The South Calgary Recreational Hockey League (SCRHL) was formed in September 2006 so that men and women aged 19 to 55 would only need to travel to one (or two, at most) locations in South Calgary in order to play non-body checking, refereed ice hockey one to two times per week in a safe playing environment. Since its inception, the league has attracted a growing group of players with diverse skill levels. However, all players share the same objective which is to play a fun, friendly, competitive game of hockey with minimal risk of injury in the weekday morning or weekend evening.
Therefore, in accordance with the initial vision of the league, all players are expected to use common sense while on the ice and to remember that this is a recreational hockey league and not the NHL. In this league, sportsmanship and regard for your fellow players trumps excessive verbal abuse and physical play (such as roughing, boarding, slashing, and body checking) in order to win a game. Playing competitively is not a problem as a long as it is done within the confines of good sportsmanship. If a player, over the course of a number of games, consistently employs excessive verbal abuse and physical play on the ice in spite of penalty assessments, game misconducts, fines, poor sportsmanship ratings for the player's team, and consistent negative feedback from the referees, then the player will be on track to permanent league ejection based on feedback from a group of 15+ referees who officiate in the league.
Play competitively, but with sportsmanship and respect for everyone on the ice.
The offending player actions will be reviewed by the SCRHL referee group and SCRHL league manager. Given its reduced bias, more weight is accorded to referee feedback. If the offending player actions are not serious enough to skip this disciplinary step, then the offending player will be advised verbally by the SCRHL referee group c/o the SCRHL league manager to tone down his/her style of play. The conversation will then be documented by the SCRHL league manager and forwarded to the referees to ensure player compliance.
If the offending player actions are still deemed a problem after a verbal warning was given or if the offending player actions are severe enough to warrant skipping the verbal warning, then based on feedback from the referees, the SCRHL referee group and SCRHL league manager will determine if a suspension is warranted. Again, given its reduced bias, more weight is accorded to referee feedback. If the offending player actions are not serious enough to skip this disciplinary step, then the offending player will be suspended for either the remainder of the season or for a fixed number of games. All current season players and referees will be advised of the assessment. Upon the offending player return either to complete the remainder of the season or commence another season, the player will be on probation within the league for a period of up to one year. During the established probationary period, if further consistent problems occur and/or the offending player is assessed a game misconduct at any time, then the offending player will be assessed a permanent league suspension.
If the offending player actions are still deemed a problem following a verbal warning and a season suspension or if the offending player actions are severe enough to warrant the skipping of the aforementioned steps, then the SCRHL referee group and SCRHL league manager will determine if a permanent league suspension is warranted. Once again, given its reduced bias, more weight is accorded to referee feedback. Once a permanent league suspension has been assessed to an offending player, the offending player will not be permitted to participate in any future SCRHL games. All current season players and referees will be advised of the assessment.