Skip to content

Season saved for 500 Valley players

BY KEITH LACEY The hockey season that appeared doomed to be cut short for more than 500 houseleague hockey players in Valley East will finish as scheduled.
BY KEITH LACEY

The hockey season that appeared doomed to be cut short for more than 500 houseleague hockey players in Valley East will finish as scheduled.

Bob Bellerose, president of the Valley East Minor Hockey Association, said it took a call from City of Greater Sudbury Mayor Jim Gordon to convince him to stay on until the end of this hockey season, when the term of the current board expires.

The 17-member executive board had threatened to resign effective Monday if the city didn?t reverse its decision to allow a parent banned from both rinks in Valley East for five years to return to both arenas effective December 30.

The parent was banned near the beginning of the 2000-2001 season from both the Raymond Plourde Arena and Centennial Arena.

He was banned more than two years ago by former City of Valley East town council after receiving numerous complaints from parents, coaches, officials and players about abusive and threatening behaviour.

?What happened was the mayor called my home Christmas Eve and we talked for more than 45 minutes,? said Bellerose. ?He told me the city was going to get together and set up a policy for all arenas and minor sports venues in terms of a code of conduct for parents.

?The mayor said this was something the city was looking to do for awhile and will implement after this season was over.?

Bellerose reiterated to Gordon the board?s serious concerns over the conduct of this parent, but the mayor convinced him the city?s hands were tied and legally they had no choice but to allow the parent back inside the arenas.

Gordon convinced him to stay on as VEMHA president until the end of the season, said Bellerose.

Bellerose is confident he can convince the other board members to stay on until the end of the season when they meet again Sunday.

?I?ve decided to stay on until the end of the season in May,? said Bellerose, now in his third season as president of the VEMHA. ?I don?t want to speak for anyone else, but I feel now that I?ve decided to stay on, I can convince the other board members to stay on as well.?

Bellerose said the board is holding another meeting Sunday. That meeting will be preceded by a meeting with team officials and parents of the team affected by the city?s decision.

?I want to find out how they feel and what they would like to see happen,? he said. ?If they insist on security, then our board is willing to pay for the extra costs involved.

?If everyone wants to wait and see how this parent acts over the next few weeks, then that?s the direction we?ll take. What we want is for the parents to feel comfortable in going to the games.?

The mayor?s phone call played a role, but the biggest reason he?s had a change of heart is realizing hundreds of young children would have been bitterly disappointed if their hockey season came to an end because of actions out of their control.

?I just couldn?t think of going to the rinks and seeing children ages four and five and the smiles on their faces playing the game and then telling them they couldn?t play any more this season,? said Bellerose.

The support from other minor hockey associations and the parents involved with the VEMHA has been overwhelming in support of the board, said Bellerose.

Hockey is a very emotional and passionate game and most parents get vocal at one time or another, but there?s no need for abusive behaviour towards players, officials or other parents, said Bellerose.

He?s confident the city will adopt a strict ?zero tolerance? policy towards abusive behaviour in minor sports.

The board threatened to resign two weeks ago after a letter was forwarded by Rick Ahola, city manager of municipal arenas and community centres, saying the city was reinstating the parent effective December 30.

A gag order has been placed on all city officials in relation to this incident.

Gordon couldn?t be reached for comment.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.