With the hockey season fast approaching, the Northern Ontario Hockey Association is looking to crack down on poor behaviour and conduct incidents during games across the north this season. The association is looking for volunteers who are fair and objective leaders to review and resolve conflicts and incidents that occur on and off the ice. Unacceptable behaviour at rinks reaches ‘breaking point’ In an update posted to its website about registration fees increasing, the association writes that unacceptable behaviour at hockey rinks is at a “breaking point.” “A minority of parents and spectators are creating chaos in our game,” the NOHA wrote. “It is incredibly frustrating that everyone must now pay the price for the unacceptable behaviour of a few. We are asking teams, associations, and parents to look in the mirror. Most of you are not the problem, but when we stand by as silent bystanders and let others act this way, we all become part of the problem.” The hockey association says last season there were 25 incidents of poor parent or fan behaviour reported and between 60 and 75 cases of maltreatment, whether that is towards officials, opposing players, coaches or fans. NOHA Executive Director Jason Marchand spoke to the association’s broader goals for improving conduct across the game. “Ultimately we want parents to show respect to other parents to opposing teams, etc.,” Marchand said. “We want coaches to respect one another and players to respect one another.” Professional volunteers sought to handle investigations Following several serious incidents during the middle of the season, which led to the number of investigations that were underway outweighing the number of arbitrators, the association is taking a drastic step to get ahead of it this season. It is looking for volunteers who are specifically judges, police officers, firefighters, teachers or lawyers to adjudicate, review and resolve conduct incidents fairly. “Any type of maltreatment, disrespect, or inappropriate behavior at the rink or at hotels will not be tolerated,” Marchand said. Volunteers would need to commit 100 hours per year and would be given full travel coverage and a stipend. If an incident occurs, the volunteer will conduct interviews with witnesses on-site, gather all of the facts and bring a report to the NOHA’s board of directors. From there, the association will decide if any disciplinary action needs to be taken against the player, coach or spectator. Marchand told CTV News of the importance of addressing complaints without delay. “We want take all complaints seriously and deal with them quickly,” he said. North Bay minor hockey president optimistic about initiative Darrell Pitman, the president of the North Bay Minor Hockey Association, says he is optimistic this strategy will help curb some of the challenges he is seeing in the minor hockey league. One of the main issues, he said, continues to be abuse that is slung towards referees. “This has happened for years. But now hopefully this new initiative will help solve that problem,” Pitman said. “A lot of our referees are just kids. It isn’t fair to them. Everybody is there for exercise and to have a good time.” The NOHA says it has 50 volunteers who have signed up willing to try and make the game better for all. As a governing body, the NOHA oversees minor, junior and senior hockey. It also runs the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
