Sports Fields

Statement of Principle

To define the process for allocating, distributing and managing sport field resources in the City of Woodstock Parks.

Scope

This policy applies to all groups or individuals renting or booking Field time for the purpose of recreational, educational, athletic or social activities during the regular sport field season. Sports field booking dates are from May 1 to October 31.

Administration

1. Standards of Play for Each Use

Each sport or activity making use of a sport field within the City’s control have been assigned a standard of play, based upon national/provincial or generally accepted standards as well as the local history of the sport or activity group. Standards consider the implications of several factors including: the specific nature of the sport or activity; the amount of time needed for a quality program; the number of participants per block of sport field time; time requirements per participant; age of participants and the relative level of participants as determined by skill or other factors (e.g. rep versus house league teams). Each sport or activity will have its standard approved by the City. The City will establish a review process to examine the time actually used by a sport or activity in relation to its standard. At the City’s discretion, the review findings could result in adjustments to a selected sport or activity standard of play.

2. Calculation of Supply

The supply of sport fields will be the amount of time in the City’s control. Maintenance time or time that would be otherwise unusable will be removed from the total supply calculation. The total available of field time will be broken into three categories.

3. Calculation of Demand

Demand for sport field time by user groups will be calculated by considering the actual current demand (as demonstrated by the previous season's registration), plus substantiated future demand (as demonstrated by an annual registration process inclusive of participants on waiting lists) and by applying the standard of play to each group of users within organizations. The sum of all groups’ demands will equal the total demand for the upcoming season.

4. Annual Registration Process

The registration process will involve an application procedure for requesting sport field times for each season. When possible, the timing of the registration process will be linked to the registration cycle of groups. Process documentation will set out the information that is required to substantiate sport field requests by each organization as well as the responsibilities of groups in collecting relevant data.

5. Priority Status for Sport Field Allocation (Prime Time)

The priority for prime time sport field allocation will be:

Note: If two or more groups within the same priority category want the same time it will first be prioritized based on playability. That is, the priority will be given to the potential alternative places to play the sport, with priority going to the sport that goes not have alternatives or limited options other than this asset and then based on historical precedent.

6. New User Groups

New groups of users may be included in the allocation of sport field time if it is demonstrated (through the annual registration process) that there are sufficient participants to qualify for sport field time and that there is sufficient sport field available. Given that new groups have the potential of reducing the number of hours available to existing users, new user groups will only be considered in cases where a program provides a service to previously un-serviced segments of the population or where a new program is being introduced that is not available through existing organizations. To start this process they will have to fill out a Facility Request Application

7. Calculation of Supply-Demand Ratio

The total number of prime time and shoulder time periods of Sport field within the City’s inventory represents total supply. The supply-demand ratio is calculated by dividing total Sport field supply by the total demand.

8. Calculation of Sport Field Allocation

The allotment of each group’s sport field will be calculated using an allocation formula. The formula is: the percentage of total demand that the group represents multiplied by the supply-demand ratio (described above)

9. Use of Allocated Sport Field Time

Each group is responsible to divide the allocated sport field time amongst subgroups (age groups, teams, etc.) within the organization in accordance with either established rules of the organization or in keeping with the principles of fairness and equity as described in this procedure. Groups are at liberty to adjust the allotted time between subgroups or types of uses based on the unique aspects of the sport or use.

Definitions:

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/swimming, adult skate/swim, parent and tot skating, parent and tot hockey, and special needs initiatives, learn to swim program and summer swim team, tennis lesson. 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:

• 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 written league constitution in which at least one annual general membership meeting is held.
• That the league/ club executives are voted in by the general membership
• That general membership is an open process
• That full financial disclosure is available to the league club membership and city staff. 
• 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 60 % 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 town'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.

Responsibilities

The City of Woodstock Parks and Recreation Department shall be responsible for managing, allocating and distributing sport fields on an annual basis to reflect the guiding principles in the Facility Allocation Policy in addition to applying municipal, provincial and federal directives where required.

In consultation with users, the City will establish a process to ensure that net income producing activities of not-for-profit groups remain consistent with the goals, objectives and guiding principles of the Facility Allocation Policy as well as the best interests of Woodstock residents.

Basketball Courts

Pickleball Courts

Indoor Courts and Fields