Safe Sport – Questions and answers

I have Safe Sport certification that I tested for and acquired in the USA, but I am a coach/instructor/race official in Canada. Will my US Safe Sport certification allow me to recertify my Sail Canada certifications?

Even if coach/instructor/race official in Canada have a Safe Sport certification from the U.S.A., all Sail Canada Officials, Instructors, Coaches are required to complete approved Canadian Safe Sport Training. Sail Canada recommends the Coaching Association of Canada Safe Sport Training, which is free at https://safesport.coach.ca/.

Safe sport training and any certifications are completely separate from any requirements related to consenting to agreements required by Sail Canada and Sport Canada regarding the management of complaints.

Sail Canada’s Code of Conduct, which includes the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) apply to all regattas and sailing activities in Canada regardless if they all club, regional or national level.

Participants should be aware they may also be subject to additional codes of conduct, notably the Concussion Code of Conduct.

To avoid having a situation with no witness or to put anyone in a situation where there is risk of a false accusation, the goal of the Rule of Two is to ensure all interactions and communications are in open, observable and justifiable settings for Persons in Authority when interacting with athletes, whether in person or remotely.

Ideally for male athletes there is at least one male (Person in Authority) and for female athletes at least one female (Person in Authority).

All one-on-one interactions between a Person in Authority and an Athlete must take place within earshot and in view of a second Person in Authority, except for medical emergencies. This includes times such as drop off and pick up, traveling to events and any interactions outside of the structured programs.

For more information about the Rule of Two, please check out the Coaching Association of Canada website.

Maltreatment is a deliberate act, which results in harm or the potential for physical or psychological harm, whether it is intended or not. Maltreatment could be:

-psychological (verbal, deny attention or support, etc…);
-rooming (process of building trust and comfort…);
-physical (contact or non-contact…);
-neglect (lack of reasonable care such as denying adequate hydration…);
-related to reporting (failure to report…);
-sexual (online, verbal, social media, hazing, etc..);
-or related to process (falsifying information…).

Every sailing organization across the country should have “Safe Sport” as a priority, meaning that all member organizations are working with their Provincial Sailing Association towards adopting the Safe Sport policy package provided. The package of policies includes Code of Conduct, Social Media Policy, Screening Policy, Discipline & Complaints Policy, Dispute Resolution policy and other.

The organization you are a member of will likely be looking for you to agree to abide by all their policies including the safe sport package once they have been put into place.