Locker Room Policy

LOCKER ROOM GUIDLINES

BHC wants all players to be safe on and off the ice. BHC is also aware that the locker rooms provide a place where abuse and misconduct can occur. Players are particularly vulnerable in locker rooms due to various stages of dress and undress and because players are less supervised. Player to player issues such as sexual abuse, bullying, hazing and harassment often occur when players are not supervised.

Adherence to Locker Room Guidelines can reduce opportunities for misconduct and abuse. It will also allow for a fun and safe place for players while still holding to hockey traditions. BHC requires that players and coaches follow USA Hockey and CAHA SafeSport Program guidelines at all times.

BHC has its own Locker Room Policy designed specifically for our club and facility. 

BHC requires all players and coaches to report to the Hockey Director and/or SafeSport Coordinator any and all misconduct, abuse, or violations immediately.

Boulder Hockey Club Locker Room Policy

To ensure the safety and well-being of Minor Athletes, USA Hockey has created guidelines for locker room supervision. These guidelines have been implemented to protect Minor Athletes from inappropriate interactions and ensure a safe environment during all team activities.     

The policy states that at least one responsible, screened, trained adult (18 years or older, such as a coach, manager, or other pre-approved volunteer) must be present and actively always monitoring the locker room during team events. The monitor is responsible for ensuring that only authorized individuals, such as coaches and players, are permitted in the locker room. USA Hockey recommends that, whenever possible, two locker room monitors be present to enhance safety.       

Non-official or unrelated adults are not permitted unsupervised access to Minor Athletes in the locker room or during team events. Adults are prohibited from being alone with an individual Minor Athlete in the locker room.

Locker Room Monitor Policy

Boulder Hockey Club will require that if the coaches are not inside the locker rooms, either a coach or voluntary locker room monitor (each of which has been screened) will be posted inside or directly outside of the locker rooms and changing areas during periods of use, and leave the doors open only when adequate privacy is still possible, so that only participants (coaches and players), approved team personnel (and family members for 8U Only) are permitted in the locker room. Team personnel will also secure the locker room appropriately during times when the team is on the ice. The presence of a Monitor is a mandatory requirement.

Boulder Hockey Club staff, division directors, and team managers will be responsible for working with their teams and coaches to ensure that locker room monitors are always in place.

The responsible adult(s) who monitors and supervises the locker room shall have completed SafeSport Training and a background check in compliance with the USA Hockey requirements.

Locker Room Policy Re: Minimum Attire

The Boulder Hockey Club/Lady RoughRiders policy requires all players to always wear a certain “minimum attire” in the locker room, as USA Hockey recommends. This means that the players should arrive at the rink wearing their base layer (e.g., shorts and a T-shirt, compression shorts and shirt, or sports bra), and then all players can dress in the same locker room without any player seeing another player in a state of undress. A player not wearing their “base layer” can use a restroom to change into the base layer and then enter the locker room with the other players. This standard will apply to practices as well as games.

Locker Room Policy Re: Cell Phones in the Locker Room:

Cell phones and other mobile devices with recording capabilities, which include voice recording, still cameras, and video cameras, increase the risk of some forms of abuse or misconduct. As a result, using any device’s recording capabilities in the locker rooms, changing areas, or similar spaces is prohibited.

Immediately upon entering the Locker Room, every player must put away cell phones as the use of the cell phone is prohibited within the confines of the Locker Room.

If the coach approves, a single player may use their phone to play age-appropriate, non-explicit music. Music must be played through a playlist and placed next to the speaker. The player should not handle the phone except to start and stop the music.

Thank you, parents, players, and coaches, in advance for supporting the safety and well-being of our athletes.

GENDER EQUITY – CO-ED LOCKER ROOMS

The issue of co-ed dressing arrangements in locker rooms often arises, and BHC is frequently asked to provide some type of guideline about dealing with such situations. Teams, leagues, and associations need to recognize that there are gender equity issues to deal with when managing a co-ed locker room setting. Both female and male privacy rights must be given consideration and appropriate arrangements made.

Boulder Hockey Club considers the following:

1. Recognize that it is an issue that must be dealt with and that favoring one group over another can produce legal ramifications;
2. Recognize that the ideal situation of using two, separate dressing rooms is not possible in many ice rink/arena settings;
3. Recognize that it is an issue that will increase in visibility as girls’/women’s participation in hockey and BHC continues to grow;
4. Recognize that it is an issue for members who are participating as players, coaches and officials.

Some acceptable approaches, made in conjunction with the USA Hockey Girls’/Women’s Section, the USA Hockey Coaching Education Program and the USA Hockey Officiating Program, are as follows:

**NOTE: Arrange to provide properly screened adults (USA Hockey and/or CAHA background checked) as locker room monitors who are of the same sex as the children they are supervising/monitoring. Make certain that locker rooms are monitored in accordance with the USA Hockey and Boulder Hockey Club SafeSport Program policies.

• Where possible, have the male and female players undress/dress in separate locker rooms; then convene in a single dressing room to hold the coach’s pre-game meeting;
• Once the game is finished, hold the coach’s post-game meeting; then have the male and female players proceed to their separate dressing rooms to undress and shower (separately), if available.
• In those cases where separate facilities are not available, have one gender enter the locker room and change into their uniforms. That gender then leaves the locker room, while the other gender dresses. Both genders would then assemble in the locker room and hold the coach’s pre-game meeting.
• Following the game and the coach’s post-game meeting, where separate facilities are not available, the second gender group enters the locker room and undresses, while the first group waits outside in a supervised manner until they have undressed and left the room. Once the second group leaves, the first group enters the locker room and undresses.
• If sharing one locker room, have a minimum attire policy. All players should be required to arrive at the rink or change in a separate area so that prior to entering the locker room they are wearing their hockey base layers or shorts and t-shirts (in good condition - no holes or tears in clothing). All members of the team must have this minimum attire before entering a co-ed locker room so that no player has the opportunity to see players of the opposite gender in a state of dress/undress.

**NOTE: Taking turns or requiring minimum attire is a means of ‘reasonable accommodation,’ so neither gender group is favored. By being proactive on this issue, everyone [coaches, players, officials, volunteers and parents] can enjoy the sport without the worry of legal actions or the invasion of privacy concerns arising.

Boulder Hockey Club takes this issue seriously. It is forbidden for families, players, coaches, managers, and/or volunteers to be observing the opposite gender while they dress or undress nor any minor while they dress or undress. Those who violate Boulder Hockey Club’s policies, or who violate the privacy rights of others, could be subject to appropriate discipline.

Player Behavior

• Locker rooms and showers should be used by same aged peers when possible, no mixed gender allowed.
• Opposite sex players are provided separate changing and showering facilities.
• The showers are for showering only. No horseplay, urinating on others, physical contact, sexual activity or other forms of misconduct is allowed.
• No bullying, hazing, harassment, fighting, locker boxing.
• Players are not permitted to touch another player’s genital area or their own in a way that will make others uncomfortable.
• Recording devices including voice, still camera, video or phone cameras are prohibited.
• No pornographic materials are permitted in the locker room or during any BHC activity anywhere.
• Nudity is kept to a minimum. After showering players are asked to dress quickly.
• No drugs, alcohol, smoking, vaping or other illegal substances are allowed.
• No physical contact between players in a sexual nature is allowed.
• The locker room is not a place to criticize or humiliate teammates.
• Showering and changing at the club/organization are optional.
• No displays of affection.
• No acts of self-harm

Coaches Behavior

• The locker rooms need to be directly monitored during all team events by one responsible adult, approved by the BHC and background checked by USA Hockey and/or CAHA. The adult should supervise conduct, observe behavior, and make sure only approved team personnel and family members are allowed in the locker rooms.
• Coaches should visit the locker room periodically to monitor before and after practices while their teams utilize these rooms. It is suggested that coaches should put their skates on in the locker room to help monitor activity.
• If a player is the only one in a locker room, and if the coach needs to speak to the individual, the door must remain open, or another coach or parent must be present.
• Coaches should have a separate place to change and shower. Coaches are never to be nude among players.