Allocation Policy

The City of Woodstock Parks and Recreation Department wishes to promote maximum facility usage and to have age appropriate times available to user groups. The City has an inventory of three ice pads. The purpose of this policy is to:

• Clearly define and communicate how ice will be managed, allocated and distributed
• Serve as a guide for the ice allocation process
• Promote and encourage participation in ice sports to the overall benefit of the community.
• Guide user groups through the process of booking ice time

The policies identified in this document establish and clarify the City’s responsibility for ice allocation, facility administration and its commitment to the management of:

• Fair and equitable ice allocation that maximizes use of the facility;
• Fiscally responsible ice facility operations;
• Processing of tournament, special event and seasonal ice rentals;
• Special event management;
• Annual affiliation process reporting
• General administration requirements;
• Facilitate opportunities for active and healthy lifestyle;
• Safe and accessible services for all people.

4.1 Scheduling Priorities

Ice will be allocated utilizing the following order of priority:

4.2 Definitions of Groups

City of Woodstock Programs: programs and other initiatives that are organized by city staff or provided by contractors on behalf of the municipality. Currently, this includes public skating, adult skate, parent and tot skating, parent and tot hockey, and special needs initiatives. This list of programs could expand or contract as market conditions evolve or as the needs of Woodstock residents change.

Affiliated Youth Groups and/or Affiliated Adult Groups

1. Once a year all leagues and clubs wishing to receive the City of Woodstock affiliation user rates would be require to fill out a “Sport League Affiliation Application”
2. If a club or league is a not- for–profit group it will need to provide: a. club/league registration list with postal codes in order to confirm that 60% or greater club/league participants are residence of the City of Woodstock
3. If a club or league does not have not-for-profit status it will need to provide 

   a. A written league constitution in which at least one annual general membership meeting is held.

   b. That the league/ club executives are voted in by the general membership

   c. That general membership is an open process

   d. That full financial disclosure is available to the league club membership and city staff.

   e. club/league registration list with postal codes in order to confirm that 60% or greater club/league participants are residence of the City of Woodstock

4.  Exemptions to 2a and 3e would be if a club or league competes at a provincial / national level or is a Special Olympics club. The Director of Parks and Recreation will make final determinations on exemptions

Youth Groups –youth under 19 years of age with over 40 % of non-Woodstock residents

Adult Members: User groups in this category are comprised of individuals over 19 years of age that are not affiliated with the City of Woodstock.

Commercial Groups: User groups in this category are defined as organizations or individuals that use ice time with the intent of generating positive net income (profit). At the city’s discretion, not-for-profit groups may be allowed to generate net income from the use of allocated ice time so long as the subject use aligns with the “fundamental activities” of the group.

5.1 Weekly Hours of Entitlement and Distribution to Minor Sports Groups

On an annual basis, the City’s Affiliated Groups shall provide registration data for the previous year or for the upcoming year if this information is available. This information will be provided annually by the 31st of October.

The ideal Ice Time Allocation for various age and competition levels for hockey and skating shall be considered and is the ultimate goal in the allocation of ice to the Affiliated Youth Groups. The recommended standards will include but may not be limited to Alliance Hockey Association, Skate Canada, etc and are outlined in Appendix A. This allocation will be the goal of this policy. This information will establish the ideal ice allocation to each group. Until more ice time is available, only a part of this time may be initially achieved.

5.2 Seasonal Commitment

All minor sports groups and seasonal users are required to commit to a minimum:

Fall and Winter: 22-24 consecutive weeks to be completed between September 1 and the end of winter session March 31. Exceptions to the 22 week minimum may be made when the City is unable to supply replacement ice for disruptions to regular ice time and emergency closures.

Spring: April, May and June

Summer: A minimum of 8 consecutive weeks to be completed between July 1 and the week prior to the Labour Day weekend. Exceptions to the 8 week minimum may be made when the City is unable to supply replacement ice for disruptions to regular ice time and emergency closures. Preference will be given to users that book for the entire summer season July 1 to the week period to the Labour Day weekend. If a user can not commit to the required number of weeks, they will be considered an occasional user.

5.3 Time Period Entitlements and Restrictions

All Affiliated youth groups will receive an equitable distribution of prime and non-prime hours in accordance with Section 5.1. Minor sport groups in the future may be required to have a minimum of 10% (minimum 1 hour) of ice time as non-prime ice. All Affiliated youth groups, regardless of gender, level of competition, and total hours of entitlement shall not receive relatively more or less prime time access than a similar client. Adult ice will not be allocated prior to 9 p.m. except where an earlier time may reflect a historical grandfathered ice time. The City retains the right to provide ice only at same or similar time. No ice time slot is guaranteed. Exceptions may be granted where the requirements of youth and City recreational users are being met where ice is available and not required by youth. Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer–Prime and Non Prime

5.4 Deadlines for Ice Time Requests and Timing of Allocation

When forwarding ice time requests to the PRD, the following time frames are mandatory. The date for final determination of ice time is also indicated.

Allocation timing is a goal and may be subject to change by the City

5.5 Conflict Resolution

Ice time conflicts that arise will be highlighted by the PRD. The PRD will attempt to resolve the conflict in a manner consistent with the policy. Should a conflict remain, the groups involved in the conflict will be invited to attend a meeting chaired by the Manager of Facility Operations Each group will be asked to submit in writing the rationale for their requirement of the ice time in conflict. The following factors will guide the final decision:

• User group historical ice allocation.
• The degree in which the user group ice time requests have been met, apart from the ice time request in conflict and number of participants affected.
• The age of the user group as it relates to the ice time in conflict as well as residency.
• The sport requirements of the group as per Appendix A.

 Controls must be in place to minimize the negative impacts that unused, returned, amended and cancelled ice have on the arena system operation and its users. As such the PRD will apply all guidelines outlined in this policy to reasonably and responsibly manage unused ice or changing ice needs once permits have been issued.

7.1 Signed Contract/Permit

The PRD will provide to the user, a contract/permit listing all ice time allocated to the user for the season based on timing in Section 5.4. The signed contract/permit is due to be returned a minimum of four (4) weeks after receipt.

7.2 Changes to Signed Contract/Permit

The PRD will make every effort to accommodate ice allocation requests in accordance with this policy. Users with overdue accounts may, at the discretion of the PRD, have their ice time cancelled and/or lose their grandfathered status. Overdue accounts will be subject to an interest penalty as per standard City rate. Once the PRD has received the signed contract/permit, the user agrees that all times listed in the contract/permit will be paid on the first day of each month, from the beginning of the ice season to the end of the ice season, with no right of cancellation except for the following:

a) If the user refuses to use the facilities due to unsuitable ice surface conditions provided the Facilities Manager or staff on duty is in agreement, or

b) If roads within the City are closed or police are warning people to stay off roads within the City as confirmed by the PRD, or

c) If the City cancels ice due to holidays, safety concerns, mechanical breakdowns, weather conditions or emergency closures, or

d) If the City cancels due to a significant or high profile event as per Section 7.6

7.3 Transferred Ice/Ice Trades/Sub Leased Ice

The City is the sole authority for all ice times. The practice of transferring, trading or sub-leasing ice between permit holders is NOT allowed. It is recognized that last-minute changes to the intended use of the ice may occur under infrequent and unforeseen circumstances. The City must be aware of and be able to control the intended use of all ice permitted within its facilities at all times. The PRD must be notified by the permit holder, even after the occurrence, of any ice that was not used or was used by someone other than the permit holder. In this event, the PRD will make every effort to reallocate the cancelled ice time based on the priority outlined in this policy. If this available ice time is not booked to another user, the original permit holder will be responsible for payment of that ice time.

Failure to notify the PRD may result in termination of the permit and cancellation of future bookings.

7.4 Contract Cancellation

Once an ice rental contract has been signed, the following cancellation policies are in effect. The minimum amount of time that can be cancelled is one (1) hour.

If a user is unable to fulfill their seasonal commitment and regularly cancels ice time requested, the City reserves the right to make a permanent adjustment to the user’s next year allocation.

7.5 Public/Adult/Parent and Tot Skate Cancellations

In order to minimize user frustration, dissatisfaction and other negative impacts, the City will not cancel City programs and leisure skate times, with the exception of the following:

i. Significant and high profile events as directed by Council

ii. Low registration in programs

iii. Emergency shut down situations or ice maintenance.

iv. City run or sponsored programs on special days (example P.D. days or family days)

Where such cancellations are necessary, the PRD will make reasonable efforts to notify users of such programs.

7.6 Permit Cancellations by the City of Woodstock

The City reserves the right to reasonably postpone, reschedule or cancel any permit due to various circumstances. The City reserves the right to cancel a permit or portion of a permit without notice or refund should there be a breach of conditions or regulations or should the City be of the opinion that the facilities are not being used for the purpose contained in the application or for a significant or high profile event as approved by Council

All ice booked consists of a 50 minute hour with the remaining 10 minutes for resurfacing where applicable. The City requires that all groups supply ice use schedules and flood requirements to the Facilities Operations Manager or Clerk-Arenas on a weekly basis during the season.

The City reserves the right to accept or modify ice flood requests to ensure operational efficiencies.

The City reserves the right to allocate dressing rooms based on the number of participants and/or teams using the ice and other uses occurring in the facility

8.2 Curfew Ice

The City reserves the right to curfew any games, including tournament games to maintain the schedule submitted and will consider cancellation of any or all permits if the user does not cooperate with implementation of this Ice Allocation Policy.

Users are responsible to advise the PRD of any special requirements regarding curfews at the time the schedules are submitted.

8.3 Temporary Ice Cancellations and Redistribution

In the event of a multi-day facility closure, the PRD will redistribute ice times so that all ice users are impacted while certain types of ice use are protected from cancellation over others. The City will employ the priorities and procedures identified in this policy in the redistribution. The decision of the City shall be final.

8.4 New Organization or Emerging Sport

When reasonable, the City will recognize a new ice organization or emerging ice sport and will make reasonable effort to allocate ice time to enable it to establish its programs and services in the City. Recognition and ice allocation will occur once the conditions and criteria outlined in this policy are met and if existing users will not be adversely impacted. .New organizations/programs will be accommodated only to provide for unmet community needs.

Where possible, the development of new programs or the expansion of groups should be encouraged to be extensions of organizations already established (i.e. creating umbrella organizations).

8.5 Opening Arena Outside of Standard Hours of Operation

The opening of arena facilities on statutory holidays when they are normally closed, or beyond established operating hours (as defined by the Ice Allocation Policy) will be considered only if the applicant agrees to pay for the full operational costs for such an opening and pending the availability of staff. Application does not guarantee approval. All ice will be at minimum the prime time rate

9.1 Ice Request Application Process

All applicants and users must submit all requests for permit applications (ice time), amendments and cancellations on City approved Facility Application Request Form found in Appendix B.

9.2 Ice Request Application Rejection Process

The City reserves the right to reject application and requests from users who submit forms which are not complete or contain incorrect information.

9.3 Ice Allocation and Management Policy and Procedures Review and Update

The Ice Allocation Policy will be reviewed on an annual basis, initiated by the PRD.

9.4 Insurance Requirements for All Facility Users

The organization shall, at all times during which it is allocated ice time in the City Recreational Facilities, arrange, pay for and keep in force and effect Comprehensive General Liability Insurance on an “occurrence” basis including personal injury, bodily injury and property damage protecting the Corporation of the City of Woodstock, its elected officials, its employees, agents and contractors (hereinafter “Released Persons”) and the organization against all claims for damage or injury including death to any person or persons, and for damage to any property of the Released Persons or any public or private property, howsoever caused including damage or loss by theft, breaking or malicious damage, or any other loss for which the Released persons or the organization may become liable resulting from the organization’s use of ice time in the City facilities. Such policy shall be written with inclusive limits of not less than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000), shall contain a liability clause, a severability of interest clause, shall be primary without calling into contribution any other insurance available to the Released persons as additional insured parties. The Corporation of the City of Woodstock shall be named as an additional insured.

The organization shall release each of the Released persons and waives any rights, including rights of subrogation; it may have against them for compensation for any loss or damage occasioned by organization or loss of use of property of the user.

The organization shall provide certificates of insurance showing the coverage as required above to the PRD prior to first ice time booking. The certificates shall include the obligation on the part of the issuer of the certificates to endeavor to provide 30 days written notice of cancellation to the users. Upon expiry, documents showing renewed coverage are again to be provided and the organization will make policies available to the City for review from time to time and in the event of a claim.

Purchase Insurance through the City

Users may purchase insurance through the City of Woodstock if the group or organization does not have the required Comprehensive General Liability Insurance.

9.5 Annual Affiliation User Group updates

Each season before a user group can submit their ice time requests to the PDR an update of their affiliation process must have taken place. See form entitled City of Woodstock Sport League Affiliation Application

9.6 Payment and Fees

N.S.F. cheques may result in automatic cancellation of ice times booked and that the current fee of the City for N.S.F. cheques will apply. At the discretion of the City, no further ice time will be allowed until all outstanding accounts are paid to the City.

Additional fees will be charged for ice rentals that exceed their allocated time as outlined in the rental contract/permit based on the currently hour rate. This fee will be automatically added to the permit/contract

Payment Schedule

a) Affiliated Youth Club/Leagues, Affiliated Adult Clubs/Leagues, Youth Clubs/Leagues and Adult Club Leagues 

• due at the beginning of the month as indicated on rental schedule unless otherwise agreed upon by both parties.
• interest penalty of 1 ¼% per month will be charged for default of payment

b) Occasional or Commercial Users: 

• payable at time of booking the ice

Ice allocation Standards

Woodstock Minor Hockey

Woodstock Wildcats Hockey