Brittany Moore’s seven-year-old son Finley loves to play hockey, but hockey officials have denied Moore permission to have him play in Thessalon, where she works late and where he attends school.
“Normally we would be zoned to play hockey in Desbarats because Bruce Mines (where Moore and Finley reside) doesn’t have ice to ice a team,” Moore said.
Moore asked the North Channel Minor Hockey Association (NCMHA) for special permission to have Finley play hockey in Thessalon.
Moore is a teacher at Thessalon Public School, where Finley is a student.
“I’m here after hours, quite late most days, so getting Finley to the ice in Desbarats is next to impossible, which is why I had inquired about having him play here in Thessalon.”
“They (the NCMHA) denied it right away. So I had to appeal it (to the Northern Ontario Hockey Association, or NOHA) if I wanted him to play hockey in Thessalon. An appeal costs $226 regardless if it gets approved or not. It’s non-refundable.”
Moore had to submit documentation to support her case, including the fact her husband works out of town during the week (making Moore the only person Finley can rely on to transport him to hockey games).”
The NOHA rejected her appeal.
“I made it clear with the NOHA. They kept saying ‘you should try and make it to Desbarats.’ I said I can’t because I can’t let my work slide. They said they didn’t feel that it was an undue hardship for me to get him to Desbarats one day a week. Regardless, I said to them we cannot make it there for these practices, so you’re choosing for him not to be allowed to play.”
Moore said it’s more than a 20 minute drive after work drive from Thessalon Public School to the Desbarats arena, whereas it’s “literally a one minute drive” from Thessalon Public School to the arena in Thessalon.
This would have marked Finley’s second year playing hockey, having played hockey in Thessalon last year.
Moore was informed last year that there were issues with the ice at the arena in Desbarats, thereby allowing Finley and other children to play hockey in Thessalon last season.
“This year, they are going to be putting ice in (in Desbarats), which is why they’re forcing us to go there,” Moore said.
Finley is saddened over the situation, Moore said.
“He’s not playing this year. He’s not going to be able to. I’ve felt so bad because we’ve had to have difficult conversations, like ‘I’m sorry, Mommy has to work and I can’t show up to work unprepared (to teach school the following day)’, so he doesn’t get to play this year.”
“He’s very upset about it. He’s seven years old and he just wants to play hockey.”
Moore said she and Finley are not the only parent and child going through the same situation, stating there are five other families she is aware of who have been affected, their children not playing hockey this year or being driven to Desbarats.
However, she said she is the only parent who has made an appeal to the NOHA.
Moore said the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) recognized the need for Finley to be granted an out-of-bounds release to attend school in Thessalon, as he is zoned to attend school in Desbarats.
“How the hockey officials can’t make an exception is very frustrating,” Moore said.
But rules are rules, according to the NOHA.
Moore’s appeal to the NOHA was heard by a three-person panel, which ruled “the appellant (Moore, on behalf of her son) works in Thessalon but lives in Bruce Mines, which is closer to NCMHA and puts them in the Association’s boundaries.”
“The NCMHA has only one U9 practice a week in the evening and the panel does not feel it is an undue hardship for the appellant’s son to go to that practice. NCMHA is a small Association and has grave concerns that if the appellant is granted a release, that more requests will follow. The NCMHA U9 Team only has eight players at the present time,” the panel concluded.
“In the end, our rules are voted on by the membership of the NOHA. We have roughly 65 minor hockey associations and the NOJHL and its teams fall under our umbrella as well. Our rules are voted on by them at every annual general meeting,” said Jason Marchand, NOHA executive director, speaking to SooToday from North Bay.
“Our rules currently state that the player would play where they reside. In this case, Bruce Mines (where Moore and Finley live) falls under the North Channel Minor Hockey Association so any player from Bruce Mines would have to play there (referring to Desbarats, an eight minute drive from Bruce Mines), unless they obtain a release,” Marchand said.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen (next year). They’re not putting the kids needs first,” said Moore, who is considering a further non-refundable $300 appeal to the Ontario Hockey Federation.