Brock University Athletics

Brock Sports & Recreation is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, respectful environment free from maltreatment, discrimination, and abuse.  Our core values prioritize the mental, physical, emotional, academic and athletic well-being of our students. These principles apply to all students, coaches, staff, volunteers, and other individuals involved or participating in Brock University Sport & Recreation activities.

The Responsible Coaching Movement: The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) is a call to action for sport organizations, parents, and coaches to enact responsible coaching across Canada - on and off the field. Established by the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the RCM invites all coaches and sport organizations to learn and apply consistent coaching principles. This includes the principles of the Rule of Two, Training and Screening. Brock Sports & Recreation has taken the RCM pledge and, in doing so, not only requires our coaches to adhere to the Responsible Coaching requirements, but also encourage them to self-educate on the additional components of the true sport principles.

Rule of Two: Brock Sports & Recreation requires that all coaches, staff and volunteers apply the Rule of Two: Two adults must be present for all interactions and communications with students when not in a visible setting.
 
Training and Education: All Brock Sports & Recreation coaches, staff and volunteers are required to complete online Safe Sport Training and Making Ethical Decisions (MED) education through the Coaching Association of Canada’s Safe Sport Training.   

Screening and Hiring Practices: All Brock Sports & Recreation coaches, staff and volunteers are screened to meet the requirements to be involved in sport. Screening includes requiring police and vulnerable sector checks to be done at regular intervals.

As part of Brock Sports & Recreation Safe Sport commitment, coaches, staff, volunteers and students are required to adhere to various protection and sanctioning policies and codes of conduct. Below are the applicable policies and codes of conduct for Safe Sport. All guiding principles align with best practices outlined in the UCCMS Code, OUA Code of Conduct Policy and the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Safe Sport Policy.
 
Definitions: Brock Sports & Recreation adopts the definitions outlined in the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS), including but not limited to:

• Psychological Maltreatment: Verbal abuse, bullying, threats, or manipulation.
• Physical Abuse: Hitting, shaking, or any form of physical harm.
• Sexual Abuse: Unwanted sexual contact, exploitation, or harassment.
• Neglect: Failure to provide basic needs or supervision.
• Grooming: Manipulative behaviors intended to gain trust for exploitation.
• Discrimination: Unequal treatment based on identity or background.

Student-Athlete Protection Protocols: To ensure safe interactions, Brock Sport & Recreation enforces:

• Rule of Two: At least two adults must be present for all interactions and communications with students when not in a visible setting.
• Travel Guidelines: Overnight trips include specific accommodation requirements to ensure a safe environment as per Brock Sports & Recreation’s travel policy;
• Communication Boundaries: All Brock Sports & Recreation coaches, staff and volunteers must maintain professional boundaries online and in text communication with student as per the Brock Sports & Recreation’s Coaches’ manual.
   

Student-Athlete Expectations: Students are expected to uphold standards of respectful conduct, academic integrity, and safety awareness. These expectations are outlined in the Brock University Student-Athlete Manual. Students who participate within the OUA are also held to expectations of behavior within the OUA Code of Conduct Policy.

Coach, Staff and Volunteer Expectations: All Brock Sports & Recreation coaches, staff and volunteers must adhere to ethical standards and responsibilities as defined in the Brock Coaches Manual and the OUA Safe Sport Policy. All coaches, staff and volunteers must also adhere to Brock University’s Respectful Work and Learning Environment Procedures.

Brock Sports & Recreation is committed to providing clear and confidential channels for reporting unethical or unsafe behavior. Students may directly report through the channels listed below:

1. Sport & Recreation Leadership
2. Human Rights & Equity Office
3. Office of Student Affairs
4. Campus Safety

Misconduct Protocol: Through the Brock Sports & Recreation Misconduct Protocol, all allegations of abuse, harassment, or discrimination will be investigated promptly and thoroughly through the channels above depending on the disclosure.

Safe Disclosure Policy: If individuals are uncomfortable disclosing through the channels listed above, Brock University’s Safe Disclosure Policy provides an opportunity for disclosure through a third party.

1. Grant Thornton CARE website at https://www.grantthorntoncare.ca.
2. By phone to the Grant Thornton CARE phone line: 1 855 484-CARE (2273).
3. By email to safedisclosure@brocku.ca.