Beaches Lacrosse Club sends complaint to city’s Integrity Commissioner over decision by Ted Reeve Arena’s board to keep ice in main rink all year

By ALAN SHACKLETON

The Beaches Lacrosse Club has filed a complaint with Toronto’s Office of the Integrity Commissioner regarding a decision made by the Ted Reeve Community Arena Board of Directors earlier this month to keep the ice in on the main rink during the summer; a decision that will have a profound impact on the lacrosse club.

The club has been playing box lacrosse at Ted Reeve Arena during May, June and July for the last 30 years, using both the main rink and the bubble, said club executive members Chris Kidd and Dave Lembke.

Also, the Toronto Beaches Junior A lacrosse team uses the main rink to play its home regular season games during May, June and July.

The two organizations are separately run. The lacrosse club is a community non-profit sports organization for youth; and the Junior A team a privately-owned organization that competes in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.

Beach Metro Community News reached out to the Office of the Integrity Commissioner to confirm it has formally received the complaint by the Beaches Lacrosse Club this week.

“Our Office does not typically confirm or deny whether we have received a complaint or are investigating someone’s conduct,” said the Office of the Integrity Commissioner in response to our request for confirmation of the complaint being received.

“At the intake stage, this affords complainants privacy and, if an investigation is started, protects the reputations of respondents as no findings have yet been made.”

In reaction to the decision by the arena board at its Dec. 2 meeting, the Beaches Lacrosse Club also started a petition last week calling for the action to be reversed.

Posted on Change.Org, the petition says the decision to keep the ice in over the summer came as a surprise to the lacrosse club. The petition letter is also posted on the Toronto Beaches Junior A team’s Facebook page.

“As many of you are aware, on December 2nd the Ted Reeve Community Arena Board of Directors voted to keep the ice in the main rink throughout the summer months, effectively relocating Toronto Beaches Minor Box and Jr. A Lacrosse out of Ted Reeve Arena, a place they’ve used for decades,” reads the letter.

“As you can imagine this news came as a complete surprise to the Toronto Beaches Lacrosse Club… We feel deceived by a group we’ve had a decades long partnership with.”

The petition letter said the lacrosse club is working to have the decision reversed and questioned the timing of the board’s vote. Part of the concerns over timing of the vote is included in the club’s complaint sent to the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.

“We need your support.  Please sign our petition to reverse the decision made by the Ted Reeve Board. Let’s show the Ted Reeve Board, City Council and the City of Toronto just how important lacrosse is to the community,” the petition letter concluded. 

Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford, who is a member of the Ted Reeve Arena Board but was not at the Dec. 2 meeting, said he is working to achieve an outcome in which all user groups feel heard and respected.

“Ted Reeve is more than an arena – it’s been a second home to east end families for more than 70 years,” said Bradford in a statement sent to Beach Metro Community News.

“The community arena is governed by an arms-length independent Board, with an explicit mandate to ‘allocate use of the arena and other recreational facilities in a fair and equitable manner among neighbourhood citizens and organizations and arena user groups, with particular consideration given to addressing the needs of the local community,’” he said.

“Recently, a decision about the use of the facilities for summer 2026 raised important procedural concerns that city staff are currently investigating and reviewing. I am continuing to work with the Board, city staff, and all our community stakeholders to try and achieve the best outcome in this situation and ensure that all user groups feel heard and respected.”

Kidd and Lembke said they did not want the issue to become one that pits lacrosse players against hockey players in the community, especially given that so many young athletes play both sports.

Beach Metro Community News reached out to the Ted Reeve Hockey Association for a statement from the community minor hockey league regarding the situation.

“We are writing to provide context regarding the recent discussion surrounding year-round ice at the Ted Reeve Community Arena (TRCA) and its relationship with the Ted Reeve Hockey Association (TRHA) and Ted Reeve Thunder (TRT),” said Stephen King, Chair of the Board of Ted Reeve Hockey Association and Ted Reeve Thunder Minor Hockey in the statement.

“It is important to clarify that TRHA and TRT are simply arena user groups, similar to Leaside Girls Hockey, the Balmy Beach Club, and other community programs. The TRCA (Ted Reeve Community Arena) Board governs the facility and is solely responsible for facility allocation decisions. The decision made by the Board regarding year-round ice does not directly impact TRHA or TRT, as our sanctioned programming operates from mid-August to mid-May in accordance with Hockey Canada guidelines.

“Founded more than 71 years ago alongside the opening of the rink, TRHA is proud of its long-standing role within the community. We provide local youth with opportunities to develop teamwork, respect, and dedication—values that help them become not only strong hockey players, but responsible citizens. Today, we serve over 1,000 players, the vast majority of whom are multi-sport athletes also participating in lacrosse, rugby, baseball, and other community sports.

“Given this context, it is unfortunate that this topic has been portrayed in a negative light. As members of this community ourselves, we recognize how fortunate we are to have access to a wide range of facilities and resources that allow local families to participate in the sports they love.”

The Toronto Beaches Junior A lacrosse team has also posted the following statement on its Facebook page:

“Ted Reeve Arena means a lot to generations of lacrosse families in the Beach. We fully support the minor community speaking up for a space that’s been central to minor lacrosse development in the Beaches for over 30 years and advocating for their membership to stay in their home arena.”

However, Toronto Beaches Junior A team president Carter Livingstone told Beach Metro Community News that the club is considering possibly relocating to Scarborough Gardens Arena at Birchmount and Kingston roads for the 2026 OJLL season. The Scarborough arena has been closed for the past few years while it was rebuilt, but has recently reopened.

“Toronto Beaches Junior A has been at Ted Reeve for over 30 years. Over the last five years we have lost more and more floor time and have not been able to host any of our playoff games in our home rink at Ted Reeve. This meant we have had to move to Pickering for our playoff runs. Not good for our team or community,” he said.

“With Scarborough Gardens finally completed, we were looking for a local rink to have full use of for the entirety of our season. As a Junior team is not confined by the same boundaries as minor lacrosse, we are looking at the possibility of playing out of Scarborough Gardens in 2026 and beyond.”