The main goal for LUG is to work with all of our participants to make a fun place to keep the dream alive. Our hope is that everyone will join in, have a great time, and respect everyone else but we also know sometimes things happen. In those cases, we will lean on the following policies to find the way through the situation.
| 1. Code of Conduct | 5. Forfeits & Defaults Policy | 9. Minimum Number of Players Required |
| 2. Fair Play Policy | 6. Weather Policy | 10. Social Media Policy |
| 3. Privacy Policy | 7. Blackout Dates | 11. Discipline and Complaints Policy |
| 4. Refund Policy (+ Covid Exceptions) | 8. Team Name Policy | 12. Concussion Information |
Introduction
LUG Sports is committed to delivering its mission professionally and ethically and is guided by the values of integrity, trust, fair play, respect for others and sportsmanship. LUG Sports is committed to providing an environment in which all individuals are treated with respect. Furthermore, LUG Sports supports equal opportunity and prohibits discriminatory practices. Participants are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a manner consistent with the values of LUG Sports.
The LUG Sports Code of Conduct provides all participants – players, parents, coaches, officials, spectators and administrative officials – with some simple rules that assist in delivering a safe and positive environment to everyone involved with the sport.
General Principles
LUG Sports participants are defined to include: all registered players, game officials, LUG staff, sponsor representatives, and members of the general public attending as spectators.
Participants are encouraged and expected to:
- show positive acts of sportsmanship, discouraging all instances of foul or illegal play, or acts of violence, both during and after LUG activities.
- demonstrate the greatest levels of respect, protecting the rights, dignity and worth of every person regardless of their gender, ability/disability, sexual orientation, age, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, or religion;
- participants are to refrain from any behavior that constitutes harassment, where harassment is defined as improper conduct by an individual during a LUG Sports sponsored event or business activity and that the individual knew or ought reasonably to have known would cause offense or harm. It comprises objectionable act{s), comment{s), or display(s) that demean, belittle or cause personal humiliation or embarrassment, and any act of intimidation or threat.
- Participants are to refrain from behaviour that constitutes sexual harassment, where sexual harassment is defined to include such activities as, unwelcome sexual comments and advances, requests for sexual favours, or conduct of a sexual nature.
- use social media responsibly, and understand that cyber-bullying, which includes negative or demeaning comments, status posts, personal messages or emails, is deemed as a serious form of harassment.
- demonstrate integrity in all matters involving the sport by behaving with honesty and transparency.
The LUG Sports Code of Conduct shall aid in governing all disciplinary matters:
CODE OF CONDUCT – PARTICIPANT
- Always respect the game official’s decision.
- Never become involved in acts of foul play.
- Honor both the spirit and the letter of the competition rules and live up to the highest ideals of ethics and sportsmanship.
- Never engage in disrespectful conduct of any sort including profanity, obscene gestures, offensive remarks, trash-talking, taunting or other actions that are demeaning to other players, officials or supporters.
- Care for and respect the facilities and equipment made available to you.
- Treat all participants and game officials with the utmost respect.
- Keep off of the playing area and do not interfere with play in any manner.
- Keep all facility locker rooms and changing areas free of debris, garbage, or trash
- Do not bring banned or illegal substances to the facility or use prior to coming to games (including alcohol, drugs)
- No smoking or vaping on premises
- Unsportsmanlike language, harassment or aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated.
CODE OF CONDUCT – GAME OFFICIAL
- Be impartial. Also, be consistent, objective and courteous.
- Place the safety and welfare of the players above all else; be alert to minimize
dangerous competition, fair or foul. - Accept responsibility for all actions taken.
- Avoid any form of inappropriate verbal contact with participants and spectators during competition.
- Condemn all and every instance of unsportsmanlike, foul or unfair competition.
CODE OF CONDUCT – SPECTATOR/PARENT
- Condemn all violent or illegal acts, whether they are by athletes, coaches, officials, parents or spectators.
- Respect an official's decisions – don’t complain or argue about decisions during or after a game.
- Unsportsmanlike language, harassment or aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated.
- Never ridicule or scorn an athlete for making a mistake – respect their efforts.
- Participate in positive cheering that encourages athletes you are supporting; do not engage in cheering that taunts or intimidates opponents, their fans or officials.
CODE OF CONDUCT – LUG STAFF
- Conduct oneself openly, professionally, collaboratively, in good faith and in the collective, best interests of LUG Sports.
- Behave with decorum appropriate to the circumstance and position.
- Promote the open exchange of ideas and perspectives. Respect the governance and policies of LUG Sports.
- Strive to model the general principles outlined in this Code of Conduct thereby setting a positive leadership example for the sport.
Our mission at LUG is to create a safe and high value sports experience for all participants regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. Anyone that signs up for any LUG activity:
must respect all individuals including and not limited to other players, spectators, officials, and LUG and venue staff
are prohibited verbally and/or physically from targeting an individual(s) based on that individual’s race, gender identity, sexual identity, or religious beliefs
participate in the spirit of competition through fair, honest, and just play
If you have any questions about the security, retention of your personal data, or any of the below, you can contact us.
General Information
The Lug Hockey website is fully hosted and operated by HockeyShift by DigitalShift. Lug management operates the website and we do everything in our power to comply with applicable regulation, laws and general customer wishes. During the disclosure below, you may see the names Lug Hockey, LUG, LUG Hockey, Hockeyshift, DigitalShift "we," "us," or "our", these are all words used to represent the website you are currently on.
Website Visitors
Like most website operators, Lug Hockey collects non-personally-identifying information of the sort that web browsers and servers typically make available, such as the browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request. Lug Hockey’s purpose in collecting non-personally identifying information is to better understand how Lug Hockey’s visitors use its website. From time to time, Lug Hockey may release non-personally-identifying information in the aggregate, e.g., by publishing a report on trends in the usage of its website. Lug Hockey also collects potentially personally-identifying information like Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for logged in users and for users leaving comments on Lug Hockey web sites. Lug Hockey only discloses logged in user and commenter IP addresses under the same circumstances that it uses and discloses personally-identifying information as described below.
Aggregated Statistics
Lug Hockey may collect statistics about the behavior of visitors to its websites. For instance, Lug Hockey may monitor the most popular web sites on the Lug Hockey site. Lug Hockey may display this information publicly or provide it to others. However, Lug Hockey does not disclose personally-identifying information other than as described below.
Cookies
A cookie is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. Lug Hockey uses cookies to help Lug Hockey identify and track visitors, their usage of Lug Hockey website, and their website access preferences. Lug Hockey visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using Lug Hockey’s websites, with the drawback that certain features of Lug Hockey’s websites may not function properly without the aid of cookies.
Ads
Ads appearing on any of our websites may be delivered to users by advertising partners, who may set cookies. These cookies allow the ad server to recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement to compile information about you or others who use your computer. This information allows ad networks to, among other things, deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. This Privacy Policy covers the use of cookies by Lug Hockey and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.
Billing Information
Should you sign up for a Lug Hockey service or use the Lug Hockey registration system, we may require your billing information in order to process the transaction. We will retain the last 4 digits of your credit card number and credit card type, so that you may identify that card used in the future. We do not store any other billing information, as this information is discarded after your transaction has been processed.
If your subscription is auto-renewing, a recurring subscription will be created at our payment gateway, Stripe.com. Stripe.com will store your billing information on their secure payment gateway for as long as necessary to carry out the terms of your subscription. Should you cancel your subscription, your billing information will be immediately removed by Stripe.com. For payments that we process, we utilize Stripe. For more information on their privacy policy, please read here. All transactions are processed over an industry standard SSL/TLS connection, with a minimum of 128-bit encryption.
Security
We have adopted physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to help protect against theft, loss, misuse, and unauthorized access to or disclosure of the information we collect and receive. However, please note that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your information and privacy, we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to our Services and cannot be responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your information, or any other disclosures out of our control.
Your online access to some of your information may be protected with a password that you select. We strongly recommend that you do not disclose your password to anyone. We will never ask you for your password in any unsolicited communication (such as letters, phone calls, or email messages).
Content
All content, images, writing, logos and brands present on our website are done so based on deals, pictures of participants in our leagues and user submitted content. We strive to accurately depict all information correctly however from time to time there will be content or information that is deemed incorrect. If this is the case and you notice it, please contact us by email at hello@lughockey.com immediately and we will update the content to be as accurate as possible.
Aggregated Statistics
Lug Hockey may collect statistics about the behavior of visitors to its websites. For instance, Lug Hockey may monitor the most popular web sites on the Lug Hockey HockeyShift site. Lug Hockey may display this information publicly or provide it to others. However, Lug Hockey does not disclose personally-identifying information other than as described below.
How We Secure, Store and Retain Your Data
We follow generally accepted standards to store and protect the personal data we collect, both during transmission and once received and stored, including utilization of encryption where appropriate.
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide the Services you have requested and thereafter for a variety of legitimate legal or business purposes. These might include retention periods:
- mandated by law, contract or similar obligations applicable to our business operations
- for preserving, resolving, defending or enforcing our legal/contractual rights; or
- needed to maintain adequate and accurate business and financial records.
How You Can Access, Update or Delete Your Data
To easily access, view, update, delete or port your personal data (where available), or to update your subscription preferences, please sign into your Account and visit “My Account.”
If you make a request to delete your personal data and that data is necessary for the products or services you have purchased, the request will be honored only to the extent it is no longer necessary for any Services purchased or required for our legitimate business purposes or legal or contractual record keeping requirements.
Business Transfers
If Lug Hockey, or substantially all of its assets, were acquired, or in the unlikely event that Lug Hockey goes out of business or enters bankruptcy, user information would be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of Lug Hockey may continue to use your personal information as set forth in this policy.
Web Beacons
Web beacons are small pieces of code placed on Web pages, videos, and in emails that can communicate information about your browser and device to a server. Beacons can be used, among other things, to count the users who visit a Web page or read an email, or to deliver a cookie to the browser of a user viewing a Web page or email.
Users in the European Union
Under EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council; the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), you have a number of rights when it comes to your personal information. Further information and advice about your rights can be obtained from the data protection regulator in your country of residence within the EU.
The Right to Rectification
You are entitled to have your information corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete. You can request that we rectify any errors in personal information that we hold
The Right to Erasure
This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’ and, in simple terms, enables you to request the deletion or removal of your information where there is no compelling reason for us to keep using it. This is not a general right to erasure; there are exceptions.
The Right to Restrict Processing
You have rights to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your information. When processing is restricted, we can still store your information, but may not use it further. We keep lists of people who have asked for further use of their information to be ‘blocked’ to make sure the restriction is respected in future.
The Right to Object to Processing
You have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing (i.e. receiving emails from us notifying you about other services we provide which we think may be of interest to you or being contacted with varying potential opportunities).
The Right to Lodge a Complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint about the way we handle or process your personal data with your national data protection regulator.
Changes To This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our privacy practices, so we encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. If we make significant changes to this Privacy Policy, we will provide appropriate notice to you.
OPF Policy
The OPF charge during registration is an automatic fee collected by our website provider and payment gateway. This is a flow through cost that goes directed to these services as part of our system that allows us to register players and manage the leagues.
If you have any questions about the security, retention of your personal data, or any of the above, you can contact us.
Registration is a commitment. League spots are subject to availability (LUG observes a strict first come first served policy) and are secured only upon completion of online registration including payment. By registering, you are reserving one of a limited number of spots and your dedication to participate on a weekly basis is critical to the league's success.
For each registrant, we place a custom jersey and merchandise order, pay for insurance, turn away other potential players/teams and rent time at facilities specifically based on final registration levels at the time of the deadline to establish evenly distributed teams. For these reasons, registering for a league comes with a responsibility to play an active role in the spot you filled and in support of that commitment, fees are generally non-refundable.
Registrations are final once submitted. No refunds will be given. (The exception is in the event we are unable to run a league due to lack of registrations, in which case LUG will transfer registrants to a different league or issue a refund at the registrant's request.)
We do not provide refunds to players who were suspended or removed from the league due to disciplinary actions.
COMPLETE REFUND POLICY
SEASON INTERRUPTION POLICY
If a league is paused or closed due to a pandemic health emergency, LUG will take the following steps:
- Pause the season. LUG will remain paused until it is no longer possible to schedule teams remaining games. The hard cut off date for games to be played is April 30th of each calendar year.
- Reschedule games. LUG will reschedule games including booking on non advertised game days/times. This may result in multiple games played each week.
- Refunds & Credits. Provide players with pro-rated refunds towards the balance of their season. Please read below for how refunds are calculated.
SEASON CANCELLATION POLICY
THIS POLICY ONLY APPLIES TO SEASONS THAT ARE CANCELLED DUE TO COVID.
THE TOTAL # OF GAMES PLAYED IS EQUAL TO THE GAMES PLAYED BY YOUR TEAM AND NOT YOUR INDIVIDUAL ATTENDANCE AS A PLAYER
- 0 team games played: 100% refund (THIS APPLIES ONLY TO SEASONS THAT DID NOT FINISH DUE TO COVID)
- 1-3 team games played: 75% refund (THIS APPLIES ONLY TO SEASONS THAT DID NOT FINISH DUE TO COVID)
- 4-10 team games played: Registration fee - ($150 jersey, merchandise, insurance, admin fee) - $30 x games played (THIS APPLIES ONLY TO SEASONS THAT DID NOT FINISH DUE TO COVID)
- 12+ team games played: No refunds. (THIS APPLIES ONLY TO SEASONS THAT DID NOT FINISH DUE TO COVID)
NOTE: A season is considered complete in its entirety at 10+ games.
NOTE: Refund amounts per player on a team may differ if a player used a discount code on registration
We take forfeits very seriously at LUG. Registration is a commitment and we expect teams to play all of their scheduled games and be respectful of their opponents' commitment and expectations. Failure to attend a scheduled game deprives other teams a portion of their season and is frustrating to everyone who traveled and took time from their personal schedules to be there. Please be respectful members of the LUG community and be courteous to your fellow league members!
Captains are responsible for confirming team attendance each week in advance so that proper notice can be given if a forfeit is absolutely unavoidable.
If a team is unable to secure a minimum number of players based on the time of notification, the following penalties shall be automatically assessed:
More than 10 days notice provided to LUG: All attempts will be made to reschedule the game, however if this is deemed not possible, the game will enter the official record as a forfeit and a 1-0 win granted to the non-forfeiting team. The game will not be rescheduled and will enter the official record. We will do everything in our power to reschedule the game. This is the best opportunity to adjust schedules.
48 hours to 10 days notice provided to LUG: All attempts will be made to reschedule the game, however if this is deemed not possible, the game will enter the official record as a forfeit and a 1-0 win granted to the non-forfeiting team. The game will not be rescheduled and will enter the official record. The facility time may be offered as an additional practice time for any interested team, with the non-forfeiting team being given first right of refusal, unless it can be used to resolve any other requirements.
Less than 48 hours notice provided to LUG: The team will officially forfeit the game with the official result being a 1-0 win for the non-forfeiting team. The game will not be rescheduled and will enter the official record. If the other team agrees, the game may be played in an exhibition style with players being shared if agreed upon. Should the other team not agree to continue with an exhibition style game, they can use the facility time for their team to utilize as a practice or intra-squad scrimmage.
No notice provided and a team does not show or has less than the minimum number of players arrive at facility: The team will officially forfeit the game with the official result being a 1-0 win for the non-forfeiting team. The game will not be rescheduled and will enter the official record. If the other team agrees, the game may be played in an exhibition style with players being shared if agreed upon. Should the other team not agree to continue with an exhibition style game, they can use the facility time for their team to utilize as a practice or intra-squad scrimmage. The offending team may face further discipline may be applied at the discretion of LUG management.
Any team that has previously forfeited any game may have additional penalties applied up to and including removal from the league with no refund provided at the discretion of LUG management.
Double Defaults
In the event both teams scheduled for a game are not able to secure the minimum number of players or do not attend the game, the game will be listed as a double default, resulting in a loss for both teams and entered into the official record. LUG management will determine the penalty (if any) for both teams.
LUG requires notice for all forfeits.
HOW TO NOTIFY US:
- Send us an email
- Provide: day / game time / team name / league / location
When a game is cancelled due to inclement weather or a facility conflict, teams will be notified by email. In the event of lightning, games will be halted for 30 minutes. Games may be delayed or postponed until later in the evening or once the storm passes. Games may resume once the storm passes & players should be prepared to wait out the storm if necessary.
Due to limited rain dates, LUG makes every effort to play unless there is severe weather and the field conditions are acceptable.
Due to the unpredictability of weather events, for outdoor sports, season lengths and total games played may be reduced. LUG reserves the right to shorten the season or total game count with no refunds. LUG will make every effort to ensure the maximum number of games are played.
LUG does NOT schedule league games on the following dates:
- Labour Day
- Halloween
- Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend (CAN only)
- US Thanksgiving Weekend (US only)
- Reading Weeks (varies by school, state, province)
- Winter Finals
- Super Bowl Sunday
- St. Patricks Day
- Easter Sunday
LUG reserves the right to change any team name that is deemed offensive, discriminatory, or in any way violates our code of conduct.
In order to offer the best experience possible for all teams involved in LUG leagues, the following minimum number of players must be present at the start time of a scheduled game:
Beach Volleyball: 4 players
Flag Football: 5 players
Hockey: Regular season: 6 skaters and 1 goaltender / Playoffs: 5 skaters and 1 goaltender
Softball: 8 players
Basketball: 4 players
Soccer: 7 players
COED Leagues: A minimum of two players who identify as female must be present OR if only one is available and teams agree, team must play with one less player.
If teams are unable to field a minimum roster, the game will be scored as a default loss for the defaulting team. Teams can still agree to play in an exhibition or to share players in order to play a game.
LUG Sports is aware that Participant interaction and communication occurs frequently on social media and acceptable communication is highly encouraged by participants. However LUG Sports cautions participants that any conduct falling short of the standard of behavior required by the Code of Conduct may be subject to the disciplinary sanctions identified within the Discipline and Complaints Policy.
Conduct and Behavior
All conduct and behavior occurring on Social Media must comply with the Code of Conduct. This means that participants should not post anything that would be considered disrespectful, hateful, or offensive to another LUG participant.
Any complaint received may include an investigation into an individual participant’s social media active or deleted posts.
An individual who believes that a participant’s Social Media activity is inappropriate or may violate policies and procedures should report the matter to LUG Sports by completing an Incident Report form.
This will be implemented according to the relevant level of misconduct by the participant concerned. For internal team disputes, we expect, in the first instance, issues to be resolved within the team structure. If the matter cannot be resolved in this way, or involves any other team or LUG staff, then LUG management will intervene and conduct an appropriate investigation.
The exception to the above will be any situation where the situation includes harassment or abuse of any kind which will immediately be elevated to LUG management for investigation and sanctioning. For the purposes of this exception, the following definitions shall be employed:
Abuse – Includes Psychological Maltreatment, Physical Maltreatment, Verbal Maltreatment, Neglect, and/or Grooming of Vulnerable Participants by Persons in Authority and which can have the following warning signs:
- Recurrent unexplained injuries
- Alert behavior; participant seems to always be expecting something bad to happen
- Often wears clothing that covers up their skin, even in warm weather
- Participant startles easily, shies away from touch or shows other skittish behavior
- Constantly seems fearful or anxious about doing something wrong
- Withdrawn from peers
- Behavior fluctuates between extremes (e.g., extremely cooperative or extremely demanding)
- Acting out in an inappropriate sexual way with toys or objects
- Self-harm (e.g., cutting, burning or other harmful activities)
Harassment – A course of vexatious comment or conduct against a Participant or group, which is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. Types of behavior that constitute Harassment include, but are not limited to:
- Written or verbal abuse, threats, or outbursts;
- Persistent unwelcome remarks, jokes, comments, innuendo, or taunts;
- Racial harassment, which is racial slurs, jokes, name calling, or insulting behavior or
terminology that reinforces stereotypes or discounts abilities because of racial or ethnic origin; - Leering or other suggestive or obscene gestures;
- Condescending or patronizing behavior which is intended to undermine self-esteem, diminish performance or adversely affect working conditions;
- Practical jokes which endanger a person’s safety, or may negatively affect performance;
- Hazing–which is any form of conduct which exhibits any potentially humiliating, degrading, abusive, or dangerous activity expected of a junior-ranking individual by a more senior individual, which does not contribute to either individual’s positive development, but is required to be accepted as part of a team or group, regardless of the junior-ranking individual’s willingness to participate. This includes, but is not limited to, any activity, no matter how traditional or seemingly benign, that sets apart or alienates any teammate or group member based on class, number of years on the team or with the group, or ability;
- Unwanted physical contact including, but not limited to, touching, petting, pinching, or kissing;
- Deliberately excluding or socially isolating a person from a group or team;
- Persistent sexual flirtations, advances, requests, or invitations;
- Physical or sexual assault;
- Contributing to a harmful sport environment, which can include:
- Locations where material that is discriminatory is displayed (e.g., sexually explicit posters and racial/racist cartoons)
- Groups where harassing behavior is part of the normal course of activities
- Behavior that causes embarrassment, awkwardness, endangers a person’s safety or
negatively affects performance. - Behaviors such as those described above that are not directed towards a specific person or group but have the same effect of creating a negative or hostile environment; and
- Retaliation or threats of retaliation against a person who reports harassment to LUG Sports.
Potential Sanctions
Potential Individual Sanctions and Punishments:
- Game suspensions
- Fine(s)
- Ban from all LUG Sports related events for a determined period of time
- Expulsion from registering for any/all future LUG Sport activities or events
Potential Team sanctions:
- Team fine(s)
- Suspension of team for a set period of time
- Removal from LUG Sports league and participation in any LUG events
Any sanctions implemented by LUG management under this policy are not eligible for appeal.
Reporting a Complaint
Our goal is to make it easier and safer for cases of inappropriate conduct to be reported. There will be "zero tolerance" for those who participate in these kind of incidents and they will be subject to severe discipline.
Note: we may require that the submitters provide as much detail as possible and may be asked to speak to league officials about any submissions. All submissions will be confidential between the submitter and the league.
To report a complaint, please complete an Incident Report form with as many details as possible.
If you are in need of immediate support for any crisis, please contact the many resources available in your area:
Canada - click here
USA - click here
All sports and free play are associated with risk for a concussion, including playing, officiating or participating inice hockey. It is important that all participa and parents learn about concussionprevention, recognition, treatment and return to play.
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI— caused by a bump or blow to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. Bouncing or twisting of the brain in the skull can cause chemical changes and sometimes stretching of the brain cells. A concussion disrupts the way the brain normally works. Most concussions are mild, but all concussions should be taken seriously because permanent brain damage and death can occur from another injury. A concussion may be difficult to recognize. A player does not have to be “knocked-out” to have a concussion- less than 10% of players actually lose consciousness. Signs and symptoms may show up right after the injury or can take hours or days to fullyappear.
If a person reports one or more symptoms or demonstrates any signs of concussion after a blow to the head or body, s/heshould be kept out of practice, play or training immediately and referred to a health care professional with experience in concussionmanagement. A concussed brain needs time to heal and the person is much more likely to have another concussion if theyreturn to soon. Repeat concussions are usually more severe and take longer to heal. Return to play is allowed only after the individual is without symptoms, has progressed through the concussion protocol and is cleared by the health care professional.
LUG Sports provides all participants with information about concussions, including concussion signs and symptoms,an action plan for dealing with potential concussions, and where to find the most up-to-date expert information. LUG Sports concussion information can be found on the LUG Sports website at: http://www.lugsports.com/concussions.
