Athletics Canada is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to join Abuse-Free Sport, the new independent program to prevent and address maltreatment in sport.
By way of this agreement, Athletics Canada’s participants at the national level will have access to the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC), which serves as the central hub of Abuse-Free Sport.
“Athletics Canada is excited to sign on to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, adding another foundational piece to our suite of Safe Sport efforts,” said Mathieu Gentès, Chief Executive Officer, Athletics Canada. “A National Sport Organization first, the Office of the Athletics Commissioner has been in place since 2015 serving our members to adjudicate and govern the organization’s Safe Sport efforts in a fully independent capacity. The addition of OSIC only strengthens our organization.”
Gentès said that Safe Sport has been at the forefront of Athletics Canada’s governance efforts since 2015, with the revision and addition of several policies – such as a Screening Policy, Whistleblower Policy and Athlete Protection Guidelines – that protect all participants in the sport of athletics. Athletics Canada also invested in the position of Director of Safe Sport, hired in January 2021.
“Aside from OSIC,” said Gentès, “we have started moving forward on proactive educational efforts, working in collaboration with Volleyball Canada and Swimming Canada on the development of a Safe Sport Education Platform targeted to youth athletes to be launched in latter half of 2023.”
There is more information about the Abuse-Free Sport program HERE, on the OSIC HERE, and on Athletics Canada’s safe sport initiatives HERE.