Safe Sport
Our Safe Sport Commitment
Gymnastics Canada is committed to being a leader in Canada and abroad in providing a safe and inclusive gymnastics environment for all individuals. Working together, we will create a safe, inclusive sport environment for all gymnasts and sport participants in Canada.
safety Steering Committee
The National Gymnastics Safety Steering Committee was established to guide and oversee the development of a comprehensive national safety and safeguarding strategy for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. This strategy aims to ensure the safety and wellbeing of gymnasts, enabling the creation of a safe environment for all sport participants from grassroots to high performance.
Safety Principles
We have established a set of fundamental safety principles to guide our work and decision-making as we develop and implement the rest of the safety strategy.
Athlete/Young Person Centred
Prioritize the inclusion of young people and athletes in all processes, practices, and structures.
Humane
Lead with compassion and humanity rather than rigid bureaucratic procedures.
Pragmatic
Connect policies and procedures to practical actions and behaviours, both individual and collective.
Equity-based
Recognize and address inherent power imbalances by designing standards, processes, and practices with equity in mind.
UCCMS-aligned
Whenever possible, use definitions, principles, and standards from the Universal Code of Conduct for Safe Sport to inform our current practices.
How To Report Concerns
Reporting suspicions of child maltreatment
Individuals across all disciplines of gymnastics in Canada have the right to participate in a sport environment free from abuse, harassment, and discrimination. If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, youth, or other participant, or have reasonable suspicion that a child or youth is the victim of any form of abuse or neglect, it is your duty to report.
If a child is in immediate danger or risk, regardless of where (or what level) the abuse/maltreatment is occurring, call 911 or your local police.
If you are concerned about a child or youth being mistreated outside of Gymnastics, you also have a duty to report. Please report to your local/provincial child protection/welfare agency, or local police. If the child or youth is in immediate danger, phone 911.
Other participants that are not minors also have the right to participate in a healthy sport environment and can access the complaint mechanisms outlined below.
Club/Province related concerns
If the abuse/maltreatment is happening or happened at a club or provincial level, please follow the reporting procedure set out by your Province, including reporting to police and your Provincial or local Child Protection/Welfare authority if applicable.
A list of provincial and territorial gymnastics associations can be found here.
National Team and Gymnastics Canada related concerns
If the abuse/maltreatment is happening or happened at the national level, or at a Gymnastics Canada event, there are two reporting mechanisms:
For abuse/maltreatment that goes against the UCCMS, please report directly to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) – Abuse Free Sport.
For all other reports, please report to our independent complaint management company, ITP Sport.
For national team and Gymnastics Canada events/activities, if you have any questions or are unsure where to report please contact the following toll free number to access an independent Safe Sport expert: 1-833-913-1304.
You can access GymCan’s Complaints & Discipline policy here.
For any questions or inquiries related to the different reporting mechanisms, please contact our Director, Safe Sport, Dr Kacey Neely at kneely@gymcan.org or 780-224-9168.
Suspended and Expelled Members
Membership with Gymnastics Canada (GymCan), and its provincial and territorial associations, is a privilege and all members must commit to creating, fostering, and maintaining a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for all participants. Privilege of membership may be suspended or permanently withdrawn if a member is found to have breached any of GymCan’s Safe Sport Policies following the relevant and applicable disciplinary process. In addition, suspensions may include reinstatement conditions imposed by a discipline panel which must be fulfilled before membership privileges may be reinstated.
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Membership may also be provisionally withdrawn or restricted pending an investigation if credible allegations of a sufficiently serious nature are reported. In these circumstances, provisional suspensions are not a finding of misconduct and should not be interpreted as such. Upon completion of the investigation, and disciplinary process, if conducted, the status of the member will be updated to reflect the outcome of the proceedings.
The following is a list of the individuals who have been suspended or expelled by GymCan and/or its provincial or territorial associations. The list is not intended to be a complete historical record of current or past members who have been suspended or expelled. Instead, it serves as a list of current or past members who are suspended at the present time or expelled from membership. When a suspension has been served and any additional probationary or educational measures have been fulfilled, the member will be categorized as Suspension Complete.