CCES Blog: Making Sport Better
Welcome to the CCES blog. We’ll be using this platform to share our views on anything and everything related to ethics in sport – from playground to podium. The CCES uses ethical debate to create an environment for meaningful dialogue around the future of sport. We strive to shape the public consensus of how we should behave when we compete, always recognizing that in a democracy, consensus is dynamic.
The primary contributors to this blog are the members of the CCES executive team (listed below), with occasional entries from other CCES staff:
Paul Melia, President and Chief Executive Officer
Karri Dawson, Executive Director, Values-Based Sport
Jeremy Luke, Executive Director, Sport Integrity
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Fitting the pieces together (part 3)
February 27, 2013
In yesterday’s blog post, I made an analogy of the Canadian sport system being similar to a four-legged stool, with each leg representing an important section (participation, high-performance excellence, preparation of competent coaches, and physical literacy). But what about the values in sport? Read more
Fitting the pieces together (part 2)
February 26, 2013
Yesterday, I posed the question: “If the Canadian Sport Policy 2012 is the over-arching blueprint for the Canadian sport system, how do all the pieces fit together?” Today, let me suggest a rather simple analogy in an attempt to do just that – fit the pieces together. Think of Canadian sport as a...Read more
Fitting the pieces together (part 1)
February 25, 2013
Fitting all the pieces of the Canadian sport system together is not an easy task. It is unlike any other. It is neither school-based (think US sport system) nor club-based (think European sport system). Our system combines elements of both, but at the community level, our system is largely...Read more
Lessons from Lance
January 23, 2013
What, if anything, can we learn from Lance Armstrong’s confession to Oprah Winfrey last week? When it comes to doping in the sport of cycling, the answer is: nothing we didn’t already know. But, are there any lessons we can take from Lance’s public admission to Oprah that he did indeed dope all...Read more
2012: What a year in sports!
December 20, 2012
I noticed the top three stories in sport this past year, as determined by a poll in North America, were: the Penn State Sandusky Scandal, the Lance Armstrong Scandal, and the NFL Bounty Scandal. In order: child molestation, doping, and violence in sports were the top stories. I wonder if we have a...Read more
Brain Injuries – the hidden damage
December 4, 2012
Twenty years from now, probably less, we will look back on brain injuries in sport and wonder how we could have allowed this kind of harm come to our kids. Today though, we are content to refer to brain injuries as “getting your bell rung” or “seeing stars” or some other euphemism which...Read more
Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons?
September 28, 2012
Recently, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) asserted a number of anti-doping rule violations against Lance Armstrong and proposed the appropriate sanctions for these violations as provided for under the World Anti-Doping Code. Mr. Armstrong had the right to contest these assertions...Read more
When something important is not valued, everyone loses
September 20, 2012
Imagine if there was something in our communities that reduced teen suicide, reduced teen pregnancy, reduced drug use, reduced obesity, and reduced youth gang and crime involvement. Imagine if that same thing also increased self-esteem, improved academic performance, improved physical and mental...Read more
When good comes from bad
September 19, 2012
In today’s world of 24/7 sports radio, television and the internet, most kids are exposed to “all sports, all the time.” Given the media’s preference to sensationalize the darker side of sport rather than to highlight the sensational, young sports enthusiasts are fed a steady diet of athletes...Read more
Fair and Phenomenal
August 5, 2012
True Sport moments are not simply about examples of fair play or sportsmanship, although they are often evident in True Sport. True Sport moments are about when sport is firing on all cylinders – when the Principles of True Sport (www....Read more
Can you lose and still be a champion?
July 31, 2012
Can you lose and still be a champion?
Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic just proved you can. After an epic four hour plus tennis match at the London Games, which ended 6-3, 3-6, 25-23 in favour of Raonic’s opponent Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France, the two combatants embraced...Read more
Running under the Olympic flag
July 30, 2012
“Guor Marial ran for his life to escape a Sudanese child labour camp. Now he will get to run at the Olympics.” (Read the full story at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marathoner-...Read more
Empty seats in London
July 29, 2012
“Early indications are that the empty seats are in accredited seating areas...” so says the London Organizing Committee spokesperson in response to reports that many rows of seats at Olympic venues are sitting empty.
True Sport has seven principles which, when all are included in sport in...Read more
London Blog
July 27, 2012
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are about to begin and so are my London blog posts. These posts will highlight True Sport moments at the Games.
But first, here’s a quick primer on True Sport. True Sport is the seven principles that Canadians have told us they want sport...Read more
How much is too much?
July 24, 2012
With the London Olympic/Paralympic Games about to begin, some people are questioning the amount of money being spent on anti-doping efforts at the Games. Fair question, particularly as the world economy sputters along and public authorities around the world underwrite the lion’s share of anti-...Read more
Sport is never neutral
July 4, 2012
Late last week I wrote about the BC Minor Hockey coach and the alleged tripping incident in a spring hockey league tournament the previous weekend. If ever there were an incident that illustrates how bad sport does not...Read more
Good sport doesn’t happen by accident, and neither does bad sport
June 29, 2012
Let’s look at the British Columbia Minor Hockey coach and the alleged tripping incident in a spring hockey league tournament this past weekend. If ever there were an incident that illustrates how bad sport does not happen by accident this is the poster child case study.Read more
Winning isn't everything.
May 2, 2012
Contrary to the opening observation in John Allemang’s Saturday article in this past weekend’s Globe and Mail, entitled “The Case for Killing the Competition,” I don’t think Canada’s push to own the podium in Vancouver was actually about winning being everything and by extension, the...Read more
The "Good" Penalty
April 24, 2012
Did anyone see the puck the other night in Game 4 between Nashville and Detroit? No? Nor did the referees apparently.
Sometimes in sport, we hear people say that she or he took a “good” penalty. Classic examples of this are the trip on a breakaway in hockey, the intentional foul toward...Read more
A great loss
April 17, 2012
I was shocked and filled with a deep sense of loss when I heard the news this morning that Randy Starkman had died.
Yesterday, Canadian sport lost a true friend and supporter with the sad and sudden death of renowned journalist Randy Starkman. I had the opportunity and privilege to...Read more