The last two weeks of Terrace's noon-hour hockey league season are all washed up thanks to a few players who couldn't stop spitting while at the players' bench.
That's right. The rest of the drop-in games, a self-regulated program the city offers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at lunch at the Sportsplex, have been cancelled because of an excessive – and it sounds like, intentional – spitting situation involving one or two individuals who ignored warnings from city workers.
A sign taped today to the Hidber Arena door reads, "Noon Hour Hockey Cancelled for the rest of the season due to repeated spitting in the players boxes."
“Not only is it unsanitary and disgusting for other players who get spit on their skates and equipment, and the kids in the school groups who use the players benches to change into their skates directly following drop in hockey – it is most revolting for the staff who have to clean it up afterwards,” said the city of Terrace's director of leisure services, Carmen Didier, on the events leading up to the decision to cancel the rest of the season.
“Up until a couple of weeks ago there had been very few issues with spitting in the players benches but then our staff started to notice gobs here and there,” she said. “The group had been warned a couple of times by way of signs on the players benches, staff talking to the group and we even cancelled a couple of drop in hockey sessions to get their attention.”
But the warnings didn't work.
“Wednesday was the last straw, someone from the drop-in hockey group intentionally spit all over the player's bench. Gobs of spit were dripping down the walls and all over the floor,” she said today.
“It is so unfortunate that one or two individuals have ruined it for the rest.”