The Province and viaSport are improving safety in sports by continuing
to provide education about safe sport, and by taking steps toward an
independent complaints process for B.C.’s amateur sport sector.
“Everyone deserves to have positive experiences in sport so they can
benefit from the incredible power of active living, and improve physical
and mental well-being,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts,
Culture and Sport. “Since 2019, we have been working with viaSport
to advance the safe sport culture in B.C. The sector has asked for
more support, and we are now ready to take this important step to
increase protection, accountability and awareness for all participants.”
The Province is providing $7.8 million in response to commitments
made to federal and provincial partners to address safe-sport
challenges. The independent process will help create an effective, fair
and consistent mechanism to report and respond to complaints. It will
also allow sport organizations to focus on programs, instead of
managing their own complaints systems. Implemented by a third-party
service provider, it will also make it easier for people to know where
to seek help when they need it. The new process will benefit all
participants connected to sport organizations that receive provincial
funding and are accredited by viaSport. ViaSport will engage with the
sport sector to determine the breadth of services needed and a
timeline for implementation.
“ViaSport British Columbia is committed to developing long-term
solutions to address maltreatment in sport,” said Charlene
Krepiakevich, CEO, viaSport. “This investment enables us to build on
the success of our PlaySafeBC program, and to advance the
prevention of maltreatment. It also enables us to continue to work with
the amateur sport sector on the creation of an independent third-party
mechanism to help everyone respond and report more easily,
upholding safety in sport.”
ViaSport will also continue to bolster the PlaySafe BC program to
increase awareness of accepted and expected behaviours, promote the
importance of safe sport and increase protection for all participants.
“As a coach and as a parent, I know how important it is to integrate
safe sport into everything we do,” said Adam Frost, a wheelchair
rugby coach and coach trainer. “The more awareness and tools we
have to keep our athletes emotionally, physically and mentally safe,
the more likely it is that we all perform better.”
Evan Dunfee, a Richmond-based Olympian, said: “It’s exciting to know
this new reporting tool is being developed. This independent process
will help keep everyone safer as it will provide a vital link for athletes
to raise their voice when they experience or witness a safe-sport
violation.” (news.gov.bc.ca)
