SIGA Strives 7: Americas task force to set benchmarks for youth development and child protection

April 3 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), led by SIGA America, has set up a task force with the aim of developing Universal Standards on Youth Development and Child Protection in Sport.

The first task force will focus on the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with SIGA saying it is creating similar multi-stakeholder task forces with focus on Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

“A wider consultation process is also envisaged to ensure the engagement of national and international law enforcement authorities, international institutions, parental organisations, young athletes, universities and other interested parties,” said SIGA.

Organisations currently participating in SIGA’s Task Force include: Major League Baseball; President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (US); United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee; Laureus Foundation USA; George Washington University; National Fitness Foundation (US); US Center for Coaching Excellence; SHAPE America; US Center for SafeSport; USA Cycling; North America International Sport and Culture Association; National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; The Spirt of Trust (Canada); Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, US Department of Health and Human Services; and Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees, amongst others.

Katherine Anderson, Youth Protection Compliance Officer, Major League Baseball, said: “I believe it is our shared responsibility to create a safe and supportive environment for young athletes and to promote a lifelong engagement in sports.  By sharing Major League Baseball’s policies and implementation strategies for our baseball and softball youth programming and collaborating with my respective colleagues on the Task Force, I believe we can make great strides in the creation of universal protection standards for youth sports organizations.”

The taks force is the seventh announcement in a set of thirty boosting measures and initiatives being developed by SIGA as part of the integrity body’s global campaign #SIGASTRIVES.

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