Following a 275-0 vote with 11 abstentions by the full membership of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) at the organization’s annual meeting, girls ice hockey was officially approved as the 34th fully-sanctioned high school sport in New Jersey.
The sport, which began as a pilot program in Oct. 2021, now ends its run as a pilot program and will begin official play during the 2024-25 season. Also among the changes that take effect with girls’ hockey recognition as an official sport is the implementation of power points to determine state tournament qualification, rather than leaving seeding to a committee, as was the case when the sport was a pilot program.