Apollo Curling

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Code of Conduct

A safe, welcoming and inclusive league for everyone

Draft for Board review. This Code of Conduct has not yet been adopted and is not in force.

Apollo Curling League Code of Conduct

About the Code

The Apollo Curling League is a curling community for 2SLGBTQI+ participants and allies. This Code of Conduct sets out the behaviour we expect from everyone who takes part: Members, spares, volunteers, Directors, guests and spectators, on the ice, in the lounge, at events and online.

Agreeing to the Code is a condition of membership under the League's By-laws. Members acknowledge it when they register or renew, and spares and volunteers acknowledge it before they first take part each season.

If something has happened that concerns you, you can speak to any Board Officer or email organizers@apollocurling.com. No one will be retaliated against for raising a concern in good faith.

What we expect of everyone

Contents

  1. Purpose
  2. Definitions
  3. Application
  4. Authority and precedence
  5. Expected conduct
  6. Prohibited conduct
  7. Photographs and privacy
  8. Inclusion and accommodation
  9. Immediate action at events
  10. Breaches and enforcement
  11. Policy owner
  12. Transition
Policy:
Policy 1, Member Code of Conduct
Adopted by:
Board of Directors
Effective:
October 3, 2026
Owner:
Executive & Governance Committee
Review:
Annually; full review at least every three years

1. Purpose

This Policy sets out the behaviour expected of everyone who takes part in the activities of the Apollo Curling League (ACL). It keeps ACL a safe, welcoming and inclusive curling community for 2SLGBTQI+ participants and allies, where everyone plays in a fair and sporting way.

2. Definitions

“ACL” or “League”
means the Apollo Curling League.
“Member”
has the meaning given in By-law 1.2(h).
“Participant”
means anyone who takes part in or attends an ACL activity, including Members, spares, volunteers, Directors, Officers, committee members, contractors, guests and spectators.
“ACL activity”
means any game, practice, bonspiel, meeting, social event or trip organized by or for the League, and any online space the League runs.

3. Application

This Policy applies to all Participants during ACL activities. It also applies to conduct elsewhere, including online, when that conduct is directed at another Participant because of their involvement with ACL, or when it seriously affects the safety or wellbeing of Participants at ACL activities.

4. Authority and precedence

The Board adopts this Policy under By-laws 4.27(a), (b) and (j). It supports By-laws 1.8, 2.1, 2.3(c) and 2.13 to 2.15. If this Policy conflicts with the By-laws or with applicable law, the By-laws or law prevail. The Board may approve procedures and forms consistent with this Policy.

5. Expected conduct

Participants are expected to:

  1. Treat all people with dignity, courtesy and respect, including using a person’s communicated name and pronouns.
  2. Respect people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
  3. Play honestly, follow applicable curling and facility rules, acknowledge good play and accept results respectfully.
  4. Respect teammates, opponents, skips, spares, officials, volunteers, Board members, facility staff and guests.
  5. Communicate absences to their own team and the opposing team, arrange eligible spares and avoid unnecessarily disrupting scheduled play.
  6. Protect League and facility property, funds, credentials, records and confidential information.
  7. Participate responsibly and not participate while impaired to the extent that the person’s conduct creates a safety risk, materially disrupts play or interferes with the rights of others.
  8. Respect personal boundaries and consent, including in relation to physical contact, photography, social media and the sharing of personal or sensitive information.
  9. Respect each person’s right to decide, without pressure, when, how and to whom they disclose information about their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or other personal information.
  10. Raise concerns in good faith and cooperate honestly and respectfully with League processes.

6. Prohibited conduct

The following are not permitted:

  1. Discrimination, harassment, hate, bullying, humiliation, intimidation or exclusion.
  2. Intentional or repeated misgendering, deadnaming, outing, or sharing someone’s sensitive identity information without their permission.
  3. Violence, threats, stalking, coercion or unwanted physical contact.
  4. Unwanted sexualized conduct or comments.
  5. Cheating, match manipulation, theft, fraud, deliberate damage, or misuse of League property.
  6. Retaliation against anyone who raises a concern or takes part in a process in good faith; interfering with a process; destroying evidence; or knowingly giving false information.
  7. Online conduct connected to ACL that is threatening, harassing, discriminatory or invades someone’s privacy, or that makes false statements meant to damage someone’s reputation.

7. Photographs and privacy

Not every Participant is out in every part of their life. For that reason:

  1. ACL will not use a photograph or video in which a Participant can be identified for promotional purposes, including the website, social media, print and sponsor material, without that Participant’s consent. Participants may give consent at registration and may withdraw it at any time. ACL will promptly remove the image from its own channels on request.
  2. Participants must not tag, name or otherwise identify another Participant in a photo, video or post in a way that could reveal that person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent.
  3. Participants should ask before posting photos in which other Participants can be identified.
  4. ACL handles photographs and personal information under its Privacy Policy.

8. Inclusion and accommodation

ACL will accommodate a Participant’s needs related to a ground protected under the Alberta Human Rights Act, up to the point of undue hardship. Requests are handled individually and confidentially, and may be made to any Officer. Competition structures, team composition and facility practices will avoid unnecessary gender assumptions and barriers.

9. Immediate action at events

  1. An event lead or a person designated by the Board may pause play, or ask a person to leave an ACL activity, where reasonably necessary for immediate safety or to stop significant disruption.
  2. The Board or the Executive & Governance Committee may designate event leads in advance, including a lead for each draw or event.
  3. Facility staff act under their own facility’s rules. ACL supports facility staff and will comply with facility decisions.
  4. Immediate action is a preventive measure. It is not a disciplinary finding and not a suspension of membership, and it ends when the activity ends. Any longer restriction requires a decision under section 10 or, for a Member, By-law 2.9.
  5. The person who takes immediate action must report it in writing to the Secretary within 48 hours, saying what happened, who was involved and what action was taken.

10. Breaches and enforcement

  1. Concerns are raised under the Complaints Policy. Breaches by Members are handled under the Discipline Policy, as provided in By-law 2.13.
  2. A Participant has breached this Policy only once a breach has been determined under the Discipline Policy or under subsection (c).
  3. For Participants who are not Members, the Executive & Governance Committee may, after giving the person a chance to respond, limit or end their participation in ACL activities. This includes removal from the spare list and exclusion from events or ACL online spaces.
  4. Members must acknowledge this Code when they apply for or renew membership (By-law 2.3(c)). Spares and volunteers who are not Members must acknowledge it before they first take part in each season.
  5. No one will be retaliated against for reporting a suspected breach in good faith, or for taking part in a process under this Policy. This protection applies to all Participants.

11. Policy owner

The Executive & Governance Committee oversees this Policy and may act under it between meetings of the Board. The Board ratifies the Committee’s decisions at its next meeting (By-law 6.2). A Committee member with a conflict of interest in a matter takes no part in it.

12. Transition

  1. Until the Board adopts the Complaints and Discipline Policies, concerns may be raised with any Officer. Any suspension or termination of a Member follows By-law 2.9 or 2.10(f) by resolution of the Board, with the notice and opportunity to be heard those sections require.
  2. Members and spares registered for the 2026–27 season before this Policy was adopted will be asked to acknowledge it by October 31, 2026.

Basis for this Policy

The ACL By-laws require a Code of Conduct (4.27(j), 2.1 and 2.3(c)) and prohibit discrimination in admission to membership (1.8). This Policy was also informed by the grounds protected under the Alberta Human Rights Act and by Curling Canada’s conduct and inclusion frameworks. Whether national safe-sport requirements apply to ACL through Curling Alberta is still to be confirmed.

Approval and records

The Board approves this Policy by resolution passed by majority vote at a Board meeting, or by written resolution signed by all Directors under By-law 4.22. The policy owner keeps implementation records, including acknowledgements and immediate-action reports, under the Privacy Policy and the League’s retention schedule, and reports material issues to the Board. Amendments follow the same approval route unless the By-laws or law require otherwise.