RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP | Children aged 9 to 10 from Bas-Saint-Laurent have been deprived of their hockey matches for two weeks due to a controversial regulation from the minor hockey association.
On November 28, three teams from Rivière-du-Loup in the M11 B category were suspended by Hockey Bas-Saint-Laurent (HBSL), which asked to rebalance the training in full season, which several parents refused due to of the late date, according to them.
“It is unacceptable and inhumane to put children through this. It’s too late for changes,” denounces Louis-Philippe Lachance, a former Quebec Remparts player and father of a youngster playing in one of these teams.
The latter is supported by a majority of parents who simply cannot believe this decision, while the teams were preparing to play their sixth game of the season.
“Since September we have been disgusted with the selections, and three months later, they [HBSL] change the teams. It’s inconceivable. This is politics to the detriment of young people. That’s what minor hockey is in Quebec,” complains Sébastien Dumont, a parent who has run out of patience.
Young Edward, who is a big fan of the Canadiens and Cole Caufield, has lost the taste for playing in an organized league, just like several of his teammates.
Photo SEBASTIEN DUMONT
No tournaments
While the U11 players are on the ice, their parents have gathered to explain to the Journal that this decision, for them, “makes no sense”.
Tournaments and hotels are booked; sponsorships are found; the players have their team sweatshirt with their name and number; the links are made, the coaches are appreciated, and the holidays of the parents who will have to be absent from work are already on the calendar, we can hear.
“Boy, it’s his first atom year. He was excited to experience a tournament in Matane, and he was sent to a new team that didn’t have a tournament planned. It’s a very big disappointment for him,” notes father Jonathan Castonguay.
Tears
The parents we met also confided that when the announcement of the reshuffling of the teams was made to the children, some cried their eyes out in the corridors of the arena.
Others indicated that their young people had expressed anger at home and even wanted to give up hockey, even though their favorite sport.
“Let’s get back to basics. They are 9-10 years old in singles, we are not in the National League [de hockey]. What do I say to my son? That he was traded? At first, I thought it was a joke,” says Sébastien Dumont.
Photo LOUIS DESCHÊNES
Decision upheld
Hockey Bas-Saint-Laurent announced last weekend that the decision was maintained.
In a press release, the organization cites a regulation which allows them to demand the rebalancing of forces before the sixth match of the teams in question, regardless of the date.
The association explains this decision by the weakness of a team which has still not won in five games.
These young people, in the initial plan sent to parents in September, were to face other weaker teams from Bas-Saint-Laurent in level B, grade 2, which the parents had accepted.
“Everyone knew that there was a weaker team, and the idea of making a weak B division, a decision that we received in a communication on September 30, was the best option for the young people. But they changed their minds at the end of November,” explains Louis-Philippe Lachance.
During a special meeting Tuesday evening, the parents finally abdicated in exchange for certain conditions, including support for the registration of teams in a tournament.
Moreover, Hockey Quebec had sent a representative to find solutions to a situation that had become irritable for children and parents.
