Safe Sport: What is it all about?

The term ‘Safe Sport’ has been a bit of a hot topic in the equestrian community as of late, especially with some well-known names appearing on the temporary suspension list. If you haven’t thoroughly read into it yet, it can be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed when it comes to sorting out fact from rumors. Never fear though, HunkyHanoverian is here to help summarize the information for fellow equestrians.

***Note: this is an unofficial summary. If you have any questions, please contact the U.S. Center for Safe Sport directly. Anything in quotes in this post is directly from the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s website.***

So what exactly is Safe Sport?

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the U.S. Center for SafeSport is a non-profit organization that is the first of its kind, focusing on ending all forms of abuse in sport. Created by the U.S. Olympic Committee, which also provided the start-up money, the U.S. Center for SafeSport was conceptualized in 2010, but was not officially announced until November 2016, and launched in March 2017.

“The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent nonprofit committed to ending all forms of abuse in sport. This includes bullying, harassment, hazing, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual misconduct and abuse. The Center is the first and only national organization of its kind. The Center provides services to sport entities on abuse prevention techniques, policies and programs and provides a safe, professional and confidential place for individuals to report sexual abuse within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movements.”

All the national governing bodies of Olympic sports and the U.S. Olympic Committee must comply with the requirements set forth by Safe Sport. Therefore, US Equestrian (USEF) and its affiliates also fall under the jurisdiction of the US Center for Safe Sport and their practices and procedures (link is a pdf download).

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