Skate Canada joining Abuse-Free Sport

OTTAWA, ON – Skate Canada has confirmed our commitment to Abuse-Free Sport and has signed an agreement to join the program by December 31, 2022. Abuse-Free Sport is a newly formed independent program to prevent and address maltreatment in sport, which includes the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

Abuse-Free Sport will now handle all misconduct complaints for individuals that are part of the National Team and NextGen programs, which includes athletes, coaches, team leaders, staff, and integrated support team members. Abuse-Free Sport will also be the reporting system used for the Skate Canada Board of Directors and international officials.

“Our dedication to a safe environment is a top priority and we are proud to be taking another step towards protecting the skating community through the Abuse-Free Sport,” said Debra Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada. “We are pleased to see Abuse-Free Sport fully operational, with the expertise and capacity to support the sporting system.”

In September 2020, Skate Canada launched an enhanced National Safe Sport Program with updated policies and procedures to improve safety within the skating community. This update also included the adoption of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) into all policies and procedures.

Before December 31, 2022, the identified groups will continue to have access to Skate-Safe, an independent third-party reporting mechanism for all misconduct matters.

Misconduct matters for all remaining members and registrants are still managed by Skate-Safe, a misconduct reporting system that is operated by IntegrityCounts, a third-party service provider. Complaints received through Skate-Safe are submitted to an independent external Case Manager to ensure an independent review, investigation, and disposition.

For further details on the National Safe Sport Program please visit skatecanada.ca. For more information about the Abuse-Free Sport program please visit abuse-free-sport.ca.