Hockey NL Partners with Respect In Sport

Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador has mandated that all coaches, assistant coaches, managers, trainers and all on bench officials be certified in the Hockey Canada “Speak Out” It’s more that just a game program. This program was created in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross and is an education program on the prevention of abuse and harassment in hockey for coaches. It is presented in a clinic format delivered by trained branch facilitators. The program is approximately 3 hours in length and a registration fee of $10 per participant.

Started in the 2009-2010 season, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador provides its membership with the option to become certified in the program through a national initiative to implement the Respect in Sport Education tool. Certification through Respect In Sport will be the equivalent to certification received when taking a Speak Out! Course. The registration fee for this course is $30 and has a pay pal feature.

RiS is an on-line training course for coaches and sport leaders. It is designed as a tool to assist coaches in identifying and dealing with abuse, neglect, harassment and bullying in sport. The on-line course curriculum is broken into six (6), 30 minute modules hours to complete and includes audio/visual presentations, quizzes and printable handouts. Another beneficial feature of the program is that it does not need to be done all at once; it can be completed at your leisure. However, Hockey NL requests that you complete the program within 30 days of your registration.

The benefits of the new system include:

  1. Time Commitment – The course will take an estimated 2.5 hours with the delegate’s HCR Speak Out! Accreditation updated immediately upon completion.
  2. Availability / Access – The course is accessible over the internet therefore the delegates dictate when and where they take the course. They can also complete the course at their own speed.
  3. Flexibility – Delegates can access the Respect in Sport on-line course at any time (by way of username and password) therefore are able to complete one module at a time.
  4. E-Learning Platform – This is an introduction to the capabilities of training delegates with online tools and resources. The course contains many handouts which remain accessible after the course is complete. If a paper copy of any of the documents or the accreditation certificate is required it can be printed from the site.
  5. Not Sport Specific – Respect in Sport is not specific to any sport. However the learning principals within are common to anyone acting as a sport leader. The consensus is that many of our volunteers coach/assist in other sports. The need to educate our sport leaders is of significant importance, however this allows for some reduction in the duplication of information.

To register for the Respect in Sport, please click the following link: https://hnl.respectgroupinc.com/secure/