Glengarry OPDP impact statement (parent)

Written June 23

My daughter has had a love for soccer ever since she was 3 years old. We live in a rural community but soccer like hockey is a very popular sport and she has been playing soccer for almost 10 years. My daughter’s hero is Christine Sinclair like most 12 year old girls and we have gone to many FIFA games in Montreal and Ottawa to help build the love that my daughter has for this sport.

Since the start of this supposed Tier 1 season, my daughter’s team has won every game they’ve played. Our league has always included Ottawa teams and I can say that none of the girls from the big clubs in Ottawa this year include any of the same girls from last year. The Ottawa Player Development Program (OPDP) is where all the Tier 1 players have gone it seems!

This is having a real negative effect on my daughter. Last Monday night as we drove to our game against OSU, my daughter was nervous about playing the known powerhouse of the league. She was saying her team would have to play really hard to win; she could not wait. Needless to say, her team won 6-1, which could have been much higher had we not hit the post multiple times. You would think that another win under the girl’s belts would make them want to celebrate, but instead they felt very badly for the other team. In the car ride home, my daughter said she felt really bad and wished they had not scored as many goals as they did as she felt that the other team must feel terrible. She asked me where the players were from last season, why all the teams were so easy to beat, what has changed?

The goal I have for my daughter’s soccer career is to learn the following: excellent sportsmanship from both winning and especially losing, how to be a team player, that working hard and improving at something you love never ends, that referees can only see what they see and they are humans, and that we have to play hard and overcome challenges.  

Unfortunately, my daughters soccer year 2017 will teach her something else: that rules are NOT made to be followed, that adults are dishonest, that there is a class system and rural communities are not valued based on their team’s skills but instead on how far they are to travel to. She won’t play teams that are better than hers in order to improve her performance; she won’t feel what it is like to win after a really good head-to-head game against the best team - instead she will come to every game expecting to win and feeling sorry for the other team.

Do you remember the sting of defeat and drive to do better and to improve and win? Where is my child’s chance to challenge the better clubs? Why are the rules not being enforced? Why is this injustice being allowed? What is Ontario Soccer doing to deal with this problem? What timelines have you set to resolve this issue? My child will lose this season at U12 - how long before action is taken? Why were we mislead to believe that the teams we are playing are Tier 1? How do these clubs explain to the non-Tier 1 teams the sting of constant defeat?

Exclusion is not acceptable under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. Why is this reality being permitted by Ontario Soccer?

Donna Dear

Forward, modern and inclusive thinking?

Not a scientific or statistical tool by any means; but definitely a common sense indicator. Using CSA as an example, our District governing organization should have ~9400+ followers (not 107!). You really want to trust at the helm people stuck in the past? Losing (source: 2017 AGM REPORT) 3000+ players in one year alone? And absolutely no comment on reversing this trend from the "leadership" in the January 24, 2018 AGM meeting minutes? Which of course they haven't made public!  What are they trying to cover up? These are the same people doing the same thing over and over simply because "it was done that way day after day, year after year?"

Coming soon: World cup 2018, new provincial politicians eager to make their mark, and news organizations willing to report on anything "soccer related".  fairnessinottawasoccer.org is popular so make sure to comment.

Let's discuss it! Leave a comment! Do you have any scoop you want us to publish? By all means do send us an email to fairnessinottawasoccer@gmail.com

                       Registered             Facebook
                         Players                 Followers
CSA                 850,000                  161,240
EODSA              50,000                     107

And as additional info fairnessinottawasoccer.org stats in one year alone!

"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."

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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.