Safe Sport

Statement of Commitment

Safe sport is a fundamental tenet underpinning the work we do at Swim BC.  A broad sport-wide movement, safe sport addresses the culture, habits, and mechanisms of how we deliver our programs to our membership. The primary effort is to ensure that swimming experiences are enjoyable, welcoming, and accessible for all participants from age group to master swimmers, coaches, officials, club administrators and parents.

Safe sport is a “bucket” that holds many different topics, tasks, and deliverables. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Prevention, reporting, investigation, and sanctioning of maltreatment
  • Injury prevention and management
  • Mental health and wellness
  • Privacy and confidentiality
  • Consent
  • Equity, diversity, and inclusion

Swim BC’s commitment to safe sport, in coordination with viaSport and other partner organizations, is to strive to ensure that everyone can participate in swimming and reach their full potential.  Swim BC is committed to supporting member clubs to create safe sport environments that are accessible, inclusive, that respect their participants personal goals and are free from all forms of maltreatment.

Member Club Safe Sport Policy Requirements

What is Swim BC doing about safety?  Our first step is to address the rules that bind us in a common approach to the conduct of our sport.  These “rules” state what behaviour is acceptable, and what is not, and they make provision for consistent and clear decision making.  Our goal in engaging Sport Law is to develop and provide member clubs with templates of the policies a modern sport organization requires to protect its members, and to assist its committees, staff, and volunteers in carrying out the work of the organization.

Club Template Policies

The following policy templates are available from Swim BC, for copyright reasons they will not be posted online.  Please contact Sam Thoms to request the following templates:

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy
  • Appeal Policy
  • Athlete Protection Policy
  • Code of Conduct and Ethics
  • Concussion Policy
  • Conflict of Interest Policy
  • Discipline and Complaints Policy
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy
  • Event Discipline Policy
  • Financial Management Policy
  • Gender Identity Eligibility Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Social Media Policy
  • Travel Policy

 

How do you use these templates?

Beginning with the 2022-2023 season all clubs – small, medium, or large – must have a basic set of policies. This requirement is to ensure clubs have the tools to make important decisions and risk manage their organization.

At a minimum, the following policies will be required for club registration for the 2022-23 competitive season:

  1. Athlete Protection Policy
  2. Code of Conduct and Ethics (must reference the BC UCC)
  3. Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy
  4. Discipline and Complaints Policy
  5. Appeal Policy

Clubs that utilize the Team Unify service will be required to have a Privacy Policy in place as well.

Please follow these steps to action these templates:

  • Engage your Policy Committee to review these templates and ensure the mechanics of the policy are understood. If your board is willing, this can be a whole board exercise
  • Make appropriate amendments to the policies to ensure they fit within your governance framework. Many clubs will find that they need to attend to their governance structure (board roles / responsibilities, committee structure, etc.)
  • Make the policy your own, re-write with your club’s name, logo, and important branding information (ie/ if you use a standard organizational font, make sure you use that).
  • Pass or approve the policies at a Board meeting, or via e-vote if your bylaws permit (if your bylaws are mute on this point, note that e-votes are permitted by the BC Societies Act)
  • Ensure the date the policy was passed, and the review date are placed in the policy.
  • Make the policies stand-alone documents for easy reference, do NOT combine policies into a handbook. Envision your club’s website as the handbook and post the club’s policies as individual documents on a dedicated page. 
  • Ensure your policies are posted as a pdf – they should be easy to access (within 2 or 3 clicks) and must be downloadable – this ensures availability for your membership. One error a club will make is to “bury” their policies. While this is inadvertent, having a policy “on page 23” of a handbook that is not easily searchable diminishes the efficacy of the policy and creates risk for the organization. Polices must be accessible to the membership and the membership must know how to access the policies.

At a minimum, the following policies will be required for club registration for the 2022-23 competitive season:

  • Athlete Protection Policy
  • Code of Conduct and Ethics (must reference the BC UCC)
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy
  • Discipline and Complaints Policy
  • Appeal Policy
  • Travel Policy

Clubs that utilize the Team Unify service will be required to have a Privacy Policy in place as well.

Criminal Record Check

Swim BC Member Clubs are responsible for ensuring all employees or volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults, as a component of their respective organizational activities, complete a Screening and Criminal Records Check through the CRRP.

Coach Criminal Record Checks

All registered coaches must submit a Criminal Record Check to Swim BC through the Criminal Record Review Program (CRRP).

  • Criminal Record Checks are valid for 5 years
  • CRRP reviews Criminal Record Checks on Swim BC’s behalf and provides Swim BC with a letter informing us whether the applicant poses a risk to the organization or not. 
  • This program uses your credit history to verify your identity. During the application process, you will be asked personal questions about your financial history and credit history.
  • The cost for a Coach Criminal Record Check is $28
  • To apply for a Criminal Record Check through the CRRP you will need an access code specific to Swim BC. Please reach out to Sam Thoms for the code.
  • You can apply through the following link: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/eCRC/

Common Errors

If you do not have a credit history or the CRRP is not able to verify you will receive the following error:

Please reach any errors thoroughly. If you receive this error, in the text below it says you can print the form generated and submit it to the requesting organization. If you get this error, fill out the generated form and submit it to Sam Thoms at Swim BC.

Officials & Volunteer Criminal Record Checks

Swim BC has identified the following volunteers require screening:

  • Club Board of Directors
  • Team Managers
  • Chaperones
  • Registered Level 3,4 and 5 officials

Swim BC uses the Criminal Record Review Program (CRRP) to process Criminal Record Checks:

  • Criminal Record Checks are valid for 5 years
  • For volunteers and officials, we as that you complete this form. This allows Swim BC to expect to receive your CRC and match it correctly. 
  • CRRP reviews Criminal Record Checks on Swim BC’s behalf and provides Swim BC with a letter informing us whether the applicant poses a risk to the organization or not. 
  • This program uses your credit history to verify your identity. During the application process, you will be asked personal questions about your financial history and credit history.
  • Officials & Volunteer CRC’s are free
  • To apply for a Criminal Record Check through the CRRP you will need an access code specific to Swim BC. Please reach out to Sam Thoms for the code.
  • You can apply through the following link: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/eCRC/

Common Errors

If you do not have a credit history or the CRRP is not able to verify you will receive the following error:

Please reach any errors thoroughly. If you receive this error, in the text below it says you can print the form generated and submit it to the requesting organization. If you get this error, fill out the generated form and submit it to Sam Thoms at Swim BC.

Safe Sport Training for Coaches

All Coaches registered with Swim BC are required to take Safe Sport training. The following courses can be used to meet that requirement. If you are a Volunteer or Parent, these are also great courses to learn about Safe Sport.

Coaching Association of Canada Safe Sport Training

Safe Sport is a program developed by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) that works to ensure that every athlete can participate in their sport without physical, sexual, or psychological abuse.  More information is available below and at Safe Sport Training.

Respect in Sport

The Respect in Sport Activity Leader program is an on-line training course for coaches, sport leaders and leaders of youth in virtually any activity. The course is primarily designed as a tool to assist leaders to identify and respond to abuse, neglect, harassment, and bullying.

Mental Health and Sport Resource Hub

The Mental Health & Sport Resource Hub is a new resource platform provided by the CAC. The hub provides the tools and information to overcome stigma and guide conversations about mental health in sport. This is a free online portal, which offers training and resources for coaches to develop mental health literacy and positive coaching practices to improve performance and well-being in sport. For more information, visit the CAC Mental Health and Sport Resource Hub.

 

SUSPENDED MEMBERS

Swim BC currently has no suspended members.

Suspended Members
Name of Suspended Member Date of Suspension End Date
     

The Canadian Sport Hotline

The Canadian Sport Hotline is a third-party service provider whose role is to address harassment, abuse, and discrimination complaints. This hotline provides a safe place to report and can also provide advice and resources on how to intervene and/or proceed appropriately.

Additional Resources

BC Helpline for Children

If you are a child or youth and would like to talk to someone call the Helpline for Children at 310-1234.

VictimLinkBC

A toll-free, confidential, multilingual service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be accessed by calling or texting 1-800-563-0808 or sending an email to VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca.

Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network

The Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network offers a multi-faceted, province-wide approach with greater focus and leadership in identifying and challenging racism.

 

 

 

Swim BC gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.

Address

305-4420 Chatterton Way
Victoria, BC V8X 5J2

Contact

778-430-9100
Email

Copyright © 2022, Swim BC. All rights reserved.

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