OVSS operates under a "zero tolerance" policy. All parents & players are expected to follow the OVSS Code of Conduct and at no time are they to engage in cyberbullying as Ambassadors of the program.

Resource Sheet for Parents

Hockey Canada Cyber Bullying
- Bullying Definition
- What is Cyberbullying?

Hockey Canada Bullying Definition

Bullying is defined by the combined use of aggression and power. It occurs when one or more individuals abuse power and direct verbal, physical or social aggression at another individual. Harm inflicted by bullying may be physical, psychological, social or educational. 

Bullying includes a continuum of hurtful behaviours that can range in severity from name-calling to criminal assault. Bullying among youth is addressed by education legislation in seven provinces and one territory. Most commonly, the legislation pertains to any incident that affects the learning climate of a school, whether or not it took place on school property, face to face, or through cyberbullying.

To learn more about bullying legislation in your province or territory, see Policy and Legislation at www.prevnet.ca. Bullying among adults is addressed through harassment and human rights legislation as well as criminal law.  

There are many forms of bullying:

Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting, beating up, stealing, or damaging property.

Verbal bullying includes name-calling, mocking, hurtful teasing, humiliating or threatening someone, racist comments, or sexual harassment.

Social bullying includes rolling your eyes or turning away from someone, excluding others from the group, gossiping or spreading rumours, setting others up to look foolish, or damaging friendships.

Racial bullying includes treating people badly because of their racial or ethnic background, saying bad things about a cultural background, calling someone racist names, or telling racist jokes.

Religious bullying includes treating people badly because of their religious background or beliefs, saying bad things about a religious background or belief, calling someone names, or telling jokes based on his or her religious beliefs.

Sexual bullying includes leaving someone out or treating them badly because they are a boy or a girl; making someone feel uncomfortable because of their gender or sexual orientation; making sexist comments or jokes; touching, pinching or grabbing someone in a sexual way; making crude comments about someone’s sexual behaviour; spreading a sexual rumour about someone; or calling someone gay, a fag, a lesbian, or similar names.

Disability bullying includes leaving someone out or treating them badly because of a disability, making someone feel uncomfortable because of a disability, or making comments or jokes to hurt someone with a disability

Cyberbullying includes the use of email, cell phones, text messages and internet sites to threaten, harass, embarrass, humiliate, socially exclude or damage another person’s reputations and friendships.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of bullying behaviours that are used to intimidiate, distress, or control others:

• Unwarranted yelling and screaming
• Continually criticizing someone’s abilities
• Blaming and humiliating another person for mistakes
• Making unreasonable demands related to performance
• Repeated insults or put downs
• Repeated threats to remove or restrict opportunities or privileges
• Denying or discounting someone’s accomplishment
• Threats of and actual physical violence

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies, including, but not limited to, email, cell phone and text messages, camera phones, instant message, or defamatory personal websites, to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others. It involves using technology to spread gossip, secrets or rumors about another person that will damage that person’s reputation.

What common technology is used to cyberbully?

Email

• Sending nasty or threatening emails to a player, coach or parent
• Including the entire team in a message to someone that is insulting or nasty
• Sending out or posting unsuitable images or videos
• Breaking into an email account and sending hurtful materials to others under an assumed identity
• Deliberately excluding others from email contact lists

Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)

• Posting nasty comments or embarrassing or offensive photos of a teammate, coach or volunteer
• Hacking into someone’s account and sending unpleasant messages
• Rejecting or excluding teammates

Cell Phones/Smart Phones

• Nasty or threatening calls or texts between players, parents, coaches or officials
• Taking humiliating pictures or videos and sharing them with others
• Starting rumours about another person through texting or phone calls
• Using apps inappropriately

Live Chats, Websites and Blogs

• Deliberately excluding others from instant messaging contact lists
• Sending or posting negative comments about a coach or player
• Having negative discussions about your team on a public forum
• Threatening others
• Creating blogs or websites that have stories, cartoons, pictures or jokes ridiculing others
• Creating polling websites where visitors are asked to rate individuals attributes in a negative manner
• Engaging someone in instant messaging, tricking them into revealing personal information and then forwarding that information to others
• Using someone else’s password in order to change their profile to reflect sexual, racist and other content that may offend others
• Posting false or hurtful messages on online bulletin boards or in chat rooms

Online Gaming Sites

• Name-calling of other players involved
• Sending nasty messages while the game is being played
• Picking on weaker players during the game

Cyberbullying is sometimes hard to detect for coaches and parents because…

• people who cyberbully believe they can remain anonymous so they don’t fear getting caught.
• cyberbullying is often outside of the reach of hockey organizations, because this behaviour often happens outside of hockey on home computers or via cell/smart phones.
• youth who have been bullied are afraid to report it to their parents because they are afraid they will overreact and take their technology away.
• youth who have been bullied may not always know who is bullying them.

Cyberbullying is very damaging because…

• cyberbullying can happen instantly, by simply pressing the ‘send’ button. It is often created and then forwarded impulsively, without forethought.
• the lack of face-to-face feedback makes it easier for the person who is cyberbullying to ignore the negative impact on the person who is being cyberbullied.
• negative messages can be spread to huge numbers of people at very high speed.
• cyberbullying can happen any time and any place. Because youth are connecting to technology throughout the day and night, there is no way to escape it. Home is no longer a safe place.

When you see bullying happening in your community, don’t stand by Stand UP!