The real logic behind Club Score, our curated rankings, and the season-cost calculator — in plain language.
Club Score is a 0–100 rating shown on every club, capped at 90 sitewide. Our curated Top-5 rankings per age group are drawn from clubs already at that cap, tie-broken by real win-rate and NCAA-advancement data. Season cost estimates come from a published per-state, per-level cost range, split into categories using fixed typical percentages — not a quote from any individual club.
Every club in our directory shows a Club Score from 0–100, displayed as the ring graphic next to each listing. No club's score exceeds 90, regardless of how strong its other numbers are — we cap the top of the scale sitewide rather than let any single club claim a "perfect" rating, since we don't think aggregated public data supports that level of precision.
Looking at our own dataset, Club Score tracks closely with each club's average family review rating. Win rate and NCAA-advancement rate are real, separately-tracked fields for every club and are shown alongside the score on club pages, but in the current dataset they don't appear to meaningfully move the score itself — they're used instead as tie-breakers in our curated rankings (below). (This description reflects an internal analysis of the current dataset rather than a published formula — if you're a club and believe your score doesn't reflect your program accurately, reach out via the contact on our About page.)
Our per-age-group Top 5 rankings (U10 through U18) are drawn from clubs that are already at the Club Score cap of 90. Since score alone doesn't differentiate within that group, we break ties using two real, per-club fields: win rate first, then NCAA-advancement rate. This means the order reflects actual competitive and outcome data, not just file order or an arbitrary pick.
Enter your state and a level (House, AA, or AAA) and we look up a published cost range for that combination. We take the midpoint of that range as your estimated season total, then split it into four categories using fixed typical percentages: club fees (55%), tournament entry fees (22%), equipment (14%), and travel (9%). These percentages are the same for every state and level — they're a planning guideline, not an itemized quote from any specific club, which will vary in its own fee structure.
Club, camp, tournament, and rink listings are sourced from public business and contact information, and updated periodically. Cost ranges are maintained internally per state and level. We do not have a live feed from any club, league, or governing body — nothing here updates automatically in real time.
No. Club Score is our own site metric, not an official rating from USA Hockey or any league. It's meant as a quick, relative signal to help you compare listings — not a certification of quality.
We cap the displayed score at 90 out of 100 for every club sitewide, regardless of the underlying inputs, to avoid implying a level of certainty that public aggregated data can't really support.
We look up a published cost range for your state and level (House, AA, or AAA), then split the midpoint of that range into four typical categories — club fees, tournaments, equipment, and travel — using fixed percentages. It's a planning estimate, not a quote from any specific club.
Club, camp, tournament, and rink listings are sourced from public business/contact data and updated periodically, not in real time. Always confirm details directly with a club before making a decision.