Comments on: Westside Minor Hockey plagued by infighting, allegations

By: Donna

Donna — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:36:46 +0000

The above comment from 2boyzmama is still an unfounded comment to suggest that the president was drunk on the night in question. I was in the room in Salmon arm that night and witnessed adults enjoying a drink. The president was stone sober and he was only present in the room for less than one hour due to having a sick wife and a young child to watch over. You bloggers need to get a life and move on.

Donna

By: 2boyzmama

2boyzmama — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:47:17 +0000

First I would like to say a big “thank you” to Marshall Jones for writing this article. Some have pointed out that it is “one-sided” or has “inaccurate” information but regardless of what people may say this article has shed a lot of light on what is going on in our WMHA.

I do truly feel sorry for Scott Tipton and his family as it has been 9 days since this article was written and people are still commenting on it. The best case senario would be for Mr. Tipton to step down, whether he is guilty of the accusations or not. His reputation as President is now tarnished and nothing will fix that not even time. Look at it as a lesson learned, hockey tournaments and copius amounts of alcohol equals disaster. We are all guilty on some level of experiencing this, but we are not the PRESIDENT OF WMHA. People can go around and around in circles discussing this but the fact is Mr. Tipton put himself into a situation that got out of control and has no one to blame but himself for his character being under attack.

The ugliness that the Omalley/Drover family brought to WMH is just plain sad. I feel for the poor kids that had to witness it first hand and for the coaches, other volunteers and for every parent on that team that had to explain to their son/daughter that that kind of behaviour is unacceptable ON or OFF the ice.

We have been apart of WMHA for 3 years now and have seen our son improve 100% and we owe that to all the dedicated coaches and volunteers over the years.

I would like people to remember HOCKEY – its just a game!

By: Scott Tipton

Scott Tipton — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:16:41 +0000

Good morning members of WMHA
I feel this blog has become nothing more than a battle of words with little foundation of truth. I thank the people who have written well thought out, intelligent comments about our association. People will say whatever they want about the third hand stories from this year’s series of events. This is more like the “National Inquirer” than real news. Like some people have written to say there is only one way to create change in this situation, show up at the AGM in May and stand up to be counted. We always need new executive members each and every hockey season so I encourage all members to get involved. I am very proud of our executive group this year and we are united in our decisions to enforce policy and the constitution. In closing I just want to remind people that I am happily married with four fantastic kids who do not deserve any of this cruelty which is being displayed on this blog. Think twice before you write additional comments on this blog that are hurting the children who play the great sport of hockey.

Scott Tipton
Still President WMHA

By: Marshall Jones

Marshall Jones — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:24:44 +0000

I would also like to point out that Mr. Tipton does not have the luxury of hiding his name—it’s listed as president on the WMHA website.
Though comments on this site are anonymous and we want to encourage open discussion, perhaps posters here should observe some level of fairness.
There’s nothing productive or courageous about blasting a man publicly while hiding behind a veil of secrecy.
If you have something to contribute, please do. But if posters truly have the best interests of the association in mind, that won’t be achieved anonymously.
Stand up and be counted.

Marshall Jones

By: Shebop

Shebop — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:46:16 +0000

Chuck, I am hoping that you and Tim are first in line at the next AGM to run for President as you seem to think our current president is not good enough. It bothers me though how you seem to be basing your opinions on hearsay and 3rd party information.
You obviously were not anywhere near the situation in Salmon Arm as you have zero correct information. Hearing the story from your son who heard it from kids at school is probably the most inaccurate source possible. Your posting on this site is as bad as the bull that Shawna and Donna have been spreading all year.
Like I said before, our executive may not be the most experienced, but they are all good decent people trying to do the best job they can. Our President is not a powerfreak, far from it. He does not deserve to be trashed publicly and shame on you for doing so. If you feel so strongly about removing him, then show up at the next AGM with your nominations and take some action. THAT is how an association is run, not by trying to ruin someone’s reputation with false information.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:52:49 +0000

Why on earth would anyone want this man at the helm of a children’s association. HIS actions, not the actions of two women, are the actions that which brought this on.

Asking any woman, to “show me you ….” is disgusting, sexist, vulgar and unforgivable. Has anyone thought of what ALL the women in that room felt like that night? Perhaps victimized, bullied, embarassed and even angry? Why is it ever ok to speak like that, especially in a room full of other hockey parents who see these women at hockey/work/the store or socialize with or partake in any number of activities with. The man then acts, and if you ask me has the audacity to be, SUPRISED when a woman speaks up and says, “that is sexual misconduct, period”. Don’t care who you said it to, it is wrong!

Damaging a hotel room to the extreme it was done, yes I know people who were there and saw it, is ridiculous behavior of any adult. The fact that the president of a children’s association was there and then covered it up is beyond acceptable. Why is this even up for debate?

And to the previous poster who asked about why would he want the job. Two words; Power and Control. Just ask his presient’s card.

By: Shebop

Shebop — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:37:30 +0000

Tim, obviously since the President and it’s board members are parents of players, they are all going to have friendships outside the executive and yes, that is why it can be very “delicate” and difficult to handle some of the issues. I am not involved in the executive or its decisions, but I do know almost everyone that serves on the board and I can tell you that they are all good people and good parents with the best of intentions.

I totally agree with you that those who were involved in the Salmon Arm incident should be accountable. Being accountable to me means making sure the hotel was compensated and apologizing to the hotel staff and anyone else who was inconvenienced. It sounds like this was an isolated incident and those involved do not have a history of these kinds of problems. If someone who has an exemplary record for many years does something stupid one night while drinking, it does not call for a public lynching. I’m sure that the humiliation and regret was there for many weeks after. As opposed to the two women who do not seem to have any guilt or regret for the disgusting, hurtful and unlawful lies they have started and spread. One of which was AT the Salmon Arm hotel that night and was so drunk she could hardly speak!

By: Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:33:31 +0000

Excellent, excellent reporting.
Nobody in their right mind would coach kids’ sports today.

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:01:18 +0000

In response to Shebop

#1 Well lets see, if you have personal friendships outside of the executive. Then that could serve as a confict of interest in many issues. Would that be an incorrect statement?

#2 Does or did he have the right intentions? Maybe he did, and maybe he still does?? We are talking about situations that have happened and whether they were handled right and in everyones best interest.

#3 It seems as if you are now trying to put blame onto others for actions of the President. I am sure not all complaints and there outcome are shared between people. The Salmon Arm Weekend was public knowledge and our own children were talking about it at school. Are you going to blame them for sharing information?? Shebop you can try and pin blame on other board memebers or kids or whomever you like. But the TRUTH is, the people who were involved in that Salmon Arm weekend are the only people who are accountable.

#4 An opinion is only that and like yourself shebop that is what I am giving. I am saying it from my point of view.

By: Shebop

Shebop — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:51:30 +0000

Tim, I cannot figure out what the President would want to use his position for, or what his “buddies” would allow him to get. His kids do not play rep hockey, so getting his kids on a team isn’t his motivation. He doesn’t get paid or receive any fringe benefits of any kind, yet spends hundreds of hours both coaching AND serving on the board. His position offers him absolutley nothing except the chance to try and make the Association better. Is he perfect, of course not. He is just a good guy who really wanted to try and do some good. He had some diffcult situations to deal with and I think he did his best to do the right thing for all involved.
I also do not know what people are talking about when they say he is trying to “sweep things under the rug”. When an incident occurs or a complaint is filed it is investigated by a committee of board members and no one else is involved. Those board members are also supposed to keep these matters ONLY between those directly involved. They are NOT supposed to discuss with anyone else. There are privacy issues and when volunteers or players are disciplined, the details are not shared with with the membership.
When you rely on parents to volunteer to run an association of over 500 members, you cannot expect perfection. I don’t recall a long line of experienced people lining up for the position when it came up. Give the guy a break, he’s had to deal with more crap in one year than most do in ten.