Mark Donkers of Sarnia, Ont., is a typical hockey-loving Canadian. The 11 year old is proud to play for the BB Sarnia Sting junior under-12 team.

But even though he wears the same shirt as his team-mates – which bears the logo of an angry bee – Mark was told last month he could not continue playing in the team until he provided more documentation, as he was not born in Canada.

Mark has been playing hockey for years and the request came a week before a tournament in Kitchener.

He was born in Mexico and came to Canada with his Mexican-born mother, Adriana Mendoza, when he was one year old. His father is Canadian, and Mark and his mother have been Canadian citizens for over 10 years.

But Mark is trapped by the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the international hockey governing body based in Zurich. IIHF counts Canada among its 83 member associations.

The rules require players of all ages residing in member countries to obtain transfers from their country of birth to the country where they plan to live and play hockey. Without this transfer, players born outside of Canada cannot be on the list of Canadian teams licensed by Hockey Canada.

Mendoza sees it as a barrier to play—especially for children of diverse backgrounds—at a time when there is a push to make play more inclusive.

“We talk about inclusion, this is not inclusion,” Mendoza said. “It’s against certain people from certain countries.”

Other parents at the Sarnia minor hockey association stumbled by the same rule.

Harry Chadwick legally adopted his son Harrison from China in 2012 when Harrison was just a baby.

Now 11 years old, Harrison was also told he had to apply for a transfer, a process that required a form filled out and a scan of a player’s passport to be sent to a local hockey organization. From there, the paperwork is passed to the hockey association in the player’s country of birth for approval.

‘Absolutely ridiculous,’ said the old man

Like Mendoza, Chadwick says it’s a circle his son shouldn’t force him to play hockey.

“It’s very offensive to be asked to prove citizenship and get a transfer from a foreign country,” said Chadwick. “My son was 16 months old when he left China. This is absolutely ridiculous.”

In response to requests for comment from CBC News, IIHF and Hockey Canada provided statements via email about the transfer rules.

An IIHF spokesperson said the rules were in place to ensure the integrity of the game and set out in writing which regulatory body a player belongs to if they have roots in more than one country.

“In the interest of sporting integrity and to respect the rule of law, international transfers are regulated in ice hockey as in many other team sports, to respect contractual obligations, suspensions and avoid such circumventions,” the statement said.

A statement from Hockey Canada said that as a member of the IIHF one must follow the transfer rules.

The statement also says securing the transfer isn’t onerous: A player submits forms and documents, including scans of the person’s passport, to Hockey Canada through their member’s hockey branch. Requests are processed through an online system and IIHF says transfers are usually processed in a player’s country of birth within seven days. Also, players under 18 are not charged a processing fee.

However, Chadwick said he saw no reason to make all players born outside of Canada a transfer when only a small proportion of children who wear skates will be playing in high-level international tournaments where eligibility could be a serious issue.

“You take the rules that should apply to an Olympic team and apply them to every hockey player in this country, even the Saturday Timbits hockey players,” said Chadwick.

However, IIHF spokesman Martin Merk said in an email to CBC News that it is difficult to predict whether and when a player’s jurisdiction of origin may be called into question in the future. He also said where a player is registered and eligible to play can be an issue in the competition, even in leagues below the elite level.

“It’s good that everything is well documented,” said Merk.

Both Chadwick and Mendoza said player eligibility checks should take place later, and only for high-level players potentially on the national team roster. They also say the wrong kids should be worried about being eligible to play while transfers are being processed.

In the end, both Donkers and Chadwick got their transfers done quickly enough not to get them out of the ice. In Chadwick’s case, the local hockey association is working with Hockey Canada to get an exemption to allow him to play while the transfer is processing.

Transfer Mark Donkers hails from Mexico, but it didn’t happen until the day before his tournament.

For both players, the uncertainty and having to scramble is unsettling.

“I was so shocked that I had to do this,” said Mark Donkers. “I was so stressed at the time because I didn’t want to miss the tournament.”

Noor Othman has four sons who are enrolled in hockey, two born in Lebanon, one in Syria where his family fled civil war. The transfer process was confusing, especially since he is an Arabic speaker studying English. Chadwick and other parents work together to understand the rules and fill out forms.

Othman’s son, Muhammad, is 10 years old. He doesn’t like any rules that apply to him, but not to his Canadian-born teammates.

“I just want to play and be like the other Sarnia Stings,” he said.