Roles and Responsibilities Charter for NSO, PSO and Clubs Supporting Triathlon in Canada
FEB 28, 2020
Victoria, British Columbia - In the spring of last year, Triathlon Canada and its partner Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) began a collaborative engagement process that identified key areas of improvement in the current sport system. This included clarity in regard to roles and responsibilities. The Roles and Responsibility Charter is the result of the work which started at the 2019 Triathlon Canada Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September, where every province was represented.
In creating this guiding document, a One Nation Working Group was formed, consisting of the Chief Executive Officer of Triathlon Canada, Kim Van Bruggen, and the Provincial Executive Directors from Triathlon British Columbia (Allan Prazsky), Triathlon Manitoba (Jared Spier), Triathlon Quebec (Marie Eve Sullivan) and Triathlon Newfoundland (Steve Delaney) – ensuring broad representation from each region across Canada, and small, medium and large Provincial Sport Organizations.
The Working Group met over 12 meetings to review the feedback from the 2019 Triathlon Canada AGM — going through the document line by line, then provided a draft version to the rest of the Provincial Sport Organizations Executive Directors for review and feedback in November, and then to the Provincial Presidents to share with their Boards in December and January.
The result is this collaborative work is the Roles and Responsibilities Charter, which is meant to act as an over-arching document to provide guidance and clarity for the national, provincial and club level governance of our sport across Canada. It will be an evolving work in progress and can be updated as we move forward. In some cases, the roles and responsibilities will be aspirational and in other cases, they will be considered the best practice of our sport. In all cases, they will outline our operating model for the future best state of our sport.
Key Messages:
It is the goal of the national and provincial federations to build a cohesive triathlon eco-system that will support growth and performance at all levels of the sport in Canada.
The Roles and Responsibilities provide clarity to everyone involved in the triathlon sport eco-system to understand their respective roles and responsibilities and work together to achieve them.
It demonstrates the collective investment by everyone in the sport towards our shared goals, shows the connection between all levels and why it’s important that everyone works together to ensure success at every level.
We are better together—stronger in unison and marching towards a common goal.
Working together to be more efficient and aligned with our services and programs will only benefit our athletes and our sport.
To download a copy of the Roles & Responsibilities Charter, just CLICK HERE.
FAQ’s:
WHY NOW? We as sport administrators and leaders recognize that there are limited funding and resources coming into the sport. It was determined that the lack of clarity in regards to who’s doing what in our system has led to a breakdown or silos which is not serving our sport to the best of our abilities. Clarity in regards to how each level of the sport system works together was critical in moving forward and being able to further develop and grow our sport.
AS A CLUB, WHY ARE WE INVOLVED? Clubs are a critical part of the athlete experience, and are the first point of contact for most participants coming into the sport, so it is essential they be included in this structure. While a club’s main focus may understandably be local, it’s important to acknowledge the contribution all clubs can make towards achieving our national goals and objectives.
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SIMILARITY BETWEEN CLUB, PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES? We are all responsible for the growth of the sport, starting with the clubs, moving to the provinces and ultimately to the national federation. Having identified goals for our nation, this document aims to identify the contribution made by each level towards those goals – each is linked and we all need to understand how each fits with the other. The national federation sets the governance for the sport in Canada, which the provinces then follow regionally and the clubs then follow and administer locally at the community level. One doesn’t work in isolation of the other—or shouldn’t in an effective and truly well-run system. We are all linked.
WHY DOES MY CLUB NEED TO USE THE NATIONAL TRIATHLON REGISTRATION SYSTEM (NTRS)? Ensuring we have good data as a sport overall will help us be able to better measure our sport, spot trends and gaps and allow us to better plan for the future of our sport. It will allow us to adapt as we are able to see what’s happening at all levels of the sport. It also provides efficiencies for our athletes and administrators at all levels by allowing many of the back-end administration to be done digitally—saving time and money for everyone. Data integrity is also important for us to be able to properly report to all of our members, including club members, and provincial and federal governments.
WHY DOES A CLUB NEED A REPORT CARD SYSTEM? The Report Card System will be developed in unison with representatives of affiliated Clubs across Canada, and include small, median and large entities. Once developed, the Report Card system will ensure best practices are followed, and may include safe sport policies, respect & inclusion, coach certification levels and financial transparency.
ABOUT TRIATHLON ALBERTA
Triathlon Alberta is the recognized Provincial governing body for Triathlon and Multisport in Alberta, providing leadership and development opportunities to athletes, coaches and officials across Alberta. Triathlon Alberta fosters the innovation and development of programs, services and resources for the Triathlon community in Alberta. Learn more about Triathlon Alberta, please visit: www.triathlonalberta.ca. Follow Triathlon Alberta on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.