Lawyer to oversee discipline for Sask. minor hockey board
CBC News | Posted: June 5, 2018 12:25 PM | Last Updated: June 5, 2018
Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association spent 400 hours dealing with discipline last year
A Saskatchewan minor hockey association has appointed a criminal lawyer to fill a new board position created to deal with discipline.
In 2017 the Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association spent 400 hours dealing with discipline, such as bylaw issues and complaints.
President Patrick Boyle said the board has now created a volunteer position for an Independent Chair of Discipline, adding that it is a response to a significant amount of discipline issues last year.
"It's kind of a mix of on the ice and off the ice ... whether it's incidents during a game or incidents after," Boyle told CBC Radio's Afternoon Edition.
"Or if someone wasn't happy with a coaching decision and things come out of that, but all those things add up."
Avoiding 'bad blood'
Boyle said the decision follows a difficult year for the board, which amended its constitution to allow for a change of direction.
He said it is hoped the new position will take the issue of discipline out of the game and help improve objectivity.
Boyle said without an independent perspective, it can be difficult for board members to enforce discipline on friends or neighbours.
"That's where a lot of bad blood carries over into certain areas and we don't want to do that. We want to really just be about the game of hockey and trying to separate those things," he said.
"They're fairly messy situations and that's where the fun can stop for a lot of people and it's unfortunate because that can then boil over to the kids."
Remembering spirit of the game
Boyle believes other Saskatchewan minor hockey boards are dealing with similar discipline issues.
"I always like to think people come from a good place, where sometimes emotions boil over and you get into that competitive spirit of the game, but [that is] forgetting we're talking about eight, nine, 11, 12-year-old kids," said Boyle.
The new position has been introduced for the 2018-19 season.