Terms of Service

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Effective date: October 2026

Welcome to Open Ice Initiative ("OII", "we", "us" or "our"). OII is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in Ontario, Canada, that runs free hockey camps in Toronto for children from low-income and newcomer families.

These terms explain the rules for using our website and for registering for and taking part in our programs. Please read them carefully. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and forms part of these terms.

1. Accepting these terms

By using our website, you agree to these Terms of Use. By submitting a registration, volunteering or attending an OII program, you also agree to the Camp Participation Terms in Part B. If you register a child, you confirm that you are the child's parent or legal guardian and that you accept these terms on your own behalf and on behalf of your child.

If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the website or register for our programs. If you have questions, contact us before registering.

Part A: Website Terms of Use

2. Using our website

You may use our website to learn about our programs, register, volunteer, donate and contact us. When using the website, you agree not to:

• break any law or use the website for any harmful, fraudulent or misleading purpose;
• try to access the staff portal, other people's information or any part of the website you are not authorized to use;
• upload viruses, malicious code or content that could damage or interfere with the website;
• use automated tools to scrape, copy or overload the website; or
• pretend to be someone else or submit a registration for a child you are not legally responsible for.

We may suspend access or remove content if we believe these rules have been broken.

3. Website content

We work hard to keep information about our camps, dates and locations accurate and current, but details can change. The website is provided "as is", and we do not promise that it will always be available, error-free or up to date. Information on the website is general in nature and is not professional, medical or legal advice.

4. Intellectual property

The OII name, logo, website design, text, graphics, photos and videos on this website belong to OII or are used with permission. You may view, print and share pages for personal, non-commercial purposes, such as telling a friend about our camps, as long as you do not change the content and you credit OII. You may not use our name or logo, or suggest that OII endorses you, a product or an event, without our written permission. If you would like to use our materials, please contact us.

5. Third-party links and services

Our website links to or includes services run by other organizations, such as our GoFundMe fundraising page, our blog provided through Soro, and our social media accounts. We include these to make it easier to support and follow our work, but we do not control them. Their own terms and privacy policies apply, and we are not responsible for their content, availability or practices. Please review their terms before using them.

6. Donations

Donations support OII's programs, including ice time, equipment, coaching and camp operations. Donations made through third-party platforms such as GoFundMe are processed by that platform under its own terms. Donations are non-refundable, except where a refund is required by law or results from a clear processing error, such as a duplicate charge, reported to us promptly. We are grateful for every contribution.

Part B: Camp Participation Terms

7. Our camps are free

There is no fee to register for or attend an OII camp. We will never ask a family to pay to secure a spot. If anyone asks you for payment in OII's name for a camp spot, please tell us right away.

8. Eligibility and selection

Our programs are designed for children from low-income and newcomer families in Toronto. Eligibility criteria, such as age range and household income guidelines, are described on the application and may change from season to season.

• Submitting a registration does not guarantee a spot.
• Because space is limited, OII selects participants at its discretion, considering factors such as eligibility, financial need, age group, program capacity, whether a child has attended before, and our goal of reaching families with the fewest opportunities to play.
• We may create a waitlist and offer spots as they become available.
• Selection decisions are final, but you are always welcome to ask us questions or apply again for a future camp.

9. Accurate information

When you register, you confirm that all information and documents you provide, including household income documents, health information and emergency contacts, are true, complete and your own (or your household's). You agree to tell us promptly if anything important changes, especially health, allergy or contact information.

If we learn that information or documents were false, altered or misleading, we may cancel the registration or remove a participant from a program. We will always try to talk with the family first, because we understand that mistakes happen.

10. Required forms

Before a child can go on the ice, a parent or legal guardian must complete the online application, which includes:

• a participation agreement, acknowledgement of risk and waiver;
• a medical and emergency information form, including allergies, medical conditions and medications; and
• any other form required by our rink partners or insurer.

We cannot admit a child to a camp until the application is complete. You can read every part before you submit it, and you can contact us if you need help understanding it or need it in another language.

11. Participation risks

Hockey and skating are physical activities that involve inherent risks. These include falls, collisions with other skaters, boards, nets, pucks and sticks, and injuries such as sprains, fractures, cuts and concussions. Serious injuries are uncommon but can happen even with good supervision and proper equipment.

We work to reduce these risks by providing trained coaches and supervision, requiring CSA-certified helmets with full face protection and other protective equipment, adapting activities to skill levels, and following our rink partners' safety rules and concussion protocols. Parents and guardians should make sure their child is healthy enough to take part and tell us about any condition that could affect their safety.

If a child shows signs of a possible concussion or other injury, we will remove them from the activity, contact the parent or guardian, and may require medical clearance before the child returns. In an emergency, we will call 911 and contact the parent or guardian as soon as possible.

12. Equipment

Every camper receives a full set of equipment that is theirs to keep under our Keep Your Gear policy. Once it goes home, its care and use are the family's responsibility. We are not responsible for personal items lost or damaged at our programs.

13. Code of conduct

We want every camp to be safe, welcoming and fun. Everyone involved, including campers, parents, guardians, family members, volunteers, coaches and staff, agrees to:

• treat others with respect, kindness and fairness, on and off the ice;
• never engage in bullying, harassment, discrimination, hazing, threats, violence or abuse of any kind, including online;
• respect differences in race, culture, religion, language, gender, ability, body size and skill level;
• follow the instructions of coaches, staff and rink officials, and the rules of the facility;
• use respectful language and encourage effort over results;
• not attend under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or other drugs;
• respect other families' privacy, including not photographing or posting other people's children without permission; and
• raise concerns calmly and privately with OII staff.

Volunteers and coaches also agree to complete our safe sport training, follow the "rule of two" so that no adult is alone with a child out of view of others, keep communication with children transparent and include parents, and report any safety or abuse concern as required by law.

If someone does not follow this code, OII may take steps such as a conversation, a warning, removal from a session or removal from the program. We will act right away where anyone's safety is at risk.

14. Pick-up, drop-off and supervision

Parents and guardians are responsible for their children before drop-off and after the scheduled end of each session. Please arrive on time and tell us in advance who is authorized to pick up your child. We will only release a child to an authorized adult.

15. Photo and media consent

OII may take photos and video at camps to share our work. We will only photograph, film or publish images of a child whose parent or guardian has given photo consent during registration. Photo consent is optional and does not affect eligibility. You can withdraw consent at any time by emailing us, as explained in our Privacy Policy. By attending, parents, guardians and volunteers acknowledge that they may appear in the background of general crowd or facility photos. Please let a staff member know if you would prefer not to be photographed.

16. Changes and cancellations

We may change camp dates, times, locations or activities, or cancel a session, because of rink availability, weather, health guidance, low enrolment or other circumstances. We will let registered families know as soon as we can. If you can no longer attend, please tell us as early as possible so we can offer the spot to another child.

17. Insurance

Every Open Ice camp is insured before a child steps on the ice. Open Ice Initiative maintains commercial general liability insurance for youth ice hockey programs, arranged through a licensed Canadian insurance broker, and our arena partners are named on the certificate for each camp. A copy of the certificate for any camp is available to a parent or partner who asks. We encourage families to make sure their child has OHIP or other health coverage, and newcomer families who are unsure about coverage can contact us for help finding resources.

Part C: General Terms

18. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, OII and its directors, officers, staff, coaches and volunteers are not liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential loss arising from use of the website, or for loss of or damage to personal property at our programs. Liability for participation in camps is addressed in the signed participation agreement and waiver. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot be limited under Ontario law, or any rights you have that cannot be waived.

19. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. If we make an important change that affects registered families, we will let you know by email. Continuing to use the website or our programs after an update means you accept the updated terms.

20. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply in Ontario. Any dispute will be handled by the courts of Ontario. Before taking any formal step, we ask that you contact us so we can try to resolve the concern together.

21. General

If any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest will continue to apply. If we do not enforce a term right away, that does not mean we give up the right to enforce it later. If these terms are translated, the English version will apply if there is any difference in meaning.

22. Contact us

Open Ice Initiative
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Email: openiceinitiative@gmail.com