Definitions

Date of Approval: 2022-12-04

Activation Date:

*PDF versions of Gymnastics Canada’s policies are no longer considered valid; the most up-to-date policies are available on this website.

Gymnastics Canada Definitions

Definitions (Board Approved Dec 4, 2022)

The terms defined below shall apply to all Gymnastics Canada policies, unless otherwise stated therein.

  1. Affected Party – Any Individual or entity, as determined by the Case Manager, who may be affected by a decision rendered under the Appeal Policy and who may have recourse to an appeal in their own right under the Appeal Policy
  2. Appellant” – The Party appealing a decision pursuant to the Appeal Policy
  3. “Appeal Manager” – An independent individual appointed by Gymnastics Canada, who need not be registered with or affiliated with Gymnastics Canada, to administer the Appeal Policy. The Appeal Manager must not be in a conflict of interest or have any direct relationship with the Parties
  4. “Appeal Panel – the panel constituted to hear and decide appeals under the Appeal Policy  
  5. “Athlete” – An individual who is an Athlete participant in Gymnastics Canada who is subject to the policies of Gymnastics Canada 
  6. “Athlete Support Personnel” – Any coach, trainer, manager, agent, team staff, official, medical, paramedical personnel, parent or any other person working with, treating or assisting an Athlete participating in or preparing for sports competition 
  7. “Board – The Board of Directors of Gymnastics Canada or a Member, as applicable
  8. “Bullying” – Offensive behaviour and/or abusive treatment of an Individual that typically, but not always, involves an abuse of power
  9. CCES – Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
  10. Clubs – those clubs registered with Gymnastics Canada’s Members
  11. Complainant – An Individual who makes a report of an incident, or a suspected incident, of alleged Maltreatment, Prohibited Behaviour or other misconduct that may be a violation of the standards described in Gymnastics Canada’s policies, by-laws, rules or regulations, or the UCCMS
  12. Days – Calendar days1
  13. Director  of  Sanctions  and  Outcomes  –  The  individual(s)  responsible  for  overseeing  the imposition  of  Provisional  Measures,  agreed  outcomes,  Sanctions  and  appearing  before  the Safeguarding Tribunal or the Appeal Tribunal in cases arising from a potential breach of the UCCMS (or other conduct rules, as applicable) within the jurisdiction of the OSIC
  14. Discrimination – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC.
  15. Event – An event sanctioned by Gymnastics Canada or a Member, and which may include a social Event
  16. “External  Discipline  Panel”  –  A  panel  of  one  or  three  people  who  are  appointed  by  the Independent Third Party to decide on complaints that are assessed under Process #2 of the Discipline and Complaints Policy  
  17. Harassment – A course of vexatious comment or conduct against an Individual or group, which is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome 
  18. Independent Third Party – The individual retained by Gymnastics Canada to receive Reports and complaints and to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in the Discipline and Complaints Policy, and Appeal Policy, as applicable. This individual must not be in a real or perceived conflict of interest or have a direct relationship with any of the Parties
  19. Internal  Discipline  Chair”  –  An  individual  appointed  by  Gymnastics  Canada  to  decide  on complaints  that  are  assessed  under Process  #1 of the  Discipline  and  Complaints  Policy. The Internal Discipline Chair may be a director, head coach, staff member, or other individual affiliated with Gymnastics Canada but must not be in a conflict of interest or have a direct relationship with any of the Parties.
  20. Maltreatment – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC. 
  21. Member – A Member as defined by the Gymnastics Canada By-laws.
  22. Minor – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC  
  23. OSIC – The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, an independent division of the SDRCC, which comprises the functions of the Sport Integrity Commissioner
  24. “Individual” – Refers to all Registered Participants, as well as all people employed by, contracted by, or engaged in activities with Gymnastics Canada including but not limited to, employees (full- time, part-time (permanent, temporary, or fixed-term)); all consultants, contractors, and other service providers who may provide services to Gymnastics Canada; Athletes, coaches and coach developers,  instructors,  officials,  volunteers,  managers,  integrated  support  team  members, technical  observers,  administrators,  committee  members,  parents  or  guardians,  spectators, directors or officers 
  25. “Party” (or “Parties”) – The individuals involved in a dispute 
  26. Person in Authority – Any Participant who holds a position of authority within Gymnastics Canada including, but not limited to, coaches, instructors, officials, managers, support personnel, chaperones, committee members, or directors or officers
  27. “Physical Maltreatment” – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  28. “Power Imbalance” – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC 
  29. “Prohibited Behaviour” – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  30. Provisional Suspension – Means that the Individual is barred temporarily from participating in in any capacity in any Event or activity of Gymnastics Canada and its Members, as applicable, or as  otherwise  decided  pursuant  to  the  Discipline  and  Complaint  Policy,  prior to  the  decision rendered in a hearing conducted pursuant to the Discipline and Complaints Policy
  31. Reporting” (or “Report”/“Reported”) – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  32. “Respondent” – The Party responding to a complaint or investigation; or, in the case of an appeal, the body or organization whose decision is being appealed, or the Individual that was the subject of a decision that is being appealed.2
  33. Sexual Maltreatment – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  34. SDRCC – The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. 
  35. UCCMS – The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  36. UCCMS Participant – An Individual affiliated with Gymnastics Canada who has been designated by Gymnastics Canada as a UCCMS Participant and who has signed the required consent form. For  Gymnastics  Canada,  UCCMS  Participants  include  Gymnastics  Canada  board  members, employees, committee volunteers, national team coaches and staff, technical officials, national Athletes (including national competition competitors), Event volunteers, contractors, integrated support team and medical personnel
  37. Vulnerable Participant – As defined in the UCCMS and as amended from time to time by the SDRCC
  38. “Workplace” – Any place where business or work-related activities are conducted. Workplaces include  but  are  not  limited  to  Gymnastics  Canada  registered  office(s),  work-related  social functions, work assignments outside the registered office(s), work-related travel, the training and competition environment, and work-related conferences or training sessions.
  39. “Workplace Harassment” – A course of vexatious comment or conduct against a Participant in a Workplace  that  is  known  or  ought  reasonably  to  be  known  to  be  unwelcome.  Workplace Harassment should not be confused with legitimate, reasonable management actions that are part  of  the  normal  work/training  function,  including  measures  to  correct  performance deficiencies, such as placing someone on a performance improvement plan, or imposing discipline for workplace infractions
  40. “Workplace Violence” – The use of or threat of physical force by a person against a worker in a Workplace that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker; an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker in a Workplace that could cause physical injury to the worker; or a statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker in a Workplace that could cause physical injury to the worker.
  1. For the purpose of calculating deadlines, the following shall apply: the day of the act is not included in the calculation (i.e., the date of receipt of a decision is not Day 1); instead, the deadline would start on the day following receipt of the decision and would expire at midnight (in the location of the individual seeking to file an appeal) on the last day of the period. If the end date is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, the period runs until the next day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday. For example, if an Individual receives a decision on Thursday December 17, 2020, the 14-day deadline to appeal this decision starts on Friday December 18, 2020 and would expire on Friday January 1, 2021. However, since January 1, 2021 is a legal holiday, January 2, 2021 is a Saturday, and January 3, 2021 is a Sunday, the deadline to appeal would expire at midnight (in the location of the individual seeking to file an appeal) on January 4, 2021. ↩︎
  2. For clarity, in the case of an appeal from a decision of an Internal Discipline Chair or an External Discipline Panel struck under the Discipline and Complaints Policy, the Respondent will be Taekwondo Canada, and not the member or members comprising the Internal Discipline Chair or an External Discipline Panel. ↩︎