Parents Corner - News, Resources, and Policies

---

At TOP Sports, one of our core values is to be able to provide competitive sports programs that eliminate unnecessary travel and allow families to have more time back in their lives. Since our inception, we have carefully curated relationships with a number of facilities here in Midtown, and a number of our programs currently call those facilities home. 

Unfortunately, in Midtown Toronto there is a severe lack of properly maintained, age-appropriate, and available fields and arenas, and given the current cost of land, building our own facility is not realistic at this point. Additionally, there are also a number of other sports organizations who have been running programs in this area as early as the 1950's which makes securing field permits and ice contracts particularly difficult as they operate on a 'first-right-of-renewal' basis.

Each year our goal is to provide over 1000+ kids with competitive sports programming that doesn't dominate family life, and that will never change. As we work through our field permits and ice contracts each year, sometimes the locations may change from the previous season. This is not intentional, by rather a by-product of managing a schedule with many moving parts and making sure all of our programs are treated equally. 

Before each season we will release a tentative schedule that outlines the likely days and times when our programs will run, but it's very important that we mention that the times and locations in these schedules are TENTATIVE and are likely to change. We will do our best to minimize changes, but when dealing with school boards, private schools, and City-owned facilities anything is possible.    

Preparing your child with the proper equipment is crucial to ensuring they have a safe, fun, and productive introduction to sport. Please review the sport-specific equipment requirements below and email info@topsports.ca if you have any questions.

Recommend Equipment Stores

• L&M Taylor Soccer (Midtown)
• Hogtown Lacrosse (Beaches)
• Just Hockey (Don Mills)
• Majer Hockey (North York)
• SportChek (Leaside / Midtown)

TOP Sports' is committed to providing a safe, positive, and respectful sport environment for all parents, players, coaches, and referees. Any parent, player, or coach that violates the terms set forth in the Code of Conduct may be subject to immediate dismissal from the TOP Sports program without warning, and will not receive a refund on program or registration fees.

These terms include, but are not limited to:

• Displays of aggressive or rude behaviour.
• Use of abusive or aggressive language.
• Displays of offensive, racist, sexist, or abusive language or actions.
• Any harassment, bullying, or verbal abuse of any kind.
• Any physical abuse of any kind.

Please note the above terms are subject to a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY, and warnings will not be issued.

TOP Sports Programs

Registration fees are payable in full upon registration in order to confirm a spot in TOP Sports'  programs. In the event that participants would like to cancel a registration, please note the tiered refund policy below:

• If a cancellation is made more than 30-days from the start of the program, a full refund less the $25.00 admin fee will be processed.
• If a cancellation is made between 14 and 30 days from the start of the program, a full program credit less a $25.00 admin fee will be processed and can be redeemed towards any TOP Sports program with no expiration.
• If a cancellation is made between 7 and 14 days from the start of a program, a 50% program credit less a $25.00 admin fee will be processed and can be redeemed towards any TOP Sports program with no expiration.
• If a cancellation is made less than 7-days from the start of a program, no refund or credit will be applied.

No refunds will be offered once the program has begun, or offered for missed classes or sessions regardless of when the cancellation was made or circumstances.

Refund/Cancellation Fee

All refunds & cancellations are subject to a $25.00 administrative fee per registration, regardless of when the cancellation is made.

COVID-19 Shutdown

In the event of a COVID related shutdown that forces us to cancel the league before the season begins, full refund will be offered. In the event we are forced to shutdown in the middle or partway through the season, program credit will be offered for remaining sessions. 

In the event of inclement weather or facility conditions, TOP Sports' reserves the right to cancel any practices, games, or team events with limited notice. Given the limited availability of fields and arenas, TOP Sports' is unable to reschedule or replay any practices or games which are cancelled or suspended due to weather or facility conditions. Every effort will be made to proceed with scheduled events as long as it is safe to do so.

In the event that TOP Sports' coaches and/or directors decide to cancel a practice or game due to inclement weather or facility conditions, every effort will be made to contact all affected families as soon as possible to communicate the changes.

Rain or Shine Policy

Unless the weather poses a significant safety risk, compromises the conditions of the facility, or we are forced by the facility to cancel, all TOP Sports sessions will continue as scheduled unless notified.

Lightning/Thunder

In the event of lightning or thunder during practices or games, all practices and games will be immediately halted. All parties are to quickly leave the field and seek shelter in a safe location. Players are not to return to the field - and the game will not be resumed - until 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning. Coaches/Program Directors have been advised to take a “better safe than sorry” approach concerning electrical storms and to always act with player safety in mind.

Facility Conditions

Practices or games may also be cancelled in the event of unsuitable field conditions. TOP Sports' maintains its programs by obtaining permits for a variety of fields. The owners of these fields have differing policies on when fields may not be used, but generally, if there has been significant rainfall that leaves standing water on the field, creates unsafe conditions for players or increases the likelihood of significant damage to the field, practices or games will not be played.

No refunds or credits of any kind will be offered for any missed practices or games due to weather or facility closures. TOP Sports' will always make a strong effort to ensure all practices and games are played as scheduled, but extenuating circumstances may apply in some cases.

All individuals holding a volunteer or paid position with TOP Sports shall be subject to Criminal Record Checks which includes the Vulnerable Sector Screening and a search of the National Checks which includes the Vulnerable Sector Screening and a search of the National Sex Offender Registry.  

Individuals with outstanding Criminal Code convictions and/or pending charges for certain offences shall not be eligible to hold the positions with TOP Sports.

It is the position of TOP Sports that the Code of Conduct governs all social media forums and all members of the TOP Sports family must continue to abide by the code of conduct when participating in social media exchanges.

It is the policy of TOP Sports that harassment and bullying in any form will not be tolerated and be subject to disciplinary action.  All TOP athletes must refrain from such action and follow the Code of Conduct guidelines to report such incidents. Social Media forums have extended the definition of such infractions and have created a new term known as "cyberbullying". Online harassment, abuse and/or bullying are examples of cyberbullying and TOP Sports has a zero tolerance policy for these types of behaviour.

It is incumbent on all TOP Sports members to adhere to the Code of Conduct in all situations, including during the use of all Social Media forums and technology.  Otherwise, the appropriate measures will be taken and Code of Conduct guidelines will be followed to address such infractions.