Safe sport, chess and the Chess Federation of Canada

[Vladimir Drkulec]

FIDE recently announced that they were partnering with Safe Sport International to develop a safeguarding framework for FIDE and its member federations. Details of the announcement can be found at the following link:

https://www.fide.com/news/2740

The Safeguarding Framework will cover issues such as sexual harassment and child protection. The framework will follow international standards and guidelines, and aim to create safe and inclusive spaces for chess players, coaches, arbiters and other participants. While we wait for the results of this initiative we are not operating in a vacuum as we can look to the experiences of other sports in coming up with policies for Chess in Canada carried out under the auspices of the CFC.

The Canadian government and the Canadian Olympic Committee has led efforts in this area:

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-he...or-canada.html

https://preprod.olympic.ca/canadian-...ce/safe-sport/

I have attended a number of presentations on Safe Sports in the context of sport tourism conferences along with presentations by the Canadian Olympic Committee which has held a series of meetings on the topic the most recent having taken place a little over a week ago.

The following framework could be a useful starting point in developing a similar framework for chess in Canada and elsewhere.

https://sportintegritycommissioner.c...d-UCCMS-EN.pdf

[Heidi Gay]

Other federations’ Safe Play Guidelines, Child Protection Policy, or the like can also be used as examples to developing Canada’s policies (e.g. US Chess, England, Singapore, Ireland, France).

It would also be good to have a named Safe Play Officer or a designated committee to deal with issues, similar to the Appeals Committee. I can’t read German, but the German federation has a contact person listed specifically for such cases.

[Olga Mushtaler]

I put together a draft by adapting the USCF Safe Play Guidelines. Comments are welcome. It's a work in progress and will be subject to changes and edits by the board.
Safe Play Guidelines for Chess Federation of Canada Events
These guidelines apply to all National Chess Events in Canada, including, but not limited to, events the Canadian Chess Federation assigns to third-party organizers via the event bidding process.
Chess Federation of Canada strictly prohibits the following:
1. Sexual misconduct
• Sexual conduct without consent
• sexual harassment
• intimate relationships involving a person in a position of Power where a power imbalance exists
• Sexual misconduct involving minors (where the age difference is 3 or more years)
• Child sexual abuse
• Criminal disposition (the individual who lodges a complaint is themselves culpable of engaging in sexual misconduct, including involving a minor).

2. Bullying
The repeated, intentional, and harmful behavior directed towards an individual or group.
• Physical, e.g. hitting, punching, slapping, spitting at another person.
• Verbal, e.g. teasing, taunting, name-calling, intimidating, or threatening to cause someone harm.
• Social, e.g. using rumors or false statements about someone to diminish that person’s reputation.
• Sexual, e.g. ridiculing someone based on gender or sexual orientation.
*It is NOT Bullying if it involves an isolated incident, i.e. someone is rude (unintentionally expressing or engaging in actions that may cause harm or hurt), mean (deliberately doing or saying something hurtful, but without a consistent pattern of such behavior), conflict (conflict between individuals without a noticeable imbalance of power, where both parties believe their goals are incompatible).

3. Harassment
Persistently and undesirably disturbing, intimidating, or causing distress to an individual or a group through unwanted actions, comments, or behaviors.
• Discriminatory harassment: attempts to establish dominance, superiority, or power over an individual or group based on age, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, national origin, or mental or physical disability
• Stalking: 1) following a person; 2) appearing at a person’s home, class or work; 3) frequent phone calls, emails, or text messages; 4) continuing to contact a person after receiving requests to stop; 5) vandalizing a person’s property; 6) threatening, intimidating, or intrusive behavior; and, 7) violating a lawful order preventing contact with a person.
• Sexual Harassment: sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical behaviors of a sexual nature.

4. Emotional misconduct
Includes repeated actions intended to cause emotional distress and harm.
• Verbal: repeatedly attacking someone personally (e.g., calling a person worthless or fat); repeatedly and excessively yelling at a particular athlete or other participant in a manner that serves no productive training or motivational purpose.
• Physical: physically aggressive behaviors, such as throwing equipment, water bottles or chairs at or in the presence of others; punching walls, windows, or other objects.
• Criminal, i.e. psychological abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, child abuse.

*Exception: emotional misconduct does not include professionally accepted and age-appropriate coaching methods for skill and performance enhancement or appropriate discipline.

5. Physical Misconduct
Behaviours that cause or threaten to cause physical harm to another person.
• Contact violations: punching, beating, biting, striking, choking, or slapping another person; or, intentionally hitting another person with objects (e.g., throwing chess pieces or a chess clock at someone).
• Non-contact violations: isolating a person in a confined space, such as: 1) locking someone in a small space; 2) denying adequate food, water, medical attention, or sleep; 3) providing alcohol to a person under the applicable legal drinking age; or, 4) providing illegal drugs to another person.
• Criminal Conduct: physical abuse under applicable federal law (e.g. child abuse, child neglect, assault).

*Exception: physical misconduct does not include professionally accepted coaching methods or appropriate discipline.

In an effort to prioritize the safety of all participants, we recommend that:
a) Interactions between members of the opposite gender should occur in an open and observable setting.
b) Adults should strive to avoid being alone with a Minor. IP cameras, open and visible spaces, and a minimum of three people presence are recommended to prevent any kind of misconduct during chess tournaments and events.
c) Placing an authorized person outside the restroom during the youth chess tournaments.
What to do when you have an incident on site:
1) Control the Situation. The principal organizers shall take charge in protecting the victim and ensuring they are safe from further possible abuse.
2) Call 911.
3) Report the incident to Chess Federation of Canada using Safe Play Report Form.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Other federations’ Safe Play Guidelines, Child Protection Policy, or the like can also be used as examples to developing Canada’s policies (e.g. US Chess, England, Singapore, Ireland, France).

It would also be good to have a named Safe Play Officer or a designated committee to deal with issues, similar to the Appeals Committee. I can’t read German, but the German federation has a contact person listed specifically for such cases.

The German federation has over 90,000 members according to their website so they have more people to cover and likely more resources.

I think the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) with some slight modification to reflect the realities of chess is what we would want to follow as it is a made in Canada approach. The government and the Canadian Sports community has probably spent millions coming up with this comprehensive framework. We do not have to reinvent the wheel when the work has already been done for us. It is also better developed than the alternatives. If we were ever to get government funding, we would be required to accept this framework which seems to cover just about everything. A problem that I have with the USCF framework is that it doesn't define everything which would be a real issue when adjudicating such a situation.

https://sportintegritycommissioner.ca/uccms