Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

(Ottawa, Ontario – January 19, 2012) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is pleased to announce its collaboration with the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), Hockey Canada (HC) and ThinkFirst Pensez d’Abord Canada (TFC).  The project is aimed at reducing brain injuries in team sports in Canada as part of the federal government’s Active and Safe initiative enabled through the financial support of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Government of Canada is investing $1.5 million in this collaborative project developed to reduce the incidence of brain injuries in team sports and improve decision-making about when it is safe to return to play after a head injury.

“One of the greatest threats to true sport in our communities is the occurrence of preventable injuries in sport resulting from unsafe practices,” said Paul Melia, president and CEO, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “Creating safer sport environments and a safer sport system would offer Canada’s children and youth better opportunities to participate in sport that is fair, safe, and open.”

Brain injuries, including concussion, are not a problem that only affects professional athletes. Children and youth involved in sport are more likely to suffer head injuries than any other group.  More than 40 per cent of head injuries in children and youth aged 10-19 years treated in emergency departments are sustained during recreation and sport activities.

As a contributing member of the True Sport Movement, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport will implement the True Sport Principles as a conduit for ensuring that sport in Canada is fair, safe and open for everyone. To achieve this, the Centre for Ethics will collaborate with community sport organizations to develop a number of True Sport Brain Injury Prevention Resources that will target different groups who participate in or deliver high impact team sports at the community level. Sport organizations from across Canada, and particularly in isolated and remote locations, will have access to practical resources that offer up-to-date and reliable information to support the identification and treatment of brain injuries, particularly concussion.

“Fifteen ‘communities of practice’ will be established to test and refine the tools as well as other education and engagement initiatives,” said Melia. “An emphasis will also be placed on identifying and nurturing the strengths and capacities of each community of practice to develop sustainable strategies to reduce brain injuries. By including and empowering the communities of practice, they will take the lead in implementing and maintaining the strategies.”

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is an independent, national, not-for-profit organization. We recognize that true sport can make a great difference for individuals, communities and our country. We are committed to working collaboratively to activate a values-based and principle-driven sport system; protecting the integrity of sport from the negative forces of doping and other unethical threats; and advocating for sport that is fair, safe and open to everyone.

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