I came across the funniest article today entitled, "
Hockey mom wants daughter allowed in boys' change room - B.C. mother takes case to human rights tribunal." Now, normally when I hear the words human, rights, and/or tribunal in a sentence, I usually think of persecuting war criminals, or people that have committed crimes against humanity, I don't think.... hockey mom wanting daughter allowed in boys' change room. I honestly thought this article was a joke, but I noticed that the article comes from the Ottawa Citizen which is a fairly well respected newspaper... so...
Here's an excerpt from the article:
A Lumby, B.C., mother believes her daughter got the short end of the hockey stick while she was a member of the town's bantam house team, thanks to a B.C. Amateur Hockey Association policy requiring male and female players to change in separate rooms.
Jane Emlyn says female minor hockey players' rights are violated when they're forced to use separate changing rooms.
She's presenting her case to a mediator from the Human Rights Tribunal this morning, facing off against representatives from the B.C. amateur hockey association and the Lumby Minor Hockey Association at the Vernon courthouse.
"There's a lot of girls that play, and I think the majority of them see this as discrimination," Ms. Emlyn said.
According to Al Berg, a member of the B.C. association'- coaching committee, the policy was introduced in January 2001 by Hockey Canada, after a Human Rights Commission mediation session in Ontario. It states players over the age of 11 of different gender are not allowed to change in the same room at the same time. The policy came as a result of increased female participation on integrated teams.
Fourteen-year-old Jewel Emlyn, who plays on the Lumby Stars with two other girls, says being kept out of the changing room before and after games or practice means they miss out on a lot of team camaraderie.
"It's fun in the changing room. You get to talk and socialize with all the kids and talk about the game, and talk about the practices and just discuss hockey. And if you're in a changing room with three people, and there's another team there, it's a little awkward and not fun," she said.
Her mother adds that, while girls are allowed in the room 15 minutes before game time, much of the coaching goes on while players are changing. Female coaches are also banned from the room except during those 15 minutes.
Randy Barton, president of Lumby Minor Hockey, says his association has been fairly relaxed about enforcing the policy. But Ms. Emlyn says she's seen girls forced to change in boiler rooms and storage spaces, sometimes with members of the opposing team.
Ms. Emlyn would prefer shared changing rooms, with a dress code requiring all girls to have a minimum of shorts and T-shirt on, and boys to wear at least boxers. The minority gender would have to leave the room before members of the opposite sex shower.
Call me old-fashion, but isn't separate change rooms just common sense? Why would you even set up your daughter in such a situation? I think it's also unfair to put teenage boys in that situation as they're struggling with raging horomones as it is. If I were a parent, I would be concerned about this.
This thing's being played out as a human rights issue, but if a guy said, I want to be able to change in the girl's locker room, the guy would instantly be hung as a chauvinistic pig. Let's hope the tribunal throws out this case as non-sense. I'm all for equality and such, but this is over the top.
A part of me always thinks that these fluffy, feel-good, politically correct, offend no one initiatives like this case being considered a human right could only happen in British Columbia. I always joke that there's something in the water in B.C. that causes people to get all crazy about "human rights".
I'd like to hear what Don Cherry thinks about all this.
