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Misbehaving Greater Victoria parents banned from kids’ hockey game

Five Greater Victoria parents have been banned from attending their kids’ hockey game this weekend after yelling at officials and members of the opposing team.
Empty seats arena generic
Expect to see more empty seats than usual at a kids' hockey game this week, after five parents were barred for bad behaviour.

Five Greater Victoria parents have been banned from attending their kids’ hockey game this weekend after yelling at officials and members of the opposing team.

The Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association is investigating similar incidents across the Island in which parents have lost sight of the spirit of the game, president Jim Humphrey said. “By the end of the week, there will probably be at least 12 parents sitting out, all from up and down the Island,” he said.

Although Humphrey couldn’t go into details about what the parents shouted, he said the incident took place Saturday at a midget-level hockey game, which has players between the ages of 15 and 17.

Two of the four referees were under the age of 17.

No physical fights broke out. Other parents in the stands intervened before reporting the aggressors to the association.

“The parents stopped it in the stands. The parents stood up and said: ‘Sit the hell down and shut the hell up.’ By that time, tempers were tempers and then the parents reported it after they got home,” Humphrey said.

The association investigated and was satisfied with the offending parents’ response, he said.

“When the investigation started, the parents that misbehaved were honest and open and admitted to doing wrong. They have agreed to miss the one game,” Humphrey said.

But not all parents were so co-operative. One Island parent refused to admit wrongdoing and might face heavier consequences after erupting at a call made by a teenage referee during a game for nine- and 10-year-old players. The parent claims his son’s team lost the game because the referee wasn’t familiar with the rules.

“We’re the ones to blame because we don’t have NHL referees for nine- and 10-year-olds,” Humphrey said. “They’ve lost sight. Parents like this have lost sight.”

The ban comes about a month after the association warned that it would clear arena stands if parents didn’t clean up their acts. Humphrey said the association has no plans to empty the stands entirely and is generally happy with the response from parents since the idea of “spectator-free weekends” was floated. Parents are reporting one another for offences and the association is doing its due diligence in corroborating reports before banning parents, he said.

It’s not easy for volunteers to deal with abuse from parents, let alone for the kids to handle it.

“It’s a kids’ game. It’s no different than the games they play at recess at school. They’re out, enjoying friends and learning a bit of how to work together and then we throw these parents in the mix,” Humphrey said. “If you own up to your mistake and say, ‘Hey, I messed up and I’m going to work hard at not doing it again. Hey, we’re all human.’ But it’s those parents who blame everything on everyone else but themselves who, in my personal opinion, we don’t need at the game.”

Jamie Davis, president of the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association, said there have been a few times when parents fought but the association deemed it a personal issue.

“We’ve had situations where one parent doesn’t like another parent and they expect us to take disciplinary action. As we investigate, we find, in fact, it’s not hockey-related at all. It’s just adults acting like bad kids,” Davis said. “They’re parents who just don’t get along and sometimes they’ll try to bring it to the rink and we discourage that.”

Darren Fogarty, president of the Sooke Minor Hockey Association, said there haven’t been any issues in Sooke this year. “With everything that goes on, parents are more aware. A lot of it is education,” he said.

As a parent with two kids who play hockey, he said it’s upsetting to hear about misbehaving parents. “It’s disturbing. You think you’re going to watch a game and support your kids and you’re worried about being attacked by someone else.”
asmart@timescolonist.com