Policy

The Sperry Marine Hockey Club instituted its No-Show and Late-Cancellation Policy in June 2006 to help reduce the number of players who would cancel at the last minute or just not show up to play. This policy applies to all players and goalies who are scheduled to play in any club-sponsored game.

Late cancellations and no-shows will have to pay a fee regardless of whether we get a substitute. In addition, they will be asked not to skate with Sperry for a minimum of 1 week. Details follow.

1. You must be at the rink at least 5 minutes prior to the start of the game or your spot on the roster may be forfeit. For example, if the game is scheduled to start at 7:50, then you must be at the rink no later than 7:45 or you may lose your spot to another player.
2. If canceling after 5:00 PM the night before the game, and we ARE ABLE to find a replacement, the late cancellation fee is 5 dollars, plus you will be asked not to skate with Sperry for a minimum of 1 week.
3. If canceling after 5:00 PM the night before the game, and we CANNOT find a replacement, the late cancellation fee is the full game fee for that game. For example, if the regular game fee is $14.50, you will still have to pay the full $14.50 fee just as if you had played. In addition, you will be asked not to skate with Sperry for a minimum of 1 week.
4. If you are a NO-SHOW and have not contacted us beforehand, the no-show fee is the regular game fee plus an additional 10 dollar fine. For example, if the regular game fee is $14.50, you would still have to pay the $14.50 dollar regular game fee, plus an additional 10 dollar fine, for a total fee of $24.50. In addition, you will be asked not to skate with Sperry for a minimum of 2 weeks. This is regardless of whether we find a last-minute substitute. If you are late arriving at the rink and your spot has been given to another player, this does NOT count as a no-show.
5. Repeat offenders may have their fee progressively raised 2 dollars for each subsequent cancellation and no-show, plus the suspension may progressively increase a minimum of 1 additional week. Everyone starts with a clean slate when this policy goes into effect. The maximum fine is 25 dollars. There is no limit on the length of a suspension.
6. Players will not be allowed to skate with the club until all fines have been paid and suspensions have been served.
7. Even though goalies do not normally pay to play, the no-show and late cancellation fees apply to goalies too.
8. Suspensions are issued in one-week increments. Suspensions start the day of the no-show/late cancellation. For example, a player suspended for one week on Tuesday, July 1 would be suspended through Tuesday, July 8 and would not be eligible to play until Wednesday, July 9. Suspensions only apply to Sperry rosters, and do not disqualify players from playing in non-Sperry games or from playing on teams opposing Sperry.
9. Exceptions to the policy will be handled on a case-by-case basis. If you have a genuine emergency and cannot make it to a game, the fine/suspension can be waived. Examples are a car accident, sudden or serious illness, family emergency, etcetera. On the other hand, avoidable absences probably won’t be excused. If you sign up, it’s your responsibility to find out if you’re playing or not. Examples are not receiving the roster, working late, injury from a few days/weeks ago that you thought would get better, lingering cold/flu/illness that you thought would get better by game time but got worse, another commitment that you forgot about, etcetera. If you suspect something may keep you away from the rink, don’t wait until the last minute to cancel.  Please cancel before the deadline and give somebody else a chance to play.
10. If a fine or suspension is waived, then it does not progressively increase subsequent fines or suspensions.

Why do we have fines/suspensions?

Last-minute cancellations are both annoying and a hassle to deal with, especially when it has to be handled during the work day. It makes for a lot of unnecessary, and avoidable, stress and extra work on the part of the game’s organizer. No-shows don’t merit an explanation. They annoy EVERYBODY, especially when there are alternates who would have been happy to play, plus they force the club to pay the rink the missing fees. That’s right, the rink doesn’t reduce the ice rental fee just because you didn’t show up. We want to discourage people from missing the games and leaving us in a lurch, and the fines/suspensions have been the most effective way. It’s not because we like doing it.

Thank you to the majority of players who show up every game and never have a no-show or late cancellation. You make our jobs easy.