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Safe Sport

Karate Canada is committed to provide a quality sport experience free of abuse, harassment or discrimination to its members/registrants. KC takes any situation involving misconduct very seriously and believes everyone should be able to enjoy karate in a safe and respectful environment.

Prevention

What is Karate Canada doing to promote and sustain a safe and healthy environment for all its members/registrants?

Required training
Karate Canada’s staff, Board of Directors, National Team coaches and athletes, officials and key volunteers are all required to take the Respect in Sport training. This training will help participants recognize, understand and respond to issues of bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination.

Responsible Coaching Movement
The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) is a multi-phase system-wide movement, coordinated by the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. It addresses the role coaches play with issues relating to the health and safety of athletes, both on and off the field of play. Karate Canada is currently implementing the first phase which includes:

  • Rule of Two: 2 coaches should always be present with an athlete, especially a minor athlete, when in a potentially vulnerable situation such as in a locker room or meeting room.
  • Background Screening: all our National Team coaches go through an interview process, reference check as well as a criminal record check and vulnerable sector check (when applicable).
  • Ethics Training: see Required Training above. Furthermore, all coaches participating in the Karate Canada National Championships must have done the Making Ethical Decision training available via the Coaching Association of Canada.

Policies
Karate Canada has numerous policies and procedures to help protect its members and will be reviewing/updating all of them in 2019-2020.

  • Code of conduct and ethics
  • Harassment
  • Equity and access
  • Conflict of interests
  • Protection of personal information
  • Discipline and complaints
  • Appeals

You can find them in the Resources/Governance section of our website. The WKF also has a Safe Sport Policy and other interesting resources on their website.

Abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination

The Canadian Sport Helpline was launched in March 2019 providing a safe place for victims and witnesses of harassment, abuse and discrimination to speak in confidence to a neutral third party and get the help they need.

This professional listening and referral service is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, by phone or text at 1-888-83SPORT (77678), and by email at info@abuse-free-sport.ca.

If you want to report a situation/individual or place a complaint you can do so to an independent third party safe sport officer (see Reporting section below).

 

Karate Canada is also a proud supporter of You Can Play which works to ensure safety and inclusion for all who participate in sports, including LGBTQ athletes, coaches, and fans. You Can Play as well as Karate Canada believe sport should focus on an athlete’s skills, work ethic, and competitive spirit, not their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

 

 

 

 

 

Concussions

Karate Canada has endorsed the Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport from Parachute and is currently working on a karate specific set of guidelines.

A concussion is a brain injury that cannot be seen on routine X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. It affects the way you may think and remember things, and can cause a variety of symptoms. Here are some key points to remember on concussion management:

  1. Recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion
  2. Remove the athlete from the game or practice
  3. Refer the athlete to a licensed healthcare professional
  4. Return to school and then to sport based on the recommendations of a medical expert

Resources

Karate Canada Guidelines
To come

 

Anti-doping

Anti-Doping and Sport Information

Substance Information

Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)

Report Doping

Note: 
Various printed resources are available. 
Contact the CCES for more information (education@cces.ca or 1-800-672-7775).

Reporting

Karate Canada is committed to providing our athletes with safe, inclusive, and supportive training and competition environments to enable each athlete to achieve their maximum potential. Everyone has a role to play in creating a healthy physical and mental environment for sport participation. Karate Canada is therefore committed to raising awareness about misconduct in sport, promoting open dialogue, and providing training and resources for clubs, coaches, officials, athletes, parents and volunteers around all aspects of sport safety.

As part of its commitment to safe sport, and in accordance with Sport Canada requirements, Karate Canada has selected Mr. Ilan Yampolsky as its independent, third-party contact. Ilan is a risk-management specialist whose experience includes the role of director of safe sport and integrity with Tennis Canada, safe sport director with Skate Canada, and the director of safe scouting for Scouts Canada. His role is to analyze complaints, determine how best to address them and ensure Karate Canada continues to implement best practices in this area.

Ilan is a designated individual who can receive and review all complaints, allegations and concerns of possible breaches to Karate Canada’s code of conduct policies. Those policies can be found here.

All individuals who witness or believe they have witnessed, or been a victim or believe they may have been a victim of a breach of conduct related to safe sport (abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination) may contact Ilan by email or phone at 1-833-913-1304.