The following document will set for the standard procedures to be followed by all District personnel, teams and associations when dealing with a written complaint, discipline action, appeals and protests that have been lodged against any of its member(s) regardless of their position, including all Executive members, players, coaches, team officials, referee's and parents or any other person to be deemed a member of the District or its affiliated associations. All complaints of Harassment and Abuse shall be addressed according to the ODHA Abuse and Harassment document
.
1.0 Confidentiality All complaints, discipline, protests and appeals and their supporting documentation will become the property of the District and/or its affiliated Associations. The information therein shall be kept in confidence and distributed on a "needs to know" basis and will not be distributed for any purpose other than directly related to the hockey activities within the Association and/or District. All other requests for this information will be directed to the appropriate Executive and will not be distributed without their approval
.
2.0 Conflict of Interest All Committee members should ensure that they are free from any conflict of interest pertaining to the matter being investigated. Should they discover during the course of the hearing that they are in a conflict of interest situation which was not previously known, they should declare such conflict of interest and excuse themselves from the proceedings immediately.

3.0 Verbal Complaints The District and its affiliated associations will encourage all individuals who have a verbal complaint to document their complaint in writing and sign the complaint and indicate how they maybe contacted and forward it to the contacts listed in Section 6.0 Contacts.

4.0 Written Complaints All individuals will be encouraged to formally document their complaints. The complaints should include but not be limited to date, time, location and a detailed description of the activity or events which occurred including all pertinent details leading to this issue and any resulting actions as a result of the issue.

5.0 Handling of Written Complaints Any member of the Association and/or District who receives a formal written complaint should date and time stamp when the complaint was received and immediately forward the complaint to the appropriate person as indicted in Section 6.0 Contacts.
All written complaints to the Association and/or District will be acknowledged by phone within 24 hours of receiving the written complaint by the appropriate person listed in Section 6.0 Contacts and written notification will be sent within 48 hours acknowledging receipt of the complaint and outlining the next steps.

6.0 Contacts The people holding the following Executive positions in each Association/District will be the main point of contact for any association member and/or any other party wishing to submit a written complaint.

District - Risk & Safety Director
Ottawa Sting - Risk & Safety
Capital Crusaders - Director of Operations
Canterbury HA - Risk & Safety
SouthEnd MHA - Risk & Safety

7.0 Documentation Repository The District and its affiliated Associations must ensure that ALL documentation relating to a written complaint is kept on file for a minimum of 5 years. Once a complaint has been resolved, the written complaint, written acknowledgment, supporting documentation and written response are to be placed in a file folder and filed for retention in a place as prescribed by the Association and/or District.

8.0 Player Discipline Player discipline actions will be in accordance with the policies set forth by the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA) and the District Code of Conduct.

9.0 Team Official Discipline Team Official discipline actions will be in accordance with the policies set forth by the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA) and the District Code of Conduct
.
10.0 Parental/Executive Discipline Parental/Executive discipline actions will be in accordance with the policies set forth by the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA) and the District Code of Conduct.

11.0 Discipline & Appeals Committee - Association The Association DAC is responsible to the Association for conducting hearings for players, team officials and other members who commit infractions or through their behavior endanger the welfare of others or make a travesty of the game
.
The Association DAC is empowered to hear evidence relating to specific incidents of misconduct, and to determine whether the offender is deserving of further disciplinary action.

11.01 Composition - The Association DAC shall be composed of: a) a Chairperson (First-vice-President), Risk & Safety Manager and a minimum of three additional members of the Executive Committee. b) The President of Association shall not be a member of the Discipline Committee;

11.02 Meetings - The Committee shall hold such meetings as deemed necessary by the Chairperson. Discipline Committee members shall be entitled to one vote each. The Chairperson of the Discipline Committee may only vote in the event of a tie. Decisions must be reached on the simple majority vote of the members of the DAC.

11.03 Power and Duties - The DAC shall have the power to suspend or discipline: a) any member of the Association, if that person's activities contravenes in any way, the By-Laws of the Association. b) any Team Official who displays inappropriate conduct. c) any player where the coach deems disciplinary action is required. or Association members may request a hearing before the Association DAC. A hearing will be granted at the discretion of the Chair of the Association DAC
.
The Code of Discipline for the Association shall be no less than that contained in the ODMHA Code of Discipline notwithstanding any of the above. The DAC's guiding principal will be to enforce disciplinary actions equal to or more severe than the penalties recommend by the CHA/ODHA/ODMHA.

11.04 Discipline hearings shall be held in conformance with the format and guidelines as described by 13.02 Procedures
.
11.05 Notification and Reporting
a) all affected parties shall be notified verbally by the appropriate DAC Chair within 24 hours of the decision, followed by a written notification within 48 hours of the decision. Notification should include information regarding the appeal process.

b) the Chairperson of the Association DAC shall submit a written report to the President of the Association on each Committee decision within 48 hours. c) the Chair of the Association DAC shall keep a record of, and report to the District DAC on all cases so administered.

11.06 Appeals Where any person has been disciplined or suspended by the Association DAC, such person may appeal to the Chairman of the District DAC within 96 hours in writing setting out their points of appeal. The District DAC Chairman shall set a hearing date for the appeal to be heard. The District DAC Chairman may temporarily suspend the decision Association DAC until the appeal has been heard
.
11.07 What Constitutes Grounds for an Appeal?
a) New evidence not presented at the original hearing.
b) Irregularities in the proceedings of the original hearing that may have resulted in an unjust decision.
c) The decision rendered at the original hearing was too severe.
d) There is proof to establish that the decision of the original hearing was reached in an unjust manner.

11.07 A monetary fee $50.00 must accompany each appeal, and such fee may be refundable by, and at the discretion of, the defined Committee, should it rule in favor of the appellant.

11.08 Appeals hearings shall be held in conformance with the format and guidelines as described by 13.02 Procedures.

12.0 Discipline & Appeals Committee - District The District DAC is responsible to the District and their affiliated Associations for conducting hearings for players, team officials and other members who commit infractions or through their behavior endanger the welfare of others or make a travesty of the game.
The District DAC is empowered to hear evidence relating to specific incidents of misconduct, and to determine whether the offender is deserving of further disciplinary action.

12.01 Composition - The District DAC shall be composed of: a Chairperson (District Chairman or in event of a conflict of interest the Alternate District Chairman), District Risk & Safety Manager and a representative from each of the District Associations. Association representatives will be chosen at the beginning of each season by the Association and shall serve for the season.

12.02 Meetings - The Committee shall hold such meetings as deemed necessary by the Chairperson. The Discipline Committee members shall be entitled to one vote each. The Chairperson of the Discipline Committee may only vote in the event of a tie. Decisions must be reached on the simple majority vote of the members of the DAC.

12.03 Power and Duties - The District DAC shall have the power to suspend or discipline: a) any member of the District and affiliated Associations if that person's activities contravenes, in any way, the By-Laws of the District and/or Associations. b) any coach or manager who displays inappropriate conduct. c) any player where the coach deems disciplinary action is required. or Association members may request a hearing before the District DAC. A hearing will be granted at the discretion of the Chair of the District DAC.

The Code of Discipline for the District shall be no less than that contained in the ODMHA Code of Discipline notwithstanding any of the above. The DAC's guiding principal will be to enforce disciplinary actions equal to or more serve than the penalties recommend by the CHA/ODHA/ODMHA.

12.04 Discipline hearings shall be held in conformance with the format and guidelines as described by 13.02 Procedures.

12.05 Notification and Reporting
a) all affected parties shall be notified verbally by the appropriate DAC Chair within 24 hours of the decision, followed by a written notification within 48 hours of the decision. Notification should include information regarding the appeal process.
b) the Chairperson of the District DAC shall submit a written report on each Committee decision within 48 hours.
c) the Chair of the District Discipline Committee shall keep a record on all cases so administered.

12.06 Appeals Where any person has been disciplined or suspended by the District DAC and/or appealing of an District DAC decision, such person may appeal to the ODMHA Discipline Committee within 96 hours in writing setting out their points of appeal.

12.07 What Constitutes Grounds for An Appeal
a) New evidence not presented at the original hearing.
b) Irregularities in the proceedings of the original hearing that may have resulted in an unjust decision.
c) The decision rendered at the original hearing was too severe.
d) There is proof to establish that the decision of the original hearing was reached in an unjust manner.

12.08 A monetary fee $150.00 must accompany each appeal, and such fee may be refundable by, and at the discretion of, the defined Committee, should it rule in favor of the appellant
.
12.09 Appeals hearings shall be held in conformance with the format and guidelines as described by 13.02 Procedures.

13.0 Hearing Procedures

13.01 Who attends: The accused or party making the complaint; Team officials who where involved in the incident; Game officials who where involved in the incident; A maximum of two (2) witnesses appearing on behalf of the accused; A parent or guardian, where a minor is involved.

13.02 Procedure
a) all parties testifying should be present during the giving of testimony. No hearsay testimony shall be entered into evidence.
b) only those parties present at the invitation of the Discipline Committee Chairperson may give testimony.
c) no one shall be present during a hearing without the permission of the Discipline Committee Chairperson.
d) written and signed statements from persons who are unable to attend the hearing may be accepted as evidence.
e) each person who is scheduled to give evidence shall be permitted to deliver his/her testimony without interruption. If a prepared statement is read, the original copy is to be submitted to the Discipline Committee Chairperson. A brief rebuttal is allowed each person after all witnesses have made their initial statements.
f) only members of the Discipline Committee may ask clarifying or supplementary questions. These questions will normally be asked at the conclusion of each person's initial statement. All questions and replies shall be directed through the Discipline Committee Chairperson.
g) once all testimony has been given, all clarifying and supplementary questions have been answered, and each person has been given an opportunity to rebut any and all statements made by others, all those present who are not members of the Discipline Committee shall be excused from the hearing and the Discipline Committee members shall deliberate and render a ruling on the matter.
h) all affected parties will be notified of the Discipline Committee's decision by the appropriate Director within 12 hours of the decision.
i) a written notification shall be sent within 48 hours of the decision and will include a description of the appeal process
.
14.00 Protests (House League) - This section outlines the procedures for protests in all the House League divisions of the District.

14.01 Protests will not be accepted if the grounds for protest are based on a referee's judgment.

14.02 Protests involving an infraction of the rules or regulations as set out by the By-Laws must be treated as follows:

a) the coach intending to protest must notify the division convenor within 24 hours following the completion of the game.
b) the division convenor will notify the appropriate Executive member and provide all relevant details.
c) all protests must be forwarded by the protesting coach in writing to both the District President (House League) and the opposing coach within 48 hours of the game.

14.03 Upon request, the involved individuals are required to attend the Disciplinary Committee meeting.

14.04 The Disciplinary Committee's decision shall be communicated verbally to the appropriate individuals within 24 hours of the meeting and a written notification within 48 hours of the meeting.

Home