Image Credit: Silver Star Mountain Resort via Facebook

A Vernon family is taking a local ski club to court after their son was suspended from the club.

They've appealed to the BC Supreme Court, claiming the Vernon Ski Club kicked the 11-year-old out through "draconian" steps and should have used a more "progressive" discipline approach.

The young skier's parents want the court to order he be reinstated to the club, with damages awarded for his dismissal from the program.

"Without the reinstatement of (the child), he will suffer irreparable harm to his psychological well-being and pursuit of the sport. The damage to (him) could prove to be enormous and result in damage awards against each board member in their personal capacity," a claim filed in BC Supreme Court reads.

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iNFOnews.ca is not naming the skier or his parents in order to protect the 11-year-old's identity.

However, the ski club responded with details of what the boy was accused of doing at the club, claiming its board of directors can decide whether to give warnings, suspend a skier from a program or expel them entirely. Nearly all of those options were used, according to court documents.

The first incident was reported to the ski club board in March 2022, in which the boy was accused of telling racist jokes to teammates, showing them pornographic videos and "exhibiting prohibited sexual behaviour," according to court documents.

The ski club implemented a no cell phone policy for the U12 ski team and briefed the boy's parents of his behaviour early that month.

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"(His father) apologized for what the board was having to deal with," ski club board president Lauren Carr's affidavit reads.

The next season, the boy was suspended for biting a teammate's arm for a piece of candy. His parents were informed on Jan. 2, 2023, of the suspension and he wouldn't return for the remainder of the year.

In a petition to the court, his parents deny he ever showed porn to teammates and that the teammate he bit was, and continues to be, a friend.

Weeks after filing their initial petition in January, the father "aggressively" approached Carr's husband, "violently pushing him several times," according to court documents.

He also allegedly made threats against both Carr and her husband.

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The parents have yet to respond to the ski club's Feb. 7 submission to the court and it's not clear when a decision will be reached. Neither the boy's father nor the Vernon Ski Club responded to a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca.

The board, however, did say the boy is not barred from joining other ski clubs and he can still ski at SilverStar Mountain. The suspension does mean he won't be able to race with the teammates he once did.

"The board's decision to suspend (the boy) from club activities for the remainder of the 2022/2023 ski season arose from him physically harming one of his own teammates," Lauren Carr said in her affidavit. "The board made its decision in good faith in order to ensure the safety of its athletes."

She added that a three-month suspension at a young age should not affect any aspirations to ski competitively.

None of the claims have yet been proven in court.

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