Sport is a precious commodity in Canada. It is perhaps the greatest of Canada’s collective passions. It has the ability to unite people, breaking down regional, political, cultural and economic differences. The benefits of sport are nothing less than astounding.
Sport is a powerful force for good – for sure. But it is always just one scandal away from losing its positive value. Sport is always vulnerable. Sport’s vulnerability is eternal. It is not going away. This is why we need to always be aware to what is going on in sport and we all share the responsibility of its protection.
Clearly, doping remains the single biggest threat to the integrity of sport in Canada and around the world. But doping is not the only ethical issue that threatens the value and positive benefits of sport. There are others – some apparent, like violence and exclusion. Others lurk just below the surface – like gambling and match fixing and the sideline behaviour of some parents. And, there remain the quiet prejudices, including homophobia and racism. On a more fundamental level, the very governance of our community sport system is vulnerable to exploitation by misguided adults seeking every advantage for their child.
The rules of sport and the ethics that underpin them have emerged from a hard-fought consensus on the core, shared values that allow for meaningful competition to take place. This consensus among Canadians represents our collective desire for the sport we want. And essentially what Canadians want is sport with a conscience. We see our role as continually raising, or elevating the conscience of Canadian sport.
With this in mind and with an eye to the future, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport would like to share what we see as the top six threats to sport and what we feel needs to be done to address these challenges going forward. You will find links to information and tools in each of the topic sections in Threats to Sport. We would encourage you to add your voice to the conversations. Let us know what other topics, concerning sport, are important to you.
Sport is a precious commodity in Canada. It is perhaps the greatest of Canada’s collective passions. It has the ability to unite people, breaking down regional, political, cultural and economic differences. The benefits of sport are nothing less than astounding.
Sport is a powerful force for good – for sure. But it is always just one scandal away from losing its positive value. Sport is always vulnerable. [j1] Sport’s vulnerability is eternal. It is not going away. This is why we need to always be aware to what is going on in sport and we all share the responsibility of its protection.
Clearly, doping remains the single biggest threat to the integrity of sport in Canada and around the world. But doping is not the only ethical issue that threatens the value and positive benefits of sport. There are others – some apparent, like violence and exclusion. Others lurk just below the surface – like gambling and match fixing and the sideline behaviour of some parents. And, there remain the quiet prejudices, including homophobia and racism. On a more fundamental level, the very governance of our community sport system is vulnerable to exploitation by misguided adults seeking every advantage for their child.
The rules of sport and the ethics that underpin them have emerged from a hard-fought consensus on the core, shared values that allow for meaningful competition to take place. This consensus among Canadians represents our collective desire for the sport we want. And essentially what Canadians want is sport with a conscience. We see our role as continually raising, or elevating the conscience of Canadian sport.
With this in mind and with an eye to the future, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport would like to share what we see as the top six threats to sport and what we feel needs to be done to address these challenges going forward. [j2] You will find links to information and tools in each of the topic sections in Threats to Sport. We would encourage you to add your voice to the conversations. Let us know what other topics, concerning sport, are important to you.
See also...
