GTHLA Team Agreements

GTHLA Team Membership Expectations

1. The Team and all its participating players agree to adhere to all the GTHLA and Hockey Canada rules.

2. We were founded on the ideals of sportsmanship, fun, safety, camaraderie, community, collaboration, imagination, creativity, artistic expression, social involvement/awareness/activism, inclusion, fairness, communication, responsibility, empathy and participation and each team agrees to adhere and promote these values.

3. Fair Play: All teams agree to take responsibility for their players’ actions. It is everyone’s prerogative to establish and maintain a fun, safe, equitable and cooperative environment on the ice. All teams agree to extend common respect to everyone on the ice. The team agrees to enforce strong sportsmanship and communication while promoting the values and mission of the league.

League officials are provided on and off the ice for guidance. The officials, including the Fair Play Committee, will provide a minimum acceptable guideline in assisting teams and players to remain within the values and mission of the league.

We realize that on-ice confrontations always start from the actions of an opposing player. It is important to acknowledge that offences are often accidental, but no matter what, retaliation is even more inexcusable and will escalate the situation. Referees are present to supervise games, and it is important to accept that they cannot see the entire surface of play and may not be able to witness every infraction. A sincere apology after fouling someone is necessary, especially if the referees did not see the foul. It should be no different then a pick-up game without referees.

If there are any issues with missed infractions or consistent unsportsmanlike behaviour from specific opposing players, players agree to indicate it to their captain, who can then discuss it further with the referees and/or opposing captains during the game. After the game, the team can discuss issues with league officials and opposing team captains and managers to increase understanding within the framework of the league’s values and mission. Teams are requested to file a game report after every game to the Fair Play Committee rating their opponent’s sportsmanship. Finally, every team agrees to demand discipline from their own players before they request more from others.

Teams are encouraged to file game reports 24 hours after each game to gamereports@hockeyaa.net

4. Captains: Teams must have identifiable captains and alternate captains during the game in order for the teams and officials to communicate more effectively.

5. Scheduling: All Toronto teams must be prepared to play in Greater Toronto on Monday to Thursday 7PM to 10PM; Friday 7PM to 11PM; Saturday 11AM to 11PM and Sunday 11AM to 10PM. Games out of Toronto can be scheduled on Saturday and Sunday from 12PM to 8PM for Toronto based teams. Toronto based teams must be prepared to travel up to twice during a season to games out of the Greater Toronto area and within 150 km. Each team is responsible to give the league at least a two month notice if they are unavailable to play at any specific time within the preceding times. The league’s goal is to have the schedule locked 2 months ahead. Playoffs are not an exception, in terms of giving notice on a team’s unavailability. There is potential for 2 games on a weekend when the schedule dictates it as a necessity. Exhibition games that are scheduled after the league’s playoffs have started may get bumped to a later date to accommodate the playoff schedule. All teams are responsible to keeping up to date with the league’s schedule and ensuring that their team shows up for their scheduled games.

5. Social Events: Each team must host a social event for the benefit of the league’s membership before the season ends.

6. General Managers Meetings: Each team must have at least one representative at each of the three General Managers meetings during the year.

7. Additional Ice-Time: Teams can book additional one hour and one and a half hour exhibition games at anytime. They can also book ice-time for their own pick-up games or practices. Sparkles Hockey Academy is also available for single or a series of practice(s) with instruction.

One hour Exhibition Game $170 + GST = $180.20

One and a Half Hour Exhibition Game $225 + GST = $238.50

One hour of ice-time for a team to use at their own discretion $190 + GST = $201.40

Practice with Sparkles Hockey Academy Instruction TBA

8. General Information: The team agrees to collaborate through assisting the league in administration work and fundraising and to always work towards benefiting the league as a whole and never to exploit the league and its community for the benefit of an individual, team or a group, unless the league approves (e.g. helping raise some financial assistance for a member who has lost his/her main source of income due to an accidental hockey injury). All teams agree to share their ideas, imagination and creativity. By doing this we hope to build collaboration, cooperation and strengthen community around our values.

9. Volunteering: The league is dependent on volunteer help in completing numerous tasks. Team fees will be discounted the following season for volunteer work. Excessive individual volunteer work will receive honorariums. All volunteer information is on the league website.

For Comprehensive and Semi-Comprehensive Members:

10. Rosters: Comprehensive and Semi-Comprehensive Team Members must submit their initial team rosters before Saturday, October 13, 2007. Only players on this roster are eligible to be designated “Exempt Players” for the playoffs. Notification and a written explanation of “Exempted Players” on a team’s roster have to be submitted to the league prior to two weeks before the start of the playoffs. Team’s final playoff rosters have to be submitted to the league one week before the playoffs start. All roster correspondence to the league must be done through the gthlamembership@hockeyaa.net email address. Details on roster rules (rule #9) are on the website

10. Playoff Byes: If a team wants to wave their right for a bye past the first round of the playoffs, they must inform the league prior to two weeks before the playoffs begin through gthlamembership@hockeyaa.net

11. Travel During Playoffs: Any Toronto based team that plays an out of Toronto based team for the playoffs must be prepared to travel to the opponent’s home rink if a game is scheduled for there.

The GTHLA is an affiliate of the Hockey Association of the Arts. The HAA’s mission statement:

The H.A.A. is an international organization with a common interest in hockey, the Arts and community involvement. Inspired by the amateur roots of the game, the H.A.A. was founded on the ideals of sportsmanship, fun, safety, camaraderie, collaboration, cooperation, community, creativity, imagination, artistic expression, social involvement/awareness/activism, inclusion, fairness, communication, responsibility, empathy and participation. The H.A.A. is a forum for participating in hockey and sharing imagination upon which its members can build collaboration to strengthen community and initiate positive social change. Leagues, clubs and players can liaise with others through the association and have their games publicised and recorded.

The GTHLA reserves the right to refine this form at any time to better explain each team’s responsibility in promoting and pursuing the league’s values and mission and to aid the league in operating more effectively and efficiently.