Appeal Policy
Ravensong Aquatic Club
Appeal Policy
In this document “Organization” refers to Ravensong Aquatic Club
1. Terms in this Policy are defined as follows:
a) Affected Party – Any individual or entity, as determined by the Appeal Manager, who may be affected
by a decision rendered under the Appeal Policy and who may have recourse to an appeal in their own
right.
b) Appeal Manager – An individual, who may be any staff member, committee member, volunteer,
Director, or an independent third party, who is appointed to oversee the Appeal Policy. The Appeal
Manager will have responsibilities that include using decision making authority empowered by the
Appeal Policy.
c) Appellant – The Party appealing a decision.
d) Athlete – An individual who is an Athlete Participant in the Organization who is subject to the policies
of the Organization and to the Code of Conduct and Ethics.
e) Participants – Refers to all categories of individual members and/or registrants defined in the By-laws
of the Organization who are subject to the policies of the Organization, as well as all people employed
by, contracted by, or engaged in activities with, the Organization including, but not limited to,
employees, contractors, Athletes, coaches, instructors, officials, volunteers, managers, administrators,
committee members, parents or guardians, spectators, committee members, and Directors and
Officers.
f) Parties – The Parties are the Appellant, Respondent, and any Affected Party.
g) Respondent – The body whose decision is being appealed.
Purpose
2. This Appeal Policy provides Participants with a fair and expedient appeal process.
Scope and Application of this Policy
3. This Policy applies to all Participants.
4. Any Participant who is directly affected by a decision made by the Organization shall have the right to appeal
that decision provided that there are sufficient grounds for the appeal under the Grounds for Appeal section
of this Policy.
5. This Policy will apply to decisions relating to:
a) Eligibility
b) Selection
c) Conflict of Interest
d) Discipline
e) Membership
6. This Policy will not apply to decisions relating to:
a) Employment
b) Infractions for doping offenses
c) The rules of the sport
d) Selection criteria, quotas, policies, and procedures established by entities other than the Organization
e) Volunteer/coach appointments and the withdrawal or termination of those appointments
f) Budgeting and budget implementation
g) The organization’s operational structure and committee appointments
h) Decisions or discipline arising within the business, activities, or events organized by entities other than
the Organization (appeals of these decisions shall be dealt with pursuant to the policies of those other
entities unless requested and accepted by the organization at its sole discretion)
i) Commercial matters for which another appeals process exists under a contract or applicable law
j) Decisions made under this Policy
Timing of Appeal
7. Participants who wish to appeal a decision have seven (7) days from the date on which they received notice of
the decision to submit the following:
a) Notice of the intention to appeal
b) Their contact information
c) Name and contact information of the Respondent and any Affected Parties, when known to the
Appellant
d) Date the Appellant was advised of the decision being appealed
e) A copy of the decision being appealed, or description of decision if written document is not available
f) Grounds for the appeal
g) Detailed reasons for the appeal
h) All evidence that supports these grounds
i) Requested remedy or remedies
j) An administration fee of five hundred dollars ($500), which will be refunded if the appeal is upheld
8. A Participant who wishes to initiate an appeal beyond the seven (7) day period must provide a written request
stating the reasons for an exemption. The decision to allow, or not allow an appeal outside of the seven (7)
day period will be at the sole discretion of the Appeal Manager and may not be appealed.
Submitting an Appeal
9. Appeals of decisions made by the Organization can be submitted to the Organization to be addressed
pursuant to this Policy. Alternatively, the Organization may ask Swim BC to hear appeals of the Organization’s
decisions at its discretion.
Grounds for Appeal
10. A decision cannot be appealed on its merits alone. An appeal may only be heard if there are sufficient grounds
for appeal. Sufficient grounds include the Respondent:
a) Made a decision that it did not have the authority or jurisdiction (as set out in the Respondent’s
governing documents) to make
b) Failed to follow its own procedures (as set out in the Respondent’s governing documents)
c) Made a decision that was influenced by bias (where bias is defined as a lack of neutrality to such an
extent that the decision-maker appears not to have considered other views)
d) Made a decision that was patently unreasonable
Screening of Appeal
11. The parties may first attempt to resolve the appeal through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy.
12. Appeals resolved under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy will result in the administration fee being
refunded to the Appellant.
13. Should the appeal not be resolved by using the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy, the Organization will
appoint an independent Appeal Manager (who must not be in a conflict of interest or have any direct
relationship with the parties) who has the following responsibilities:
a) To determine if the appeal falls under the scope of this Policy
b) To determine if the appeal was submitted in a timely manner
c) To decide whether there are sufficient grounds for the appeal
14. If the Appeal Manager denies the appeal on the basis of insufficient grounds, because it was not submitted in
a timely manner, or because it did not fall under the scope of this Policy, the Appellant will be notified, in
writing, of the reasons for this decision. This decision may not be appealed.
15. If the Appeal Manager is satisfied there are sufficient grounds for an appeal, the Appeal Manager will appoint
an Appeal Panel which shall consist of a single Arbitrator, to hear the appeal. In extraordinary circumstances,
and at the discretion of the Appeal Manager, an Appeal Panel composed of three persons may be appointed
to hear the appeal. In this event, the Appeal Manager will appoint one of the Panel’s members to serve as the
Chair.
Determination of Affected Parties
16. In order to confirm the identification of any Affected Parties, the Appeal Manager will engage the
Organization. The Appeal Manager may determine whether a party is an Affected Party in their sole
discretion.
Procedure for Appeal Hearing
16. The Appeal Manager shall notify the Parties that the appeal will be heard. The Appeal Manager shall then
decide the format under which the appeal will be heard. This decision is at the sole discretion of the Appeal
Manager and may not be appealed.
17. If a party chooses not to participate in the hearing, the hearing will proceed in any event.
18. The format of the hearing may involve an oral in-person hearing, an oral hearing by telephone or other
electronic means, a hearing based on a review of documentary evidence submitted in advance of the hearing,
or a combination of these methods. The hearing will be governed by the procedures that the Appeal Manager
and the Panel deem appropriate in the circumstances. The following guidelines will apply to the hearing:
a) The hearing will be held within a timeline determined by the Appeal Manager
b) The Parties will be given reasonable notice of the day, time and place of an oral in-person hearing or
oral hearing by telephone or electronic communications.
c) Copies of any written documents which any of the Parties wishes to have the Panel consider will be
provided to all Parties in advance of the hearing
d) The Parties may be accompanied by a representative, advisor, or legal counsel at their own expense
e) The Panel may request that any other individual participate and give evidence at an oral in-person
hearing or oral hearing by telephone or electronic communications.
f) The Panel may allow as evidence at the hearing any oral evidence and document or thing relevant to
the subject matter of the appeal, but may exclude such evidence that is unduly repetitious and shall
place such weight on the evidence as it deems appropriate
g) If a decision in the appeal may affect another party to the extent that the other party would have
recourse to an appeal in their own right under this Policy, that party will become an Affected Party to
the appeal in question and will be bound by its outcome
h) The decision to uphold or reject the appeal will be by a majority vote of Panel members
19. In fulfilling its duties, the Panel may obtain independent advice.
Appeal Decision
20. The Appellant must demonstrate, on a balance of probabilities, that the Respondent has made a procedural
error as described in the Grounds for Appeal section of this Policy and that this error had, or may reasonably
have had, a material effect on the decision or decision-maker.
21. The Panel shall issue its decision, in writing and with reasons, within seven (7) days after the hearing’s
conclusion. In making its decision, the Panel will have no greater authority than that of the original
decision-maker. The Panel may decide to:
a) Reject the appeal and confirm the decision being appealed
b) Uphold the appeal and refer the matter back to the initial decision-maker for a new decision, or
c) Uphold the appeal and vary the decision.
22. The Panel will also determine whether costs of the appeal, excluding legal fees and legal disbursements of any
parties, will be assessed against any party. In assessing costs, the Panel will take into account the outcome of
the appeal, the conduct of the parties, and the parties’ respective financial resources.
23. The Panel's written decision, with reasons, will be distributed to all parties, the Appeal Manager, and the
Organization. In extraordinary circumstances, the Panel may first issue a verbal or summary decision soon
after the hearing’s conclusion, with the full written decision to be issued thereafter. The decision will be
considered a matter of public record unless decided otherwise by the Panel.
Timelines
24. If the circumstances of the appeal are such that adhering to the timelines outlined by this Policy will not allow
a timely resolution to the appeal, the Appeal Manager and/or Panel may direct that these timelines be
revised.
Confidentiality
25. The appeals process is confidential and involves only the parties, the Appeal Manager, the Panel, and any
independent advisors to the Panel. Once initiated and until a decision is released, none of the Parties will
disclose confidential information to any person not involved in the proceedings.
Final and Binding
26. No action or legal proceeding will be commenced against the Organization or Participants in respect of a
dispute, unless the Organization has refused or failed to provide or abide by the dispute resolution process
and/or appeal process as set out in governing documents.