The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 31, 2014 | 16 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports permits relating to Oakville Soccer Club men's adult house league games for a twoweek period due to improper usage of fields and unacceptable conduct. The announcement was met with criticism by many players who felt a blanket punishment of all teams was unfair. "We're looking to target specific teams and specific divisions of teams, as opposed to saying `You're all bad, you've all got to take a timeout for two weeks," said Mark. "It's been more of a shotgun approach in the past. But, in my opinion, last year made a lot of people aware of the issues and the severity of the issues. I don't regret what we did. It certainly made people stand up and take notice." Issues the Town is looking to address include aggressive or bullying behaviour, foul language, public urination, littering, smoking, drinking alcohol on public property and leaving field lights on after play. Mark said public urination and foul language have been "Connected to your Community" A new way to field complaints Town of Oakville introduces online reporting process, progressive discipline approach for misuse of sports facilities by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Those who use Town of Oakville sports fields respectfully and appropriately will no longer be punished for the actions of those who don't. The Town recently approved a new procedure for managing inappropriate behaviour by permit holders -- organizations, teams, players or residents -- who are using sports fields in Oakville. The procedure, which is being implemented as a pilot project and will be evaluated at the end of 2014, includes a new online reporting process and a progressive discipline approach to encourage better behaviour. Town director of parks and open space Chris Mark said in the past, disciplinary actions have impacted user groups who were not at fault. Last summer, the Town suspended all field Protection of artificial turf fields is one of the Town of Oakville's top priorities when monitoring usage of its sports facilities. | Oakville Beaver file photo OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB Week Ten Photo Contest Winner: Photographer: CJ Pugh Age Division: BU4 - Tim Hortons Sponsored by: Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club the most common offences by permit holders this season, and altercations with residents adjacent to sports fields are also a concern. "People not leaving the park in a timely and orderly manner, staying there til 11:30 (p.m.) or midnight, not creating a ruckus but still being there," said Mark, highlighting Bronte Athletic Field, Holy Trinity high school and Shell Park as the most common venues where incidents are taking place. "So many of our fields are directly adjacent to people's back yards." Misconduct must be confirmed Under the new policy, anyone who witnesses inappropriate behaviour on Oakville sports fields can report the behaviour online through a form that can be found on Oakville.ca (bit.ly/1pLJIFT). Reported incidents involving permit holders will be investigated within five business days. If the details are confirmed, disciplinary action will be taken within 10 days. Action can include a verbal and/or written warning, $150 fine, permit suspension or termination of permit, depending on the severity of incident and any prior violations. If town staff is unable to confirm the complaint or accurately identify the offenders, no action will be taken but the report will be kept on file. Permit suspensions can be appealed within 14 days. New evidence must be submitted along with a fee of $250, which will be refunded if a panel chaired by the commissioner of community services lifts the suspension. "We don't want frivolous appeals," Mark said. "We're taking it seriously, so we're asking (appellants) to take it seriously." Complainants will be required to provide their name and personal information in order for the Town to investigate. The identity of complainants will not be released to user groups accused of inappropriate conduct. "(Investigations are) based on the balance of information we have at the time. We don't have video surveillance at any of our fields, so we'll just try to put two and two together," said Mark. "If we can't categorically prove what's been alleged is true, we won't take any action. But through our investigations of who was using the field, we can often prove things." Any misconduct by out-of-town teams will be the responsibility of the host squads. -- A longer version of this story can be read online at bit.ly/1s4nr8O Transportation Partner Great trails. No gridlock. Albion Hills Conservation Area Choose your trail at CentralCounties.ca