We, the undersigned parents, players, and community members, formally oppose the decision to close the West and East rinks at Southdale Community Centre in January 2026.

We have learned that the facility will be closed for approximately three weeks to accommodate a movie production. This decision will displace over 60 youth teams, eliminate roughly 100 hours of ice time, and force families to travel outside the community during the absolute peak of the hockey and ringette season.

This decision is not just inconvenient; it violates the Southdale Recreation Association (SRA) Policy Manual.

According to SRA Policy 2.6 (Ice Rental Policy), the Board is required to follow strict rules regarding ice allocation:

1. Violation of Priority: The policy states that "Southdale Programs" are Priority #1, while casual rentals fall to Priority #5 . By bumping youth sports for a commercial movie shoot, the Board is putting private profit ahead of their own community mandate.
2. Violation of Guaranteed Season: The policy explicitly states: "Hours available will be from season start to season end. This does not include tournaments in this time frame." Removing access for three weeks in January breaks this promise to the membership.

We demand that the Southdale Recreation Association Board of Directors:

1. Honour their governance documents and the "Season Start to End" guarantee.
2. Rescind or reschedule the filming contract to the off-season (Spring/Summer) when it does not displace youth programming.

Southdale is a publicly funded community hub, not a private film studio. Please sign to tell the Board to keep our kids on the ice.