Indoor Recreation Facility Banner Policy

Waterloo, Ontario

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 95db317bb4d8 · verified 2026-06-10 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

Mandatory Policy, Municipal Act : No Policy Administration Team, Review Date February 21, 2024 Corporate Management Team, Review Date March 27, 2024 CORPORATE POLICY Policy Title: Indoor Recreation Facility Banner Policy Policy Category: Administration Policy Policy No.: A-032 Department: Community Services Services Approval Date: September 18, 2017 Revision Date: April 29, 2024 Author: Amy McCullough, Neighbourhood and Policy Associate Attachments: Appendix A Related Documents/Legislation: Affiliation Policy, approved December 2010 A-014 Public Facility Space Allocation Policy A-016 Sponsorship and Advertising Policy A-028 Indoor Ice Facility Allocation Policy and Procedures O. Reg. 213/07: Fire Code, under Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 Key Word(s): affiliated sports groups; designated banner space; recreation facility POLICY STATEMENT: The City of Waterloo recognizes City of Waterloo affiliated sports group achievements through the installation of banners within City owned indoor recreation facilities. An Indoor Recreation Facility Banner Policy supports an equitable and consistent approach to responding to current and future banner installation requests by affiliated sports groups and organizations. PURPOSE: The purpose of the Indoor Recreation Facility Banner Policy is to establish an equitable and consistent approach for installation of affiliated sports group banners in defined municipal recreation facilities. It aims to provide operational efficiency while establishing a way to manage safety considerations. DEFINITIONS: Affiliated sports group: Sports organization that works collaboratively with, and is formally recognized by, the City of Waterloo in a manner that is consistent with the City policy for affiliation status. POLICY NUMBER: A-032 Page 2 Achievement Banner: a banner that displays an affiliated sports group's achievement at a sports competition. A banner may display a single achievement, or it may display a summary of multiple achievements. Group Banner: a banner that displays the affiliated sports group name and/or team name(s) rather than any group achievements. Designated Banner Areas: Areas identified by City of Waterloo staff within city owned and operated indoor recreation facilities where affiliated sports groups' banners may be hung. Indoor Recreation Facility: an indoor sports and recreation space designated for sporting activities in the City of Waterloo. Lift: equipment required for the installation and removal of banners. SCOPE: The policy will apply to existing and future affiliated sports group banners installed within designated banner areas at the defined indoor municipal recreation facilities. The policy does not apply to: - Banners covered or removed under a temporary special event contract. - Outdoor banners (e.g. banners on ball diamond fences, public square, street poles, etc.) - Display cases within city facilities. - License or other agreements that allow for hanging banners. - Banners hung in the Carolyn Fedy Skating Centre at the Manulife Financial Sportsplex at RIM Park, the Sun Life Financial Arena at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, and/or at the Granite Club. Sponsorship recognition is out of scope of this policy. Sponsorship and Advertising requests are to be referred to the Sponsorship and Advertising Policy. POLICY COMMUNICATION: The approved policy will be communicated through: - E-mail to each affiliated sports groups. - City of Waterloo website. - City of Waterloo intranet accessible to staff. - E-mail to relevant recreation facility staff. POLICY NUMBER: A-032 Page 3 POLICY: 1.0 Banner Requests, Installation, Display and Removal 1.1 Affiliated sports groups can submit banners to be installed in designated banner areas. Banners can be submitted to customer service staff at the appropriate City of Waterloo recreation facility. 1.2 Banners will be accepted between September 1st and October 1st of each year for installation at no cost to the affiliated sports groups. 1.3 Banners submitted during this period will be installed on date(s) determined by the City and as staffing and associated equipment is available. 1.4 Banners submitted outside the submission period or banner requests outside the scope of the policy will be considered for installation on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the appropriate facility manager and may be subject to an installation fee based on the council approved City of Waterloo Fees and Charges Bylaw. 1.5 Banner Location and Installation 1.5.1 Affiliated sports groups must specify the location within their allocated banner area for the banner(s) to be installed, and if applicable, which banner(s) should be removed if no unused space remains within the group's allotted space. If unspecified, City of Waterloo staff will replace the oldest banner(s) with the new one(s). 1.5.2 Hanging hardware should be supplied by the affiliated group. If appropriate hanging hardware is not included, it will be provided by the City of Waterloo for a fee as per the Fees and Charges Bylaw. 1.6 Banner Display and Removal 1.6.1 All banners installed will be displayed for a two-year period, beginning from the date of display. After the two-year display period is up, the banners will be removed. 1.6.2 The City of Waterloo will give as much advance notice as possible when removing banners. The City of Waterloo may dispose of banners that are not collected within 30 days after the affiliated sports group is notified of banner removal. 1.6.3 The City of Waterloo reserves the right to remove or refuse to install any banner for any reason, such as: POLICY NUMBER: A-032 Page 4 - banners and/or banner locations do not meet safety considerations; - banner needs maintenance; - banner content is deemed to be inappropriate; - banner locations are not (or are no longer) appropriate; - to accommodate requests by other affiliated groups; - banner spaces are required for special events or tenant/ license agreements. 1.6.4 When a banner is removed because it needs maintenance, if the affiliated sports group wishes to reinstall the banner, maintenance and associated costs will be the sole responsibility of the group. 2.0 Banner Safety Specifications 2.1 All banners provided to the City of Waterloo must be made of fire-resistant material, as per the Ontario Regulation 213/07: Fire Code, under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (Appendix A). 3.0 Banner Content 3.1 Banners may only contain content that pertains to the affiliated sports group, including achievements and affiliate club branding. 3.2 Banners with content that is considered inappropriate by the applicable city facility manager will not be accepted nor hung at any City of Waterloo facility. Some examples of inappropriate content include, but are not limited to: - Display of lewd, illegal, or offensive material. - Portrayal of pornography or material that includes indecency, illegal gambling, or profanity. - Promotion of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol. - Hate symbols or hate speech, including any speech that is racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc. - Weapons and the promotion of violence. - Promotion of religious or partisan organizations. 4.0 Allocation of Space 4.1 The City of Waterloo will determine the most appropriate location(s) for each group to hang their banners. Designated banner areas include: - Albert McCormick Community Centre: ice rinks East and West - Moses Springer Community Centre: ice rink POLICY NUMBER: A-032 Page 5 - Manulife Financial Sportsplex at RIM Park: Pillers Ice Haus, Optimist Rink, Lion's Rink, Gymnasium - Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex: pool 4.2 Affiliated sports groups that identify interest in hanging banners will be allocated banner space based on overall demand, the affiliated sports group's participation numbers, and available banner hanging space. The City of Waterloo will strive to accommodate affiliated sports groups' preferences. 4.3 The affiliated sport group's allotted banner hanging space will not influence a group's facility space allocation and will not supersede the Public Facility Space Allocation Policy (A014) or associated facility type-specific allocation policies. 4.4 In the event groups do not use all allocated banner space, the City of Waterloo reserves the right to reallocate unused space until the subsequent banner submission period. 4.5 Allocated banner space will be reviewed approximately every five years, or as staff deem it is required. 5.0 Other 5.1 The City of Waterloo is not responsible for any loss of or damage to a banner, whether before it is installed, while it is installed, or after it has been removed. 5.2 If an affiliated sports group wishes to appeal any decisions related to the application of this policy, the appeal must be made directly in writing to the appropriate facility manager. The manager will review the appeal, consulting with the appropriate director where needed, and will notify the affiliated sport group of the final decision within 10 business days of receiving the appeal. 6.0 Policy Review 6.1 This policy will be reviewed every five years, or as deemed necessary by City of Waterloo staff. COMPLIANCE: In cases of policy violation, the City of Waterloo may investigate and determine appropriate corrective action. POLICY NUMBER: A-032 Page 6 Appendix A Ontario Regulation 213/07: Fire Code, under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, Division B, Article 2.3.2.1.(1) states "Drapes, curtains, netting and other similar decorative materials, including textiles and films used in buildings shall meet the requirements of the CAN/ULC-S109 standard titled "Flame Tests of Flame-Resistant Fabrics and Films." For more information, visit the Standards Council of Canada website.