In early 2007, USA Hockey distributed a memo entitled "GENDER EQUITY POLICY -- Co-Ed Locker Rooms."

All our players are female, so we do not have to implement USAH's awkward but necessary policy of having the male and female portions of a team take turns using a single locker room.  However, the concerns underlying the memo apply in every youth organization, so we want to be sure that our locker room policies are no less protective than those announced by USA Hockey, and are clearly understood.  In fact, our policies have always exceeded those of USA Hockey.  We post them here to promote understanding and compliance by our players, volunteers and families.

SPINNAKERS HIGH SCHOOL TEAM

The locker room and the bench are for team members only.  Guests are not allowed.  Coaches enter the locker room for brief meetings before and after games, as follows:

Before games.  Players are required to arrive at games early enough to ensure that all dressing is complete ten minutes before scheduled start time.  During the last ten minutes before start time, coaches knock on the locker room door and are admitted when the team is fully uniformed.  Late-arriving players postpone dressing until after the meeting.

After games.  Upon returning to the locker room, players remove helmets and gloves only, until coaches leave the locker room after the post-game meeting.

In many pre- and post-game meetings, only one coach does the talking.  Nevertheless, it is the Spinnakers policy that coaches should be present in the locker room in groups of two or more.  Exceptions may be necessitated by circumstances, but should be minimized.  Beyond its practical value, this policy is intended to emphasize the seriousness with which we view appropriate conduct by all program participants.

Ultimately, our members' greatest protection comes, not from any set of policies, but from our respect and regard for each other, for ourselves, and for the team.  The Spinnakers have a strong tradition of mutual respect and consideration, and we expect this to prevail in the locker room, as well as on the bench, on the ice, and away from team activities. 

SPINNAKERS U12 TRAVEL TEAM

The U12 team abides by the same rules as the high school team, but may also borrow some of the rules for younger players, described below, when it is necessary for parents to tie players' skates in the locker room. 

GIRLS SPRING HOCKEY and SUMMER CLINICS

Younger players often require parental help with skates and equipment and, in the spring, our coordinators and coaches are often running in and out of locker rooms to count late-arriving players, recruit goaltenders, and arrange substitutions.  To suit these circumstances, we observe the following special policies:

1. Before games, the locker room is used for adding playing equipment, not for a complete change of clothes.  Dress accordingly.  Be early enough to allow the coach to prepare the team to play.

2. Coaches who want to have pre- and post-game briefings should make their policies known in advance, so that dressing is not occurring during a meeting.  If there is only one coach, a parent should be recruited to attend the meeting.

3. Depending on weather, players' ages, and other circumstances, a team may require some privacy for changing clothes after a game.  In this situation, fathers who want to help their daughters remove skates and equipment should do so outside the locker room or wait until other players have finished dressing.  Coaches are asked to explain and enforce this policy.

4. Players' mothers are welcome to look in on their daughters' locker rooms at all times.

5. Except as provided above, non-players should not be in the locker room at any time.

RINKS

Note that Terry Conners Rink is not a private facility.  Although we pay for exclusive use of the ice and our assigned locker room(s), the building is open to the public.  Our high school team travels to a wide variety of rinks.  Players, volunteers, and parents are urged to be observant and communicate any concerns to our coaches and the rink management.

LAST WORD

The discussion of such policies is an unfortunate necessity, but abiding by them is painless.  Let's look upon this, not as an outcome of suspicion and fear, but as a sign of our concern for each other and our commitment to making our hockey programs as safe and enjoyable as possible for all concerned.