NCCP Safe Sport Training

Safe Sport Training - Direct Athlete Contact

Training will share information on maltreatment with the goal is to provide a safe, inclusive, positive sport environment and report maltreatment and manage it. 3 areas:

Acknowledge: maltreatment occurs, may be due to power imbalance in participants
Awareness: types, signs, and context of maltreatment
- Example: series or one time behaviour like abuse, assault, bullying, discrimination
Action: maltreatment prevention, reporting, and safety

Safe Sport Toolbox provides codes, resources, training, and processes to support the 3 areas above. For example, Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) for rules, definitions, and principles.

Acknowledgement

Context: Roles (decision maker, for example executives, managers of coaches), direct athletes contact, and others) and imbalance of power.

Power is ability to influence others like through:

Knowledge
Resources and information
Authority
Reputation

Use can be positive and maltreatment occurs due to power misuse. For example, romantic relationships should not occur between people where there is a power imbalance like coach - athlete.

Awareness

Maltreatment can involve:

Contact (example physical attack, sexual maltreatment)
Non contact like punishment, verbal acts or neglect with bad health results and risk, inappropriate sexual attention, denying attention.

Maltreatment results are harmful even if not intended.

Discrimination can be on visual, identity, and others like income, geography, education and others

Signs of Maltreatment

Cognitive and social impairment
Mental health and behavioural negative effects
Physical changes, pains

In summary, unhealthy physical and mental signs.

Action

Prevention is done through policy, education, and screening. Policy and education intersect when people follow ethics like the NCCP Code of Ethics, risk management, and sport specific safety programs. Supporting safe sport and telling overs increases awareness and creates a culture.

Safe sport culture looks like people with accountability, respect, empowerment, excellence, responsibility, health, participation, support, and rights.

Rule of Two

A safe sport environment ensures all coaches, staff, and administrators apply the Rule of Two. When following the Rule of Two, all interactions and communications with participants are in open, observable, and justifiable settings, and two responsible adults —whether a coach, parent, staff or screened volunteer — are present. There may be exceptions in emergency situations. Check with your sport organization as to how the Rule of Two is enforced.

Reporting

Reporting is done by the complainant or participant or observer to an independent authority. Potentially harmful situations involving a child must be reported to authorities (Local police, local child welfare services (e.g., Children’s Aid Society or child and family service agencies, provincial or territorial social services).

For Ontario, children for purposes of protection are under 18 years old.

Safety + Health = a better athlete

The 4 Cs

Competence, Confidence, Connection, And Caring/Compassion

They describe coach’s role in developing athletes.

4 Cs are adapted from Côté and Gilbert, 2009