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Athletics & Recreation Safe Sport Review


July 2022
 
Safe Sport Review
 
Safe Sport is an ongoing commitment and priority of Queen’s Athletics & Recreation (A&R).
 
To ensure we continue to build on our Safe Sport practices and processes, and advance our understanding of the critical steps, processes, and culture required to maintain a sport environment where all participants can thrive, a third-party consulting firm was engaged to conduct a review and recommend measures to help us work towards a ‘Platinum Standard’ of excellence in sport.
 
The review recommendations are being, and have been, implemented to ensure the department is meeting and exceeding best practices in this rapidly evolving area and continuing to provide an environment in which the A&R community can thrive and excel. The review also considered how A&R policies, procedures and decision-making processes reflect, promote, and ensure equity, diversity, inclusivity and Indigeneity.
 
The review process, which began in Fall 2020, and was completed in Spring 2022, included:

•    An environmental scan of Safe Sport practices with information gathered from universities in Ontario, across Canada and the US;
•    An audit of current departmental policies, practices, governance and operations; 
•    Surveys of student-athletes, coaches, A&R staff and alumni, and online group interviews, and town hall sessions.
 
Recommendations focus on meaningful stakeholder, people first, learning by design and fostering trust to ensure the department is leading the way in support of student athletes, coaches, staff and all members of the sport community. 
 
The review recommendations and an A&R update of the actions taken in response, as of July 2022, as well as additional implementation steps planned for 2022-23, are detailed at the link below.
 
Key actions to date include: 

  • the establishment of a Safe Sport Committee
  • updated mandatory Safe Sport education and training for coaches workshops and student-athlete seminars (August 2022)
  • the development of simplified Safe Sport materials for student athletes, coaches and all A&R staff for distribution (August 2022)
  • enhanced functionality and communications about AIMS as the primary platform and tool for information sharing and resources about Safe Sport
  • hiring a third-party Safe Sport consultant to assist with the development of an updated and clarified complaint reporting and intake process for student-athletes
  • designating September as an annual Safe Sport Month, which includes a messaging campaign directed to student-athletes focused on “See Something; Say Something”
  • ongoing work with experts and sport governing organizations to ensure that information is accurate, up to date, and best reflects advancing Safe Sport practices and processes
  • an internal focus on communicating and discussing departmental values, and fostering an inclusive community and culture 

Further initiatives and adjustments will continue as part of A&R’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in the evolving landscape of Safe Sport, and goal of achieving a “platinum standard”.
 
We will continue to closely monitor the fast-evolving Safe Sport landscape and consult with student-athletes, coaches, staff and external experts to ensure the department is leading the way in support of the entire community.

 

Safe Sport Review
Read the Safe Sport Recommendations & Actions