Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm writing you this letter in regards to an incident yesterday at the tennis courts located on County Court Blvd. A group of us were playing ball hockey there, like we have been for about two dozen Sundays every year for the last 20 years when we were approached by a city worker who informed us that we could no longer continue due to complaints. He didn't elaborate but we just assumed that somebody wanted to play tennis and we agreed to leave as soon as the game was done, which he apparently acknowledged. What followed was quite embarrassing and the reason for my letter. Within a matter of moments, there were 4 police cruisers and a couple of more city workers on the scene threatening us with arrest. For what, I'm still not quite sure. None of us are really experienced with dealing with law enforcement and we don't want to start now. We obviously complied and left, but not without a sense of disappointment and frustration. To be fair, even the police officers seemed like they knew this was an over-reaction and were somewhat sympathetic to our plight, but I believe they had to go by what the original city employee was clamoring for.

Like I stated, we have been playing there for the majority of our lives, and there were times in the past where we were asked to move by prospective tennis players, at a time when the courts were still somewhat playable for tennis. We would move to an adjacent parking lot or set up on the street. But for some reason, this same city worker said that we are not allowed to play hockey at the courts, in any neighbouring parking lot, street, or anywhere in the surrounding area. His solution was that because there are so many of us, we should all put in some money and go rent out a rink. That may not sound like a big deal to some, but as tax-paying, law-abiding citizens of Brampton, like all of us are, that didn't sit too well, especially when there are people playing soccer or cricket on the baseball field next to us almost every Sunday.

As for the tennis courts, they are now incredibly dilapidated due to inactivity and have not been maintained by the city because people rarely play tennis there anyway. I'm sure if there was some pressure by people wanting to play tennis that the city would have fixed this by now. (Actually the area would be even more run down, but as a group, we set aside a few days of the year where we organize a clean-up effort and get the place looking a bit more respectable. All of this, with pictures as proof, is on our website: www.eihl.ca). In any event, on the rare occasion that somebody does want to play tennis when we are playing, they simply set up on the one side where there is a tennis net and start playing, and we play on the other side. It's never been an issue.

There's about 70 of us that play every Sunday (ranging in ages from 15-50+), meaning we started before some players were even born. It is a tradition and something each and every player looks forward to, and would lose its charm if we were forced to move to a different area. We don't bother anyone, we're not doing anything illegal and there's never been any issue whatsoever with anyone in the community. People actually stop and watch our games when they are going for walks in the area. We play at the courts because its safe and close to home. There isn't a danger of hitting someone's car or living room window with a slapshot. Its within walking distance of half of the guys that play.

It's ball hockey. In Canada. It's borderline ridiculous to forbid people to play by saying they should rent out a rink, or stay within the confines of their driveway. We're simply asking you to let us continue playing like we always have, let us continue to enjoy our Sunday afternoons like we always have and let us continue not bothering anyone or breaking any laws like we never have. Like I stated above, we play for about two separate 12 week seasons a year (24 Sundays in total) from about 11am-6pm through rain, sleet and snow. We have four more Sundays left (finishing on June 24) then the courts will remain pretty much empty until we start again in September...this much I can guarantee. We're simply asking you to give us some sort of written authorization allowing us to continue playing there during our set times. It's a shame that it has come to this, but it is what it is.

Thanks,