Tennis Alberta is committed to creating safer, positive, and inclusive environments free of maltreatment, through our Sport Safety initiatives. We want to ensure that everyone is safe, supported, and strengthened through tennis. Our goal is that everyone can reach their potential without fear of bullying, harassment, or abuse.
HAVE A SPORT SAFETY CONCERN?
All members of our sport community, including athletes, parents, coaches, officials, and club leaders with concerns about sport safety and maltreatment to the Alberta Safe Sport Complaint Mechanism here, or through the link in the button below.
What happens when you report a complaint
You will be linked immediately to an independent third-party service, called ALIAS where you will fill out the online complaint form. ALIAS will contact the complainant within 48 working hours. The staff of ALIAS are experienced in helping victims of maltreatment, and are professionally and personally independent of Tennis Alberta. They know and understand Tennis Alberta’s Safe Sport policies and are qualified and experienced in navigating complaints of maltreatment.
WHAT IS SPORT SAFETY?
Sport Safety involves creating safer, positive, and inclusive environments, where everyone can reach their potential without fear of bullying, harassment, or abuse. We want to ensure that everyone is safe, supported, and strengthened through tennis. Additional resources and educational material can also be found on Tennis Canada’s website.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP SAFEGUARD TENNIS?
The Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) and Tennis Canada are committed safeguarding tennis by delivering sport safety education and training, developing best practices and implementing current and comprehensive policies. The TPA’s safeguarding tennis initiative is aligned with the Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) which is led by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC).
Sport Safety involves creating safer, positive, and inclusive environments. Where everyone can reach their potential without fear of bullying, harassment, or abuse. We want to ensure that everyone is safe, supported, and strengthened through tennis.
We all need to recognize the responsibility that we have in protecting our athletes. We all play a part in creating a safe and supportive environment that fosters positive growth and personal development for athletes, on and off the court. Education and awareness are the most critical components to creating a safe environment free of abuse and harassment. We can all help safeguard tennis by encouraging our tennis organizations to adopt sport safety education and screening requirements. Adopting these requirements is important because:
- We have an ethical and moral duty to protect our athletes.
- It is imperative that all persons in positions of authority be held to a high standard of conduct.
- It reduces the liability for coaches and club board members. Liability can extend to not only the perpetrator of the act, but also to an organization “sufficiently close” to make a claim of vicarious liability appropriate.
TPA Sport Safety Education and Screening Requirements
In accordance to CAC guidelines, Tennis Canada with the support of its provincial partners has made it mandatory for everyone that is coaching, instructing, or assisting and that is in a position of authority in all indoor and outdoor clubs in Canada to complete the following sport safety education and screening requirements:
Code of Conduct
- Online form
- Must be signed once a year
Background Check
- Can be done online
- Must be completed every three years
Declaration of Character
- Online form
- Must be completed once a year
Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders
- Online education module
- Must be completed every three years
Importance of the Rule of Two
We also strongly encourage clubs to strengthen their policies and procedures regarding child safety and implement them in everyday practice. One of the easiest ways to do this is to educate all coaches and staff on the Rule of Two, which requires two screened and certified coaches to always be present with a single athlete or multiple athletes when in an enclosed space. The spirit of this rule is to ensure that both athlete and coach are not put in a vulnerable position. More information on how to implement the Rule of Two can be found here. Additional best practices for clubs can be found here.
How To Complete Your Sport Safety Requirements
The TPA provides 2 options to help individuals complete their sport safety requirements. It is recommended that coaches complete their sport safety requirements through an active TPA Certification that provides supplementary benefits and resources. If full TPA Certification does not fit your needs, the Community Tennis Facilitator Training is also available for tennis club staff in the position of authority.
TPA Certification
These multi-day courses offer various certification levels for instructors, club professionals, and coaches. Certification ensures proven competencies and is highly recommended for anyone teaching tennis or running tennis programs.
Certification includes all benefits of TPA membership including liability insurance.
Community Tennis Facilitator Training
This non-certification five-hour in-person course with online education includes safeguarding education, quality standards for retention and growth, age-appropriate equipment, organizing play activities, and effective communication with children.
This course includes all benefits of TPA membership except liability insurance.
What if I’m already a TPA member and I still need to complete my SPORT SAFETY requirements?
If you are an active certified TPA coach and you still need to complete your sport safety requirements please make sure to log into your TPA account to review your missing requirements.
POLICIES
Tennis Alberta has adopted and implemented the following policies related to Sport Safety and the reporting of maltreatment:
- Alberta Universal Code of Conduct (Alberta Safe Sport Complaint Mechanism)
- Reporting & Independent Resolution Policy (Alberta Safe Sport Complaint Mechanism)
Tennis Alberta’s other policies, including non-maltreatment-related discipline and complaints, codes of conduct, and other organizational and community requirements can be found on our Policies Page.
