"the Organization", its privacy policy and your rights under federal and provincial laws

Is your name, address, OHIP health information, OSA number, password(s), email(s), playing history, DoB, and all other private information well protected by "the Organization"?

- Do you know who has access to it?
- Do they have clear privacy policies?
- Who qualifies as a "third party"?
- Have you consented to distributing it outside of "the Organization"
- Contact them and find out. Get it in writing; it is your right.



FEDERAL: The Application of PIPEDA to Charitable and Non-Profit Organizations

"As the definition of commercial activity makes clear, selling, bartering or leasing a membership list or a list of donors would be considered a commercial activity. As a result, consent is required for the disclosure of this information."

PROVINCIAL: Personal Health Information [OHIP] Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A

"...collection, use, disclosure, retention or disposal of the information, as the case may be, is necessary in the course of the agent’s duties and is not contrary to this Act or another law..."

"We do not sell or distribute your personal information to any other third parties not listed herein." - Does this mean only Ontario Soccer, Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association and the Club personnel have access to your information?

Do "officers, members, employees, coaches, volunteers, officials, participants, clubs, agents, sponsors, owners.operators of facilities, and representatives ("the Organization") have access to your information?

Does "the Organization" have internal processes to deal with negligence or it is not a matter of importance?

13 years on, long term sport visionaries; bystanders to negative accountability, principles & best practices

"In late 2005, the CSA with Sport Canada established the Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) Work Group to study the system of soccer player development in Canada. During the final months of 2005 through 2006, the Work Group engaged top professional coaches and administrators at the national and provincial levels across Canada as well as outside experts in discussions and research into what types of player development systems would be necessary to develop increased levels of player excellence."

"To qualify for the World Cup, our system of player development must ensure, after 10 years of quality programming, that at least 6 of 40,000 eightyear-olds who play soccer each year will eventually debut for a professional team in one of the top 10 professional leagues in the world. Meanwhile, through the same soccer system, the other 39,994 children in that same eight-year-old group will acquire the skills, confidence and enthusiasm to remain active in soccer for life."

"GLOBAL COMPARISONS (2007) - ...it is also interesting to compare Canada to Australia, another soccer country with similar socioeconomics that has historically struggled to qualify for the World Cup. Both countries have almost identical per capita GDP and similar population densities. However, Australia has only two-thirds the population of Canada and has now managed to qualify for the World Cup twice."

WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? - Leadership
- Elected board positions have clear criteria.
- Structure and policies are built on player-centred principles.
- Organizations have positive relationships with communities...
- Best practices for organizations exist at all levels
- Organized fan groups are more active and numerous.
- Canadian star players are promoted in media and given a public profile.
- Canadian soccer successes are celebrated and promoted in media.

"A people-centred focus: The needs of all people involved in the game should be respected and honoured within the larger focus of developing better players. This people-centred focus should be based on a fair and ethical approach at all levels of the soccer system: It should include a friendly and cooperative approach from CSA staff, and a willingness on the part of all stakeholders to share ideas, work hard, practice humility and listen."

 SOURCE: 2009 - Canada Soccer - Wellness to World Cup

FORUM

Sport For All in Ottawa: Creating a Culture of Inclusion

Sport For All in Ottawa: Creating a Culture of Inclusion

"Sport should be available and responsive to the needs of all Canadian residents who want to participate.
As an organization that strives to create and nurture sport environments that everyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, income level and ability, the Ottawa Sport Council is proud to focus its next Sport Summit on the topic of inclusivity."

--------- 

FairnessInOttawaSoccer.org Blog

Forum

What's in store for Ottawa Soccer in 2018?

Is Ontario Soccer finally going to stop the OPDP? (con't)? (comments open)

or visit

http://fairnessinottawasoccer.org/forum/

3 simple steps

- Pick a topic

- Click reply

- Fill in your info (anonymity maintained)

Is Ontario Soccer finally going to stop the OPDP?

On June 9, a parent was emailed the following from Ontario Soccer regarding the OPDP:

"A hearing is being schedule for this month. A judgement by the independent discipline panel would then follow. We do not control timelines and cannot comment further. It is the objective of everyone to conclude this file quickly so the players can resume playing sanctioned soccer as soon as possible."

As this is the last week of June, the hearing will hopefully take place before the weekend, if it hasn't already.

On June 12, a team official was emailed a similar message from Ontario Soccer:

"As communicated out to many of the EODSA membership contacting our office, Ontario Soccer currently is undergoing a Discipline Review process with the Clubs associated with the unsanctioned OPDP. Until this process is completed, including judgement by the Independent Discipline Panel, we will not comment further. Future updates on this file will be communicated through the EODSA office and posted on their website."

How quickly will the hearing judgement be made public?

Because it is not practical for the OPDP teams to return to the ERSL, they will likely argue that they have to continue with their competition for the sake of their players. They do, however, have the option of playing in sanctioned festivals (the EODSA has a list of approved festivals). If they are permitted to continue with Sunday evening games, then there is no credibility to the Ontario Soccer process of dealing with unsanctioned soccer. Ontario Soccer should insist on festivals and weekday exhibition games that do not follow a schedule (i.e. occasional games) for OPDP teams - a change that will require the OPDP clubs to explain to their parents that they contravened Ontario Soccer rules. The OPDP teams have completed six rounds of games. They are not playing the Canada Day long weekend and resume July 9 - Ontario Soccer must insist that those games not go ahead.

The post "Still no response from Ontario Soccer..." described uncompetitive games as one of the consequences of the OPDP. The impact is significant - here are just a few examples:

• Seaway Valley OPDP impact statement
• Glengarry OPDP impact statement (team official)
• Glengarry OPDP impact statement (parent)

Non-OPDP clubs, and their parents, should be entitled to compensation for their loss of opportunity. Will Ontario Soccer take any financial penalties it collects from the OPDP clubs and distribute them to non-OPDP clubs? The EODSA could be tasked with determining a fair distribution.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Real action is required from Ontario Soccer to restore trust in sanctioned soccer.

For a recent article on the OPDP controversy, see the latest edition of the Ottawa Sports Page.

Seaway Valley OPDP impact statement

Written June 11

We have absolutely seen a decrease in the competitiveness of the league to the absolute detriment of our team. Unfortunately I fear this will be a lost season for our boys.  While the other "Tier 1" teams continue to face appropriate competition outside of the regular league play - and therefore continue to improve - we are creating poor habits because of the time and space that we have against the opponents we have met so far.

How Ontario Soccer could permit this is beyond me. How neither Canada Soccer or Ontario Soccer have taken appropriate steps is a true travesty. These clubs should not be permitted to unilaterally alter the league that they are meant to compete in. Appropriate sanctions should be brought forward. I highly doubt Hockey Canada would permit such actions and have seen them put an end to similar situations. We should strive for the same for this beautiful game.

The ramifications will not be felt this year but in the future years. We are a small club that is attempting to compete with teams with larger player bases. The impact of these actions will hamper our abilities to do so in the future.

Ron Turgeon

Boys U12 SVSC Coach (Blazers)

Glengarry OPDP impact statement (team official)

Written June 20

This is my first year in the ERSL and I'm very disappointed we aren't playing teams of equal calibre. At this point we have played 5 of the 6 teams in our league and in all cases we have dominated play. All games have been a 4 goal differential or more.

After last night's game a number of my parents were questioning whether it would be like this all summer.

My girls will be fine but honestly I feel bad for the teams we are playing. It is no fun for a kid to drive over an hour to play in a game where the other team is much stronger. What their own clubs have done to them is surprising.

This spring I applied to play in the highest division available and games were to be played on Sunday nights. I even informed my parents that we would play on Sundays. Then I was informed this league was not going to be formed. However, I then received an email about a meeting for clubs who were playing in the Sunday night league. That meeting was cancelled a few days later.

The formation of the Sunday night league that did not allow everyone to participate is disappointing to say the least. Can this really happen in 2017 in Canada? The process is exclusionary and discriminates against small rural clubs like ours.

Glen Campbell

Glengarry Hearts U12 Girls

Article on the OPDP in Ottawa Sports Page

June 17, 2017; p. 6

Clarification on the article: the Ontario Soccer hearing for the OPDP clubs originally scheduled for June 21 was postponed.

Still no response from Ontario Soccer...

Originally posted June 12

It has been almost three months since seven Ottawa clubs started the Ottawa Player Development Program (OPDP) and they just completed their fourth round of Sunday evening games June 11. A summary of the situation was posted May 25 with almost 1,500 views as of June 11 and despite numerous complaints, including from many parents whose children have been affected, Ontario Soccer has still not come out with any public statement about the unsanctioned league.

As could have been anticipated, the following negative consequences have resulted:

1. Uncompetitive games. OPDP clubs entered their T2 teams into the ERSL at T1, meaning that clubs not part of the OPDP with T1 teams are facing weak competition, leading to uncompetitive games that hurt the development of both the genuine T1 teams and the T2 teams from OPDP clubs that are playing up. A similar dynamic exists at T2 where OPDP clubs moved their T3 teams. U9-U12 is considered the golden years of development yet some clubs are essentially facing a lost summer of appropriate competition. Some non-OPDP clubs are playing stronger teams up a year for a greater challenge and are encountering larger less skilled players, which increases the risk of injury to the underage team.
   
   OPDP clubs may celebrate the benefits of their league but any benefit is offset by a greater detriment to other EODSA clubs. The district has a responsibility to create an environment where every member club is given an equal opportunity to succeed.
   
   
2. Playing two games a week. Because the OPDP is playing games on Sunday while the ERSL games are Monday to Thursday, OPDP clubs have the option of players participating in both competitions, which goes against Ontario Soccer rules which only allow one league game per week (with occasional exceptions for certain reasons). As someone noted in a response to an earlier post:
   
   "My daughter's team (u10) who play ERSL T1 this year was asked to play as a fill-in for the OPDP. When our coach looked into it, they would be playing 12 Sundays till end of August (hardly a fill-in). This would include our ERSL games on Tuesday. Our coach was also told by the club that it was ok to play more than 2 games per week even though they only practice 2 times. According to LPTD U10 girls should only play 1 game for every 2 to 3 training sessions. Something is really wrong here…"
   
   The number of games a player plays in the ERSL at U9 to U12 is automatically tracked when game sheets are created. No such mechanism exists for the OPDP so there is no easy way to determine how many total games a player has participated in.
   
   
3. Uncertainty about level of play. Players and their families from T2 teams from OPDP clubs are confused about their team’s level of play. In the ERSL, they are playing T1, but in festivals, they could be entered at T2, their actual skill level.
   
   
4. Illegal recruiting. Strong players from clubs not in the OPDP are being actively encouraged to leave the clubs they are registered with to join OPDP clubs in order to compete against the higher level of competition in the OPDP. The Ontario Soccer penalties for “inducing or attempting to induce a registered player to leave his/her team before the end of that team’s current playing season” is a 6-12 month suspension for a team official (2.72) or administrator (3.72) and a $1,000 fine to the club (5.72).
   
   Some of these players are being registered with OPDP clubs without first being released by the club they first signed up with, which also contradicts Ontario Soccer rules (5.2.12a: “a grassroots player may only be registered at any one time with one Club”). The fines for playing an ineligible player are 3-12 months for an administrator (3.63) and $500 for the club (5.63). If game sheets for OPDP games are being submitted to the EODSA, then the EODSA should be able to easily identify what ineligible players have participated in OPDP games.
   
   If a number of players leave a team for an OPDP club, it could also result in the team not having enough players to continue in the ERSL, with the club that has to withdraw the team facing fines and other associated costs. How is it fair that clubs that are following the rules are effectively being punished by the actions of clubs that are breaking the rules?
   
   
5. Unjustified secrecy. Families from some OPDP teams are being expected to maintain a certain level of secrecy regarding their league. In response to parents making the May 8 email from OSU public, OPDP teams at OSU were sent a follow up email from the club May 29 where they were asked to inform the club if they knew who shared the May 8 email. Two parents wanted to make the full email public but were too scared that they would be found out and their child kicked off their team. Why is general communication on games something that families have to keep secret? If the OPDP clubs feel they are not doing anything wrong, why the secrecy? How is it right that parents are feeling so threatened by their own club?
   
   
6. Arbitrary exclusion. Most importantly, children are now operating in a climate where they no longer have confidence that they will be treated according their abilities as players and as teams - where it is possible for those with power to exclude them.
   
   

Some within OPDP clubs have suggested that it is false to claim that the OPDP still exists. Whether it goes by that name or something else (some are now referring to it as the U9 to U12 Elite League), it is clearly happening. The only thing that changed at the end of April was the removal of the OPDP website:

• Ottawa Internationals club official referred to the league as the OPDP is a May 12 email
• The EODSA-sanctioned referee website was still listing the OPDP as a league option as of June 4 [it should be noted that a match official who “officiated an unsanctioned or unaffiliated soccer game” faces a 30-day suspension (4.58) and who “directly or indirectly encouraged or assisted in the establishment of an unsanctioned soccer organization or competition” faces a 6-12 month suspension (4.75]:

• Ottawa South United continues to give schedules of the Sunday-evening competition to its teams
• Gloucester Hornets website still describes a Sunday-evening competition as of June 11
• Ottawa City website still describes a Sunday-evening competition as of June 11
• West Ottawa Soccer website still describes a Sunday-evening competition as of June 11

Ontario Soccer has been quick to speak out against other unsanctioned activity (for example, two clear emails, on February 15 and April 10, about an unsanctioned soccer organization in Ottawa) but initially let a compromised EODSA deal with the OPDP and then allowed themselves to parrot the lie that it had ceased operations. A situation where the biggest clubs in a district are collectively breaking the rules should have resulted in an immediate response from Ontario Soccer. Is it protecting the larger clubs in Ottawa from sanction because they are part of provincial programs like the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL - for U13 and up) and the semi-professional League 1? Rules primarily exist to protect the vulnerable and should not be ignored to protect the powerful. The integrity of Ontario Soccer is at stake: when will it act? Will Ontario Soccer live up to its slogan? Play. Inspire. Unite.

If fines are collected from clubs who are breaking the rules, will the money be made available through the EODSA to those non-OPDP clubs who have been financially impacted by the OPDP and to those families from non-OPDP clubs whose children have been denied the competitive opportunity they signed up for in good faith trusting that the rules would be followed?

Please share this post and contact soccer officials and political and city leaders to share your concerns. Soccer authorities who are in a position to address this issue are listed below.

If you have already contacted Ontario Soccer about this issue and not received a satisfactory answer, please follow up. If you have not contacted Ontario Soccer yet, please consider doing so. Here is possible text for an email (Cc officials of the EODSA and Canada Soccer):

• Dear Ontario Soccer,
  
  Clubs and families are being negatively affected by an unsanctioned league operating in Ottawa (see fairnessinottawasoccer.org for a detailed description of the impacts). Why has the league existed for almost three months and Ontario Soccer apparently done nothing? Will Ontario Soccer enforce it rules and seek to apply its published penalties of a minimum six-month suspension for an official involved and a fine to the club of as much as $1,000 per game?
  
  The smaller clubs in Ottawa are depending on Ontario Soccer to ensure that there is fair access to competitive soccer. I look forward to your response.

Ontario Soccer officials:

• Ron Smale, President, rsmale@ontariosoccer.net
• Johnny Misley, Executive Director, jmisley@ontariosoccer.net
• Gary Miller, Technical Director, gmiller@ontariosoccer.net
• Billy Wilson, Manager - Player Development, bwilson@ontariosoccer.net
• Dave Kelly, Regional Manager - Player Development, dkelly@ontariosoccer.net
• Charonne Thomasos, Manager - Administration, cthomasos@ontariosoccer.net
• Ryan Tuske, Coordinator - Events, rtuske@ontariosoccer.net

Canada Soccer officials:

• Jason deVos, Director of Development, jdevos@canadasoccer.com
• Ray Clark, Director of Coaching and Player Development, rclark@canadasoccer.com

EODSA officials:

• Brian Mason, President, president@eodsa.ca
• Dinis Oliveira, Director of Discipline, directordiscipline@eodsa.ca
• Joe Scheier, Acting Executive Director, admin@eodsa.ca

Evidence of OPDP clubs playing their weaker teams in stronger divisions

The following screenshots show the U9 to U12 teams in the ERSL as of April 28, 2017, the day after the OPDP supposedly closed.

In the past, the ERSL typically had three divisions per gender and age. As of April 28, there was only T3 for Boys U11 and U12, each with four teams, but those teams were moved to T2 divisions before the season started, meaning that the ERSL only has T1 and T2 divisions in 2017.

OPDP clubs moved their teams up a division to account for the fact that their T1 teams were now in the OPDP. Examples of this have been highlighted below. Some non-OPDP clubs also moved their T2 teams up a division, but those that didn't have generally experienced weaker competition than expected.

Boys U9-U12 divisions

Boys U9T1:

• the Ottawa Gloucester team is described as T2
• the OSU team is described as Blue, which is the colour they give their third-best team

Boys U10T1:

• the Ottawa Gloucester team is described as T2
• the OSU team is described as Blue, which is the colour they give their third-best team

Boys U11T1:

• the Ottawa Gloucester team is described as T2
• the OSU team is described as Blue, which is the colour they give their third-best team

Boys U12T1:

• the OSU team is described as Power, which is the name they give their team below Blue
• note that Ottawa Gloucester has an OPDP team at Boys U12 but no T1 team at Boys U12 in the ERSL

Girls U9-U12 divisions

Girls U09T1:

• the OSU team is described as White, which is the colour they give their second-best team
• note that Ottawa Gloucester has an OPDP team at Girls U09 but no T1 team at Girls U09 in the ERSL

Girls U10T1:

• the Ottawa Gloucester team is described as T2
• the OSU team is described as Blue, which is the colour they give their third-best team

Girls U11T1:

• the Ottawa Gloucester team is described as T2
• the OSU team is described as Blue, which is the colour they give their third-best team
• note that West Ottawa, the second biggest club in the city, has an OPDP team at Girls U11 but no T1 team at Girls U11 in the ERSL

Girls U12T1:

• the OSU team is described as Power, which is the name they give their team below Blue
• note that West Ottawa, the second biggest club in the city, and Ottawa Gloucester both have OPDP teams at Girls U12 but no T1 teams at Girls U12 in the ERSL