The Orillia Figure Skating Club (OFSC) is committed to ensuring that all skaters have the opportunity to participate in a safe and welcoming environment that is encouraging and promotes their overall development. Parents have an enormous influence on skaters’ experiences in the sport. The quality of a skater’s experience is determined by their relationships with parents and the manner in which parents conduct themselves in the OFSC environment.

In this code “parents” shall refer to “parents and guardians”. This code applies to all parents who are members of the OFSC or have children who are members of the OFSC. Parents shall always abide by this code while volunteering, attending or participating in any OFSC event, competition or sessions. All parents are expected to conduct themselves in a responsible manner consistent with the values of fair play, integrity, open communication and mutual respect.

Parents shall always model positive, responsible behavior and communicate with their child that they expect them to do the same. Parents will assume the major responsibility for their child’s on ice conduct and attitude. Parents shall always treat all individuals and property with dignity, courtesy and respect, including but not limited to skaters, coaches, officials, volunteers, other parents, members of the Board and all other individuals that are part of the club, Section or Skate Canada.

General Ethics:

1. Parents/Guardians must be courteous at all times to everyone, including skaters, their fellow parents and members of the Board in accordance with the Skate Canada Rules https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/policies/79-skate-canada-code-of-ethics.html and the City of Orillia Respect⁺ policy https://www.orillia.ca/en/city-hall/respect.aspx.
2. For insurance reasons, Parents/Guardians are not permitted on the ice surface.
3. Parents, Guardians or designate should remain in the arena for the entire session.
4. Coaches are not to be disturbed during lessons or in the Coaches’ Area of the OFSC Office.
5. Parents/Guardians shall refrain from any behaviour or comments which are profane, insulting, harassing, sexist, racist, abusive, disrespectful or otherwise offensive without hostility or violence.
6. Parents/Guardians shall emphasize the importance of values like sportsmanship, respect, cooperation, competition and teamwork to their child, offering praise for competing fairly, participation and skill development.
7. Parents/Guardians shall set high, but reasonable expectations for their child’s participation in skating focusing on development and enjoyment for the child.
8. Parents/Guardians shall instill confidence in their child’s ability and skill development, always avoiding comparisons with other skaters.
9. Parents/Guardians shall celebrate the acquisition of skills and goals achieved by their child.
10. Parents/Guardians, along with the professional coach and the athlete, shall be considered members of a team whose main concern is the child’s overall progress and development.
11. Parents/Guardians shall respect that the professional coach is responsible and empowered for the on-ice and off-ice development of the athlete. A parent/guardian’s role shall be to take a healthy interest in their child’s progress and development and be responsible for the child’s nutrition, rest, adherence to off-ice training regimen set by the coach or other fitness professional, overall health, life-balance, and provide moral and emotional support.
12. Parents/Guardians shall ensure their child wears proper skating clothing and equipment.
13. Parents/Guardians shall openly support and uphold this code of ethics policy and take action and steps to ensure other parents follow and uphold this code of ethics policy.
14. Parents/Guardians shall adhere to the policies, procedures, rules, standards, and ethics of the OFSC and Skate Canada at all times.
15. Parents/Guardians will not use technology or social media to disrespect or exploit others.
16. Concerns/Complaints will be reviewed only if submitted in writing to the Board and will be reviewed by the OFSC Board in “Committee of the Whole” (closed session).

Disciplinary Action:

The OFSC Board will only commence Disciplinary Action when a written letter of complaint is forwarded to the Board. This letter will be reviewed by the board in “Committee of the Whole”.

Upon receiving a written letter of complaint outlining a violation of the Code of Ethics, the OFSC Board will proceed with the following disciplinary action:

1^st Offence: Letter from the OFSC Board will be addressed to the Parent/Guardian outlining the nature of the violation.

2^nd Offence: Suspension of the Parent/Guardian from all Club programs without compensation for 1 month. This includes all OFSC competitions, test days and mandatory club commitments. The Parent/Guardian will be responsible for finding a replacement for any Club commitment that falls within the suspension period.

3^rd Offence:  Suspension of the Parent/Guardian from all Club programs without compensation for 6 months. This includes OFSC all competitions, test days and mandatory club commitments. The Parent/Guardian will be responsible for finding a replacement for any Club commitment that falls within the suspension period.

4^th Offence:  Suspension for both the Skater and the Parent/Guardian from all Club programs without compensation for 1 year. This includes all OFSC competitions, test days and mandatory club commitments. Any outstanding account balances or fees for unfulfilled Club commitments that will be added to your account and must be paid in full within 30 days of the start of the suspension period.

In the case of a serious breach of ethics, the Parent/Guardian may be immediately suspended at the Board’s discretion. In cases of suspension or expulsion, no refund of any kind will be granted.

The OFSC Board may, at their discretion, choose to file a complaint directly with the City of Orillia as per the terms of the Respect⁺ which could result in suspension from attending any sport related activities at facilities under the management of the City of Orillia.

Policy revised August 29th, 2020