You Can Play supports Hockey Canada’s dressing room policy

Oct 6, 2023 | 7:52 AM

The You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ participation in sports, has come out in support of Hockey Canada’s new dressing room policy.

Hockey Canada has implemented a new dressing room policy for the 2023-24 minor hockey season, including a “minimum attire rule,” with the goal of respecting privacy and making dressing environments more inclusive.

You Can Play says it endorses Hockey Canada’s initiative to increase the safety and inclusivity of locker rooms for everyone, regardless of “gender, identity, religious beliefs, body image concerns, or personal considerations.”

The organization calls it an important step toward increasing accessibility in hockey and says it could be a catalyst for protecting youth in other sports.

Hockey Canada’s “minimum attire rule” requires players to wear a base layer in a dressing environment when surrounded by at least one other person.

The policy also outlines recommended best practices for the use of showers, prohibits violent activities and recordings in dressing environments and introduces a “rule of two,” requiring two trained and screened adults to be present in or directly outside an open-door dressing room at once.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2023.

The Canadian Press