We sat down (virtually) with Dr. Bruce Kidd, from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, to chat about his participation in the forum, “Athletes First: The Promotion of Safe Sport in Canada,” that will be held on June 16, 17, and 18 on Microsoft Teams. Dr. Kidd will be speaking on the Governance panel on the second day of the event.

In our interview, we had a chance to speak with Dr. Kidd about what safe sport means to him, as well as what attendees will gain from attending the virtual forum.

What does Safe Sport mean to you?

Capitalized, I would say Safe Sport is the long campaign to eradicate abusive behaviour and maltreatment from Canadian sport, and create a culture of inclusive, educationally focused, enjoyable sports, and to that end, create a federally-funded pan-Canadian institution to provide leadership to that campaign and root out the abusers. Uncapitalized, safe sport requires a complex list of conditions, summarized in the attached a two-slide deck derived from a set of literature reviews Peter [Donnelly] and I coordinated in 2008.

How are you involved in Safe Sport?

I’ve been an advocate for both as long as I can remember.

Why should someone attend this forum?

To hear and interact with leading researchers and advocates on the battle for the future of Canadian sport, and to decide for themselves ‘whose side am I on?