Karate Canada Karate Canada

Donate

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.

For issues occurring with national level “participants” (as identified by Karate Canada) please contact the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (the Office). It also operates independently to administer complaints about alleged violations of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS).

Where there are admissible allegations of abuse, harassment or discrimination, the Office conducts independent investigations and recommends sanctions against individuals who violate the UCCMS.

The Office will also maintain a national sanctions registry, which prevents individuals from evading sanctions by moving to different sports or to different jurisdictions.

For designated participants within our organization, there is access to a wide range of resources, including victim services and referrals to specialized mental health professionals and experienced lawyers – all available in English and French. You can access the website by visiting https://abuse-free-sport.ca/.

SDRCC HELPLINE
Web:www.abuse-free-sport.ca
Phone/Text:1-888-83-SPORT(77678)
Email: info@abuse-free-sport.ca

Abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination

For issues occurring with national level “participants” (as identified by Karate Canada) please contact the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (the Office). It also operates independently to administer complaints about alleged violations of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS).

Where there are admissible allegations of abuse, harassment or discrimination, the Office conducts independent investigations and recommends sanctions against individuals who violate the UCCMS.

The Office will also maintain a national sanctions registry, which prevents individuals from evading sanctions by moving to different sports or to different jurisdictions.

For designated participants within our organization, there is access to a wide range of resources, including victim services and referrals to specialized mental health professionals and experienced lawyers – all available in English and French. You can access the website by visiting https://abuse-free-sport.ca/.

SDRCC HELPLINE
Web:www.abuse-free-sport.ca
Phone/Text:1-888-83-SPORT(77678)
Email: info@abuse-free-sport.ca

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

Parents, you would also like to take the training? The Respect in Sport for Parent Program was specifically created for you. It will help define a standard of behaviour for all parents and create a more rewarding, safe and respectful environment for everyone involved. This training is about 1h and costs $12. Click here to take the training.

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: the goal of the Rule of Two is to ensure all interactions and communications are open, observable, and justifiable. Its purpose is to protect participants (especially minors) and coaches in potentially vulnerable situations by ensuring more than one adult is present. There may be exceptions in emergency situations.
  • 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 2020-2021.

  • 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.

Concussions

Karate Canada has developed the Karate Canada Concussion Guidelines to help guide the management of athletes who may have a suspected concussion as a result of participation in Karate Canada activities. These guidelines are based on the Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport from Parachute.

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
Karate Canada Concussion Guidelines (March 28, 2021)

Resources

 

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).

ITP Reporting

Karate Canada is committed to providing our athletes with safe, inclusive, and supportive training 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 aspects of sport safety.

As part of its commitment to safe sport, and in accordance with Sport Canada requirements, Karate Canada has selected Sportlex as it independent third party to receive complaints pursuant to its Discipline and Complaints Policy. Their role is to receive complaints, determine the process address to address them in accordance with the Discipline and Complaints Policy, and ensure that Karate Canada continues to implement best practices in this area.

Mr. Adam Klevinas is the designated legal lead whose office can receive and review all complaints, allegations, and concerns of possible breaches to Karate Canada’s conduct policies. Those policies can be found here.

All individuals who witness or believe they have witnessed, or have 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 Sportlex by email or phone at 438-520-1644.