Whitby Minor Hockey Association

Note: This guideline will be reviewed at future Executive Committee and Board Meetings to become official policy.

 

It is the policy of the WMHA that harassment and bullying in all its forms will not be tolerated.  Accordingly, all WMHA personnel (staff, volunteers, team or on-ice officials) and partners (parents, guardians) are responsible for making every reasonable effort to uphold this commitment. Specifically, this includes refraining from harassing or bullying behaviours, responding promptly and informally to minor incidents of harassment or bullying and following local or national policy guidelines for reporting or responding to more serious complaints of harassment or bullying. Players and other participants are expected to refrain from harassing or bullying behaviour and are encouraged to report incidents of harassment or bullying.  With technology at the forefront, this policy also includes incidents of Bullying using any electronic media, or “Cyberbullying”.

Cyberbullying is the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, personal Web sites, online personal polling Web sites, social networking Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, message boards, forums, and or chat rooms, to support deliberate, repeated, or hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.

Cyberbullying includes, but is not limited to, harassing, teasing, defaming, intimidating, or threatening another person by sending or posting inappropriate and hurtful e-mail messages, instant messages, text messages, digital pictures or images, Web site postings or blog postings. 

Cyberbullying occurs between people at any age. It is inappropriate behaviours that are typically cruel, demeaning and hostile toward the bullying targets (most commonly occurs between children under the age of twelve) but may also constitute behaviours between youth or between adults. 

The following is a non exhaustive list of tactics used by bullies to control their targets:

1. continually criticizing the target’s abilities
2. blaming the target of the bullying for mistakes
3. public ridicule of target and/or family members
4. making unreasonable demands related to performance
5. repeated insults or put downs of the target
6. repeated threats to remove or restrict opportunities or privileges
7. denying or discounting the targets accomplishment
8. threats of and actual physical violence