Update on Fair Play.

I recently received a question asking for clarification of how to address a situation where players don't attend practices but are able to attend all games. This is a challenging question to answer as each situation has unique circumstances that must be taken into consideration. I do know for certain that Hockey Calgary and Girls Hockey are both strong supports of Fair Play! Hockey Calgary has numerous pages within the rule book explaining Fair Play including Fair Play codes for players, parents, coaches, spectators and league administrators. Under player discipline they address the question regarding missed practices. The rule states; " Coaches should use discretion to sit a player for the first period, or portion thereof, of a game in the event a player has developed a habit of missing practices within a set reasonable limit or arriving late for games. The requirements to sit a player should be documented and if repeated occurrences are considered necessary, the reasons should be reported to league administrators." Girls Hockey rules state that; "Head Coaches are permitted to bench an athlete member for misconduct, unsportsmanlike behaviour, and abuse to any official, unexplained absences or any other conduct that is deemed to be detrimental to the well being of the team and/or organization. Benching may be done for any portion of a game, to a maximum of two periods. " The Girls Hockey rule covers a much larger concern regarding the safety of all participants and while it includes the unexplained absences it doesn't address the specific issue regarding practices vs. games. Based on the feedback we have received clarification of this rule should be considered for the 2009-2010 season.

At the start of each season, the Board of Directors of Girls Hockey Calgary asks the coaches to have a team meeting with their players and parents and establish the team rules that include the expectations regarding attendance and participation at practice and they should explain the consequences for missing a practice. GHC does not demand our athletes to play only hockey and refrain from all other sports or extracurricular activities, however we do ask the parents and players to recognize they are playing a team sport and their attendance and participation in practices is an important part of being a member of a team. The team rules should be signed by all participants, both players and parents and submitted to the Girls Hockey office for review. The rules cannot be harsher than the rules set out by Hockey Calgary or Girls Hockey and they must be applied to all member of the team fairly. In my experience where we run into trouble is when the issue is not addressed in the team meeting, the expectations are for total dedication to hockey or when the rules appear to be arbitrarily applied.

In summary, coaches can sit a player for all or a portion of the first period (not the third and not overtime) when the team rules are broken.

Hope this helps.

Don O'Grady
President Girls Hockey Calgary