Wellington North council stands firm on decision to not install LiveBarn at arenas

WELLINGTON NORTH – Council here is holding firm on its decision to not allow the installation of cameras to livestream hockey games at its arenas.

LiveBarn is a popular subscription-based streaming platform that provides live and on-demand video coverage of amateur and youth sporting events. 

It is used at ice rinks in Mapleton and Minto, but Wellington North council voted against installing the cameras in September. 

At that time, councillors Sherry Burke, Lisa Hern and Penny Renken were against bringing LiveBarn to the arenas, while councillor Steve McCabe and Mayor Andy Lennox were in support. 

Councillors’ primary concerns about the platform involved potential privacy breaches. 

On May 19, Mount Forest Minor Hockey president Jamie Mousseau delegated to council in an attempt to persuade councillors to reconsider their decision. 

Mousseau offered a list of reasons that LiveBarn should be installed at the Mount Forest Community Centre, including: 

– hockey families can’t always attend every game, and LiveBarn allows family members and friends to watch games at any time and from anywhere in the world; 

– LiveBarn supports coaching as game footage can be reviewed to teach positioning and decision-making; 

– the videos can be used to review incidents and injuries, and knowing games are recorded encourages better behaviour from players, coaches and spectators, creating a safer environment; 

– parents provide permission for their child to be recorded/photographed at the registration stage; and

– parents record videos at almost every game anyway, and often post them publicly, whereas LiveBarn videos are only available to subscribers.

There was no discussion from council about Mousseau’s delegation. 

Mayor Andy Lennox explained the process if a councillor wanted the decision to be reconsidered, and no one initiated the process.