Sport Safety
Safety in sport is everyone's responsibility. Parents, coaches, athletes, volunteers, officials, administrators, spectators, community leaders, and funders all have shared responsibility to ensure participants in sport feel safe and included. We ALL have a role to play in making sport safer through knowledge, equity, respect, and inclusion.
Sport Safety has no boundaries, it is not just about what happens on the field of play, but also in the locker room, on the land, the boardroom, offices, social media, traveling, fundraising; together we must create a culture that prioritizes safe, positive and respectful sport experiences.
Recognition & Prevention
We want to empower you with tools to help identify and address acceptable and unacceptable behavior in sport.
The True Sport Principles are a rallying point for True Sport members — they are universal. The principles can be brought to life in any sport at any level, from playground to podium. An Olympic rowing squad can embrace these principles with the same sense of pride and purpose as an elementary school, an old-timers' league, or a community hockey arena.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection's resources for sports organizations, coaches, officials, sport leaders, volunteers, and parents to help keep kids safe in sport
Tools to Understand and Identify Child Sexual Abuse
Helping kids stay safe while online.
Take the Responsible Coaching Pledge
The Rule of Two is a leading practice to ensure a safe sport environment for all. Take the training, know the expectations.
Do you know how to take action when a concussion is suspected? What can you do to prevent concussions? How can you support your participants to return to sport safely? The Coaching Association of Canada provides training and resources to empower coaches, parents and participants with essential knowledge and skills to prioritize participant safety.
In the role of Canada’s national anti-doping organization, the CCES implements and administers the CADP on behalf of the Canadian sport community. It's designed to prevent, deter and detect doping and serves to protect the integrity of sport and the rights of clean athletes.
Abuse-Free Sport is Canada’s independent system for preventing and addressing maltreatment in sport. Our ultimate goal is to work with others throughout the Canadian sport system to ensure that every participant – no matter the sport, the level, or the role – has a safe, positive and enriching experience. Changing the culture of sport in Canada is everyone’s responsibility. Abuse-Free Sport provides access to a wide range of resources, all of it available in English and French
The Mental Health and Sport Resource Hub provides the tools and information to overcome stigma and guide conversations about mental health.
We’re invested in making the Northwest Territories a safer, more equitable place for 2SLGBTQIPA+ youth, families and adults.
Action
What steps can you take to ensure sport safety is a priority practice in your organization.
A secure sport environment includes one where all coaches and sport leaders are screened.
Creating a culture where everyone can thrive is a shared responsibility. The Safe Sport Training module developed by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) will help anyone involved in sport identify and prevent situations of maltreatment.
Policy Development & Training
Sport Organizations must work to adapt their policies and practices to reflect the changing demographics of their membership.
Take the Responsible Coaching Pledge
The NCCP Make Ethical Decisions module is a cornerstone of the NCCP and leaves coaches with no doubt as to what to do in challenging situations. The module equips coaches to handle challenging ethical situations with confidence and surety. It helps coaches identify the legal, ethical, and moral implications of difficult situations that present themselves in team and individual sports.
Participant-centered coaching strategies are an effective way to establish a safe and inclusive sport culture. By placing participants at the centre of the coaching process, coaches can promote growth and athletic development, foster creativity and learning, and protect participants from harm.
This toolkit is designed to provide competitive coaches evidence-based suggestions for enhancing coaching practices to facilitate safe, inclusive, and welcoming sport environments.
Fostering intercultural skills is essential to promote inclusivity and understanding among participants and coaches. Embracing cultural diversity enriches team dynamics and enhances the overall sport experience for everyone.
Coaches in Canada play an integral role in creating a fair and inclusive environment for their sport. While the impact of racism in sports and coaching can be far-reaching, so can the effects of anti-racism coaching education.
NCCP Coaching Athletes with a Disability is a resource for coaches who are new to coaching athletes with a disability. Many coaches who are already working with athletes with a disability will also find the module useful. This module will prepare you to develop inclusive sport experiences and to communicate effectively and respectfully with and about persons with a disability.
Coaches influence in the lives of youth is well-documented. Coaches are in a unique position to step in and stop parts of sport culture that may contribute to unhealthy relationship behaviour. This project aims to develop, implement and evaluate an educational program, available in English and French, to assist coaches in recognizing, preventing and addressing gender-based violence and teen dating violence, and to promote healthy relationships in and through sport.
Empowering people to recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination (BAHD) through interactive, online training courses.
Reporting
Maltreatment is fully defined in the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport. Simply put, maltreatment is "volitional acts that result in harm or the potential for physical or psychological harm". Any of the following behaviours are considered maltreatment and should be reported immediately:
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Grooming
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Neglect
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Physical Maltreatment
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Psychological Maltreatment
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Sexual Maltreatment
It is also important to recognize what behaviours are legitimate, and not maltreatment. Such behaviours include:
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Performance measurements
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Strategies to correct performance deficiencies
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Discipline for legitimate infractions pursuant to codes of conduct
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Requesting medical documentation to support training absences/to understand athlete treatment plans
Everyone involved in sport should take the time to read the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport and understand their rights and obligations in supporting a safe sporting environment.
To report maltreatment click here (link to safe sport 3rd party complaint mechanism on new website once developed)
Sport Safety
