{"id":39072,"date":"2026-10-08T15:33:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=39072"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:33:31","slug":"safe-sport-day-focuses-on-fostering-better-environment-for-athletes-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/safe-sport-day-focuses-on-fostering-better-environment-for-athletes-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe Sport Day focuses on fostering better environment for athletes, groups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sport can provide invaluable opportunities for people of all ages, but, in some instances, the sports field might not be the most inclusive and safe of spaces for all participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set for Saturday, October 17, hosted by the Town of Aurora, the seminar Safe Sport for Organizational Success, invites local sports organizations, coaches, volunteers, sports administrators, and more to come together to \u201cstrengthen the culture of sport in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAligned with Aurora\u2019s Sport Plan, this event supports the Town\u2019s commitment to safe, inclusive, and positive sport environments by providing local sport organizations with the knowledge, tools, and leadership perspectives needed to foster healthy sports systems,\u201d say organizers. \u201cSafe Sport is not only about preventing harm, it is about building strong organizations where athletes, coaches, volunteers, and families can thrive. Through expert-led discussion and open dialogue, participants will gain insight into how Safe Sport principles support organizational governance, athlete wellbeing and sustainable sport development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seminar is framed around two sessions, \u201cSafe Sport & Organization Success,\u201d and \u201cAn Honest Conversation on Safe Sport in Canada,\u201d hosted by Olympian Allison Forsyth, founder of Generation Safe, and journalist Rick Westhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoting Safe Sport is a tenet in Aurora\u2019s recently-updated Sport Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Warth, Recreation Manager for the Town of Aurora, says local sports organizations have been looking for further education \u201con creating safe sport environments within their own organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think local organizations understand that it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility to keep participants safe,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s things we need to do to ensure that that happens in terms of policies, procedures, and systems. We also understand that our organizations are mostly run by volunteers, who have a lot of pulls on their time and responsibility. We really want organizations to understand what their responsibilities are, and that they need to make safe sport part of their culture for their organization. It doesn\u2019t have to be a huge investment; it\u2019s simple changes to policy and procedure that can make an enormous impact around Safe Sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pleased that our organizations are asking for this information. They understand that it\u2019s important because it has to be a part of the organization\u2019s culture, but it doesn\u2019t have to be onerous. These policies, procedures, things that they need to do to build that culture of safe sports \u2013 it doesn\u2019t have to be an onerous undertaking, but there\u2019s definitely some tips, tricks, and education that need to happen for these organizations to be able to build Safe Sport environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The morning session, which runs from 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon, will touch upon the foundations of Safe Sport in Canada, how to create positive sport cultures that prioritize athlete wellbeing, practical strategies for implementing Safe Sport policies within community sports organizations, the roles of coaches, volunteers, and administrators in building safe environments, and aligning Safe Sport practices with long-term organizational success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The afternoon discussion, from 1.30 \u2013 3 p.m., will see Forsyth and Westhead \u201cexplore the challenges, progress, and responsibilities facing sport organizations at all levels, from grassroots community sport to the national stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing a lot of work to ensure that everyone feels comfortable in sport and has an opportunity to participate and doesn\u2019t want to drop out,\u201d says Warth. \u201cIf they want to play and participate, they should be able to play and participate regardless of who they are, what gender they are, what age they are. We\u2019re putting a lot of emphasis generally on gender equity, but that does include all genders, working with organizations to help them develop policy procedure, to make everybody feel included and that if they want to play, they should be able to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to have a strong sport infrastructure, and we know that a lot goes into that. We know a lot of our sport organizations are volunteer-based, so we’re trying to provide resources and support because we know that sport creates healthy communities, and sport can lead to lots of really great stuff. The organizations that are providing it need help. They have a lot of responsibility. They have a lot on their plate, and it can be quite onerous. We’re just trying to promote and provide support and resources to help our sport organizations thrive, and\u2026the bigger picture is it helps our community in general thrive because there’s so many benefits to participating in sport. At the end of the day, when you look at the big picture, that’s what it’s about. It’s about building a strong, thriving community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the October 17 session, and other upcoming programs, visit www.aurora.ca\/sportworkshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sport can provide invaluable opportunities for people of all ages, but, in some instances, the sports field might not be the most inclusive and safe of spaces for all participants. Set for Saturday, October 17, hosted by the Town of Aurora, the seminar Safe Sport for Organizational Success, invites local sports organizations, coaches, volunteers, sports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-aac","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-22 06:37:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39073,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39072\/revisions\/39073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}