Everyone has the right to feel safe and to participate in an accessible and inclusive sport environment free from maltreatment, regardless of age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, language, creed, religion, athletic potential, disability, family status, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, sex and sexual orientation.

According to the Coach Association of Canada (CAC), safe sport refers to our collective responsibility to create, foster and preserve sport environments that ensure positive, healthy and fulfilling experiences for all individuals. A safe sport environment is one in which all sport stakeholders recognize and report acts of maltreatment and prioritize the welfare, safety and rights of every person at all times.

Gymnastics Nova Scotia acknowledges, understands and embraces our responsibility to take a leadership role in creating and preserving gymnastics environments that ensure positive, healthy, and fulfilling learning and training experiences for all of our participants. Individuals participating in all disciplines of gymnastics in Nova Scotia, including athletes, coaches, officials, sport administrators, volunteers and others should be able to engage in a positive sport environment that is free from abuse, maltreatment, and discrimination. We are continuing to work together to ensure a safe sport environment for gymnastics across the province including policy, education and advocacy initiatives.

We are pleased to launch the release of Safe Sport Gym Education, a collaboration among gymnastics organizations across Canada.  

Please also refer to the Gymnastics Canada's list of suspended and expelled members across the country. 

Safe Sport Reporting

 Quality sport experiences provide countless benefits, like boosting physical and mental health, bringing people together to be part of a community, developing invaluable life skills, and much more. By maintaining secure and supportive sport environments, we can ensure that everyone enjoys the many advantages of participating. And we all have a role to play in making sport safer!

Sport Nova Scotia has provided provincial sport organizations across the province with supports meant to ensure safer and more respectful environments for all participants. If you are experiencing or have witnessed maltreatment in our sport system, there is an accessible and confidential complaint process now available to you.

Individuals are able to make complaints of maltreatment as identified in the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS). This includes complaints of physical maltreatment, neglect, psychological maltreatment, sexual maltreatment, grooming, boundary transgressions and discrimination.

Safe Sport complaints can be submitted through the Sport Nova Scotia Safe Sport Complaint Mechanism. This ensures all concerns are reviewed confidentially, and directed to the appropriate process with safeguards in place for everyone involved.

Safe Sport is about prevention, accountability, and protection, not punishment for reasonable coaching decisions, performance feedback, or everyday sport disagreements. Please be advised that administrative concerns (like coach assignments, team selections or GNS policies) should continue to be directly communicated to Gymnastics Nova Scotia.

 Click here to learn more about making a safe sport complaint through Sport Nova Scotia's Safe Sport Complaint Mechanism.