Owen Moore, left, and Miles Lawlor started a petition to ask their school to allow balls on the playground in the winter. (CBC)Two students have started a petition to try to push their school to reverse a decision that bans balls in the schoolyard until winter is over.

Dana Slater, the principal of D. Roy Kennedy Public School in Ottawa, said balls are banned during the winter for safety reasons. Students are still allowed to run and play, but they can’t kick a ball around or play a game of catch.

“They’ve got snow stuck to them, they’re frozen, often there’s pebbles on them and they’re flying through the air,” Slater said. “One student fell backwards on their head and ended up with a concussion. We had a student with a ball in the eye area, which was very serious."

But Miles Lawlor and Owen Moore argue that the ban has taken all the fun out of recess. The two elementary school students have collected more than 250 signatures on their petition calling for the ban to be reversed.

“It’s really fun with the balls, and right now people are just standing around talking and not getting any exercise, and that’s the whole point of recess,” Moore said.

Moore and Lawlor have given the principal a copy of the petition. Slater said she’ll talk with the students and their parents, but she said balls are still off limits for now.