Hockey Calgary: Dressing Room Incident – Letter From Kevin Kobelka

Date: October 26, 2020
To: Hockey Calgary Membership
From: Kevin Kobelka – Executive Director
CC: HC Board, HC Member Associations, HC Governors
SUBJECT: Dressing Room Incident

On Friday October 23, Hockey Calgary received communication and video regarding a dressing
room incident that occurred this past week within one of our Associations. This video was
disturbing and the actions of this group of individuals is not acceptable within the hockey
environment. As an organization we do not tolerate violent and dangerous behaviour, and we
have a zero tolerance policy towards bullying, hazing and any physical acts that may cause harm to
another participant whether it is consensual or not.

Upon receiving this information Hockey Calgary in partnership with our member Association
moved quickly to investigate and determine all relevant details surrounding this incident. The
investigation is ongoing, and all players and coaches involved have had their playing privileges
suspended until the investigation is concluded. Hockey Calgary Game and Conduct is also
involved, in conjunction with Game and Conduct from the member Association.

We are in difficult times as organizations as we try to operate in the pandemic environment, but
there is no excuse to ignore the safety of our athletes in and around the dressing room. At this
time I want to provide a reminder of dressing room responsibilities in place for our coaches,
managers and players, as communicated in the Hockey Calgary Regulation Book:

Dressing Room Supervision:

The Head Coach will be responsible to ensure there is at least one (1) and preferably two (2)
responsible adults monitoring the team dressing room before and after each ice time. They will
endeavor to prevent disorderly conduct, bullying, and vandalism in any form. These adults may be
any team official or adult selected by the Head Coach or team manager. Failure to comply with this
supervision may result in the suspension of the Head Coach for a period of at least one (1) game.
Any adult found complicit with any undesirable activity will be suspended for a period of at least
one (1) year.

This incident is unacceptable, and we must do our best to learn from it and use it as an
opportunity to educate others. If appropriate I encourage you to discuss these actions with your
athlete, and reinforce the Hockey Calgary core values of safety and respect toward all participants.