As of April 1, 2020, Sport Canada requires its funded organizations to have training in safe sport available to all who fall within their immediate authority. The Safe Sport Training eLearning module from the CAC is available at no cost to your members and meets the minimum standards for mandated safe sport training for Sport Canada-funded organizations. It comes with additional tools and resources to help you embed Safe Sport principles throughout your organization.

The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport calls for all sporting environments to be free from physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Coaches have a responsibility to provide participants with a safe environment.

Like with parents, a coach’s behavior is of paramount importance in the development of your child. All parents have the right to talk to the coach or the coach's employer if they have questions or concerns about interactions with their child.

The club should have a safe recruitment process for hiring staff. Parents will ask about your hiring process, what level of training your coaches have, and whether they have received Safeguarding training to work with children.

For more information visit the Safe Sport for Sport Organizations at Coach.ca

A secure sport environment is one where all coaches and sport organization leaders are screened to meet requirements to be involved in sport. Comprehensive background screening should be conducted at regular intervals to ensure that all coaches, volunteers and sport organization leaders meet important requirements to be involved in sport.

Screening includes comprehensive job postings, visible policies and processes, criminal record checks, interviews, and reference checks.

Volunteer Screening Program

Police Information Check

The Safe Sport Initiative and the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) has mandated an enforced Code of Conduct for all Canadian Sporting Organizations.

It should be available for you to read, ideally on their website.

For more information, refer to the SIRC’s safe sport webpage.

The Rule of Two serves to protect minor athletes in potentially vulnerable situations, as well as the quality coaches working in our communities, by ensuring that more than one adult is present.

The goal of the Rule of Two is for organizations to always have two screened and National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) trained or certified coaches with an athlete, especially a minor athlete, when in a potentially vulnerable situation. Vulnerable situations can include closed doors meetings, travel, and remote training environments.

SIRC’s - Creating a Safer Sport Environment with the Rule of Two

In conjunction with the ‘Rule of Two’, sporting organizations are required to have solidified travel guidelines prioritizing the physical and emotional safety of all athletes.

Read here for more information.

Every organization should have a named welfare officer and promote their contact details.

Well-run clubs should be prepared to listen and advise you what to do if you have any concerns. They should have information about local or national services that can also offer advice and support.

You can also call the Canada Sport Helpline at 1-888-837-7678 / 1-888-83SPORT. More information on other helpful organizations can be found at our external resources sections.

Here are a few suggestions -

Security Cameras:
Setting up surveillance cameras will help ensure the safety of your guests, your property, and your staff members. Especially during large events, sports complexes tend to be a target for criminal activity and damages.

Regular Maintenance:
Regularly checking if equipment and facilities are in working order, assessing any potential dangers such as trip hazards, and making sure that floors are clear from debris and liquid are just a few regular maintenance procedures that will significantly reduce risk.

Customer Safety:
There are several ways to increase customer safety. This includes warning signs, regular safety inspections, required safety equipment, and more. If the activities at your facility involve potentially dangerous risks such as an extreme sports facility, it is important to let your guest know the potential risks and possibly have them sign a waiver.

Secure Equipment Storage:
At any sports facility, there is potential for injuries due to the physical nature of sports and exercise. In order to reduce injury, it is important to make sure that all equipment is stored safely and securely.

Employee Training:
Keeping your sports facility clean and organized is a big part of keeping athletes safe, but you can also rely on the employees in the facility to help promote safety as well. For example, you can provide training that teaches employees what they should do and say in an emergency.

More detailed information on facility safety can be found with these articles.

Sports Facility & Field Inspection Checklist

Tips to Creating a Safe Environment for Athletes in Sports Facilities

Risk Management is the practice of identifying, assessing and treating risks so as to better achieve desired outcomes, enabling the delivery of quality sport programming.

The Risk Management Project is a multi-year initiative designed to help enhance the effectiveness of decision-making among sport leaders using a consistent, sport-specific, and integrated risk management process.

Learn more at the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Further reading for Risk Management.

Sports facilities bring all kinds of people together for common causes: friendly competition, health and fun. Ensuring a safe environment for the athletes, fans and coaches who spend time in and around your sports complex is vital to reducing risk, preventing injury and complying with regulations and guidelines.

Refer to this article for further details on Safe Sport for Facilities.