personal phone numbers, or unverified birth dates for minors. Where a minor’s birth date is shown, it is sourced from a recognized federation or league registry and confirmed by the team’s verified operator. Where the birth date is unknown, the listing says so. We do not allow direct messaging between adult users and minor profiles without parent-managed claim verification.

TFAT framework (Tagged for Adolescents & Teens)

RinkStop applies a “Tagged for Adolescents & Teens” (TFAT) classification to directory sections and editorial content that is directed at audiences under 18. Pages tagged TFAT are excluded from personalized advertising under Google AdSense policy — the AdSense script is not loaded on TFAT pages, even where they would otherwise be eligible. The TFAT class applies to:

• Directory landing pages: /directory/youth-hockey and /guides/youth
• Editorial articles tagged for youth audiences: articles whose primary topic is youth participation, learn-to-play, parent guidance, or junior development
• Player pages for minors: any player profile whose birth date falls into the under-18 range, when age is verifiable

The TFAT tag is enforced at the script-load layer in src/app/layout.tsx via the ADSENSE_EXCLUDED_PREFIXES route guard. The exclude list is evaluated on every page render, and the AdSense pagead2.adsbygoogle script only loads when the requested path is not in the exclude list. The exclude list is the source of truth for the policy; new TFAT pages must be added to that list before they ship.

Parent-managed claims

Parents and guardians can claim a minor’s player profile on their behalf. The claim is initiated from the player page using the “I am this player’s parent” button; the parent account is then linked to the minor profile via a parent_managed relationship row. The parent can:

• Manage the kid’s team history, season stats, and federation numbers
• Receive all messages sent to the kid on the parent’s account
• Track coach verifications and endorsements for the kid
• Update the kid’s profile photo, social handles, and external links

A parent can manage multiple kids from one parent account. The parent-managed claim bypasses the standard claim cap that applies to other tiers — a parent on the Free tier can claim their kid’s profile, and identity verification (free for everyone since WS25) earns the parent’s profile a Verified owner badge. Coach verification is the only thing a parent cannot do directly: only coaches on record with the kid’s current team can verify a self-reported row. Coach endorsements are written by coaches, not parents.

Editorial content vs directory data

Directory listings are factual records and are subject to the verification process above. Editorial articles (news, guides, analysis) are written and reviewed under our Editorial Policy. The two are kept separate: editorial articles never modify directory data, and directory updates never retroactively change published articles.

What we don’t do

• We do not publish fabricated listings. Every record on RinkStop traces back to a public source, a federation record, a user submission, or direct outreach.
• We do not present unverified data as verified. Every page declares its verification status.
• We do not silently edit historical data. Corrections are visible on the page (last-updated timestamp + source attribution) and, for editorial articles, are recorded in the public correction log.
• We do not sell or transfer directory data to third parties for marketing use.

Related

• Editorial Policy — how editorial content is produced and reviewed
• Corrections — how to report an error
• About RinkStop — ownership, contact, and mission