First quarter brings a new look for the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

(Ottawa, Ontario – August 19, 2011) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport emerged from its first quarter (April-June) with a new strategic plan, story and brand.  Our strong, new logo better reflects our updated vision for sport in Canada that it is fair, safe and open to everyone.

“The logo at the centre of this new brand identity celebrates the multitude of voices that come together around sport, capturing the energy of open dialogue and spirited debate,” said Doug MacQuarrie, Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “The use of different colours and type sizes displays the multicultural landscape of Canada and the rich diversity of athletes who play and compete within it. Still, despite their differences, these various graphic elements come together to form the logo as a whole, conveying the convergence of opinions and ideas that results from honest communication.”

In support of the new brand the website has undergone a complete redesign making information easily accessible for athletes, doctors and other health professionals, media and sport enthusiasts.

Furthermore, we have also revised our mission to focus on the forces of advocacy, activation and protection. Highlights of the work that the Centre did in these areas during this quarter are listed below.

Advocate

Advocacy is the force that intervenes. The Centre for Ethics in Sport will strive to be the voice of Canada’s silent majority and hold up a realistic idealism for our nation’s sporting citizens to live up to. Sport needs a dynamic ethical conversation; its competitive nature can seduce us into thinking that winning is the purpose of all sport, rather than the product of good sport. An ethical framework helps everyone involved in sport to see that “the best of us” can never succeed at the expense of “the best in us.” 

• In response to the unprecedented number of positive test results in CIS football in 2010, the Centre convened a national task force of experts to examine the issue of performance-enhancing drug use in football. The task force reached consensus on issues in six main areas: education, testing and analysis, intelligence, policy/sanctions, partner engagement and costs/funding. A full copy of the final report is available at www.cces.ca/taskforce.

• “Town hall” style community conversations were held in London, ON; Edmonton, AB and Winnipeg, MB to discuss the topic of violence in sport. A focus was placed on defining violence in the context of sport. Further conversations are being planned for this fall. A national survey has also been launched to provide more insight into Canadians’ experience and attitudes toward violence in sport. To take the survey, go to: www.surveymonkey.com/s/ViolenceInSport.

Activate

Activism is the positive force that aims to make good sport in Canada a collaborative, national effort by activating people with clear information and useful tools. This is the force that lives in communities where volunteers, parents and leaders want to contribute to the sport we want and to have their voices heard.

• On June 7-9, the Clarington Racing Against Drugs committee hosted its 12^th annual Racing Against Drugs event in Bowmanville, Ontario.  Over 1,500 Grade 5 students played games that increased awareness of drug and safety issues.  True Sport contributed an ethical decision-making activity to get kids thinking and working together called “Teaching True Sport: A Decision-Making Game” (available at www.truesportpur.ca/en/tools-25).
• Every summer, Freedom 55 Financial holds a charity golf tournament called the Thunder Bay Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic. True Sport animators hosted a booth at one of the holes where hockey stars were encouraged to sign a banner that has become a legacy piece for the event, autograph hockey pucks to be auctioned and become True Sport champions. In the spirit of giving back, funds raised from the event were donated to the Northern Cancer Fund. 

Protect

This force protects the good name of sport. It is the recognition that sport is vulnerable and only one doping scandal away from tarnishing its value. Protection extends beyond anti-doping into other threats to fair, safe and open sport.

• Athletes can now access the Global DRO (Global Drug Reference Online at www.globaldro.com) website through mobile media such as smart phones. This new tool makes it easier for athletes to check the status of their medications while on the go.  
• Sixty-three doping control officers (DCOs) underwent training and were re-certified. Twelve new DCOs were brought into the program as new recruits at a bi-annual conference held on April 28-May 1 in Ottawa. The conference also included representatives from the World Anti-Doping Agency, UK Anti-Doping, United States Anti-Doping Agency and the Qatar National Anti-Doping Commission.

Anti-Doping Dashboard: April-June 2011

For details, see CCES-MR-2011AprJunDetails-E.pdf

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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