Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A p r I L 2 0 1 5 13 \ At L A N t I C \ C E N t r A L \ p r A I r I E s \ W E s t rEgIoNAL WrAp-up B .C. social justice lawyer Kaity Cooper has fought and won some hard battles, but one of the most difficult and personal has been her three-year battle to give women the choice of wearing a skirt or shorts when playing field hockey in a competitive rec- reational league. Traditionally, women's teams have worn a skirt or kilt and men have worn shorts. But, Cooper, who has played the sport for 15 years, and a teammate were kicked off the field by a referee last September for wearing shorts. "I started playing when I was 13 and have never identified with the skirt uniform," she said. "I wasn't the only one who thought it was an odd requirement." Team members rou- tinely practise in shorts or pants and a skirt is really only seen in competitive play. The field hockey skirt is a stretchy material under which players wear shorts or some undergarment. Cooper points out as play gets more competitive and chal- lenging, it is not uncommon to see women players with the short skirt riding up. "The skirt is not practical and it does not offer a lot of coverage," she said. According to the Vancouver Women's Field Hockey Association's uniform requirements, each team uniform must consist of a shirt, skirt, and socks. Only the association's executive can approve changes to the uniform at the competi- tive level. Cooper played in the Jokers Four, a recreational group, and for the past three years she and another team- mate had been wearing shorts and lobbying for changes. There were comments from referees or a notation on the scorecard made but never any action or penalty. That changed in late September. "We were play- ing another team and half the way through the game when the referee [a woman] said the two of you are not in skirts and informed the team captain no one wearing shorts would be permitted back on the field," she said. After some negotiations, Cooper's team continued playing with the two members in shorts. But, the issue was referred to the league's executive and formal warnings issued to the two. "We would be red carded, fined, and suspended," she said if they showed up on the pitch again without skirts. That's when the issue caught fire. E-mails both for and against Cooper's lob- bying efforts arrived, but she also heard from players around the world who did not favour the skirt. Several lawyer friends stepped forward and offered to help her challenge the ruling legally. Perhaps the hardest part for Cooper to accept, was the backlash. She felt the per- sonal toll, and if the league remained fixed on its view, she had already decided quit. "It is not just as much fun for me." The issue came to a head Feb. 18 when Cooper put before the executive a motion for players to have the right to choose what to wear. "That motion was defeated," she said, but a second put on the floor permit- ted teams to make a collective decision on remaining in skirts or opting for shorts. Cooper calls it an "incremental" vic- tory and while she is happy progress has been made, she has mixed feelings how it might impact teams, as individuals — not comfortable in skirts — may not want to force the issue with other team members. Or, the executive of a team may influence the outcome. But, she said she is hopeful her team, which has been supportive in the fight to allow women players to wear shorts, will become the first team in the Vancouver league to adopt the new attire. — Jean sorensen jean_sorensen@telus.net A n interesting fact about the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers is you don't have to be Asian to join. "No," says Steven Ngo, "you just have to be somebody who supports diversity." Ngo, an enthusiastic 29-year-old articling student at the Calgary office of Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has been one of the driving forces behind the recent formation of a FACL chapter in Calgary. As of last month, the chapter had 123 members. "The key is to grow," says Ngo, "we are aiming at organizing monthly events including speeches, panels, and get-togethers." But for Ngo the Calgary chapter is just the start of things. He is actually the president of FACL Western. "FACL already has strong chapters in Vancouver, Toronto, and Nova Scotia." Ngo hopes FACL Western can start an Edmonton branch next and he is already looking to hook up with like-minded lawyers else- where in the West and North. Ngo was born in Vancouver and went to law school at the University of British Columbia. His father, as a teenager, escaped Vietnam in a boat and met Ngo's mother, a Chinese immigrant in B.C. "My parents, they didn't know any lawyers," Ngo remembers. For him a big part of FACL is mentor- ing young lawyers, who might also never have met another lawyer, as much as networking and learning. "Our official aim is to promote equity, justice, and opportunity." Ngo says FACL is expanding its membership base to other professionals. In part the idea is a reflection of the direction the legal profession is going and the fact that the professional certainties of today may not be the certainties of tomorrow. — Ge The fi ght for the right not to wear a skirt kaity Cooper steven Ngo W E s t YounG asian-Canadian lawYers deterMined to win tHe west GeoFF ellwanD Jean soRensen

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