Two girls hockey teams in the Kennebecasis Valley have each been fined $350 by Hockey New Brunswick for failing to attend a mandatory tournament in Dalhousie in December, and their members are suspended from playing games until the fines are paid.

The decision affects roughly 30 players, who are 11 or 12 years old and include girls who are almost beginners in the sport.

Their parents say it's unfair to punish families who can't afford or manage the travel with a recreational team that's supposed to be about development and fun.

"Hockey's expensive enough with the gear and everything," said Tom Clayton, whose daughter Rachel plays for the Peewee C Vipers.

If you don't attend something that's mandatory, there has to be some kind of sanction. - Angie McKinley, Hockey New Brunswick

"You're saying a five-hour drive one way, and a five-hour drive back. Hotels. Meals. It's going to be a $500 weekend, just before Christmas."

Clayton, a police officer who also has a son in competitive hockey and a daughter in university, said families like his were juggling a lot of expenses at that time of year, but their response might have been different if they had been warned about the budget item early in September.

Parents with both the Vipers and the Peewee C Kobras told CBC News they found out about the tournament in November.

Suddenly, they said, they had to come up with the $350 team entry fee. Families would have to cover travel costs, and in some cases, parents would have to try to book time off work.

Combined team proposal rejected

About half the parents said they couldn't manage it, for one reason or another, Clayton said.

Those who thought they could attend offered to be part of a combined team, made up of players from both the Kobras and the Vipers.

That proposal was rejected. Hockey New Brunswick said it would have defeated the purpose of the tournament, which was to rank the province's nine peewee house league girls teams in advance of the provincials in March.

"Every other team [in the province] attended, except these two," said Angie McKinley, female representative on the Hockey New Brunswick minor council.

"If you don't attend something that's mandatory, there has to be some kind of sanction."

Mandatory event

McKinley said it has been difficult in the past to get some teams to travel to games to be ranked. That's why, for the second year in a row, the event was made mandatory, she said.

The other teams travelled from Saint John, Moncton, Miramichi and Carleton County to attend.

"All the rest of the teams had paid their tournament fees and there were some ice times that could not be returned by the tournament organizers, so they were out of pocket a bit."

McKinley denied that the parents weren't notified about the tournament until November. She said it was set by September and the KV teams got notice in October.

Appeals denied

The teams tried to appeal the suspension by arguing that recreational hockey shouldn't come with mandatory expenses that put the sport out of reach.

They said the goals of recreational hockey should be focused on skills development, enjoyment of the game and promoting a lifelong interest among the girls.

They argued that ranking teams should not be the primary focus.

But the Kennebecasis Valley Minor Hockey Association said those arguments didn't sway Hockey NB.

"Despite repeated attempts by KVMHA to appeal the suspension … these teams are suspended from further play," wrote Lynn Fletcher, the association's director of communications.

Hockey NB executive director Nic Jansen, however, contends the KVMHA did not follow the proper appeals process.

"Not once did KVMHA fill out the necessary forms, or submit formal documentation to file an appeal with Hockey New Brunswick," he wrote in an email to CBC News. An appeal would have been heard by a committee.

Disappointed players

Clayton said the situation is a real disappointment to his daughter, who only started playing last year.

At first, she could hardly skate, he said, and now she plays defence.

'She says, "What did we do that we're suspended, Dad?'" - Tom Clayton, parent

"And she's met so many new friends. She loves hockey, even 6 a.m. practices."

Clayton said his daughter has been asking him what her team did wrong.

"She says, 'What did we do that we're suspended, Dad?'"

"You didn't do anything. No one did anything. It's the bureaucrats in Fredericton saying, 'You have to go,'" said Clayton. "Well, are you going to pay my hotel, my gas, my meals when we're up there?"

Hockey NB said the teams have until the day before provincials to pay their fines and be reinstated.

The provincials will be held March 24-26.