Sudbury aims to make city arena ice allocation rules fairer

Sudbury is changing how arena ice time is allocated after a review found AAA hockey exceeded guidelines & some groups provided inflated numbers for more hours.

Greater Sudbury is making changes to the way it determines which teams get ice time at city arenas.

The goal is to ensure that ice time is doled out according to registration numbers and that girls hockey teams are treated fairly, said a staff report headed to Monday’s community and emergency services committee.

“On an annual basis, an estimated 24,500 hours of ice time are rented by third parties at the city’s 14 arenas,” said a staff report on the changes.

“As most of these hours are booked by minor hockey, ringette and skating associations, ice allocation rules have been created in consultation with key stakeholders to ensure for the fair and equitable allocation of ice times.”

Users with increasing registration numbers are entitled to more ice time, while groups with declining numbers must return blocks of ice time.

One group affected by the changes are teams in AAA hockey.

“Historically, 9.5 hours of ice time has been allocated to each AAA hockey team, which has been a source of complaints from many associations,” the report said.

“Upon review, the amount of time being allocated was in excess of the guidelines developed by Hockey Canada for this level of play.”

Another problem the review found was that some associations renting time were exaggerating their registration numbers so they could book additional time.

“There have been concerns raised that the numbers provided by various associations haven’t reflected the true number of registered players with suggestions that some associations were inflating numbers to preserve ice time,” the report said.

“Many associations raised concerns that there was a lack of fairness and equity for girls’ hockey programs and emerging/new associations.”

Meetings were held over the summer to get feedback from associations, leading to a number of changes.

For example, AAA teams are now allowed 6.5 hours of ice time a week for U12-U15, and 7.5 hours for U16 and U18.

“Girls’ AAA teams have been included in the ice allocations rules to ensure equity,” the report said.

“Registration numbers will be confirmed by governing bodies to ensure accurate numbers are provided.”

In addition, since many groups cancelled their ice times on statutory holidays, arenas will now close on most holidays, except for Remembrance Day, Family Day and Truth and Reconciliation Day.

“This will also address overtime worked by arenas section staff,” the report said.

“The changes made ensure more equity, transparency and fairness in the allocation process. As a result, the city has been able to support the introduction of a new French-language minor hockey association for the City of Greater Sudbury.”

Read the full report here.