SIRC and the Centre for Sport and Law announce partnership

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) and the Centre for Sport and Law (CSL) have joined forces to offer quality and relevant educational programming to Canadian sport administrators. Topics for the 2010 calendar year include practical and expert-driven advice on management issues including strength-based planning, risk management, dispute resolution, intellectual property, and social media.

“As SIRC continues to focus on connecting sport leaders with helpful and relevant resources, we are pleased to announce a partnership that will see us collaborating to provide professional development opportunities for sport leaders at our office in Ottawa and our new satellite location in Toronto,” said Debra Gassewitz, President and CEO of SIRC.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with SIRC in offering relevant and practical workshops and seminars that sport administrators can apply immediately as they manage issues, seize opportunities, and navigate their ever-changing and complex external environments,” stated Rachel Corbett, one of the founding partners of the CSL.

This partnership emerged out of the positive experience both organizations had when collaborating on two unique workshops in 2008 – “Preparing for Beijing: Are You Dispute Ready?” in April of that year, and “Not Your Normal Risk Management Workshop” in June. Registration for the 2010 workshops will begin in December and will be coordinated online via SIRC. The partnership will see four to six workshops offered per year at each location, on leading–edge topics relevant to sport administrators.

For more information, please contact Dina Bell-Laroche at 613-591-1246 or 613-294-4118 or Kim Sparling at 613-231-7472

The 12 Minute Sport Lawyer – Ottawa Edition

The first installment of the SIRC/CSL Knowledge Management Series was a success! The 12 Minute Lawyer took place yesterday afternoon in Ottawa. If you missed attending you have another chance. Register now for the session held in Toronto on February 23 at SIRC@Sport4Ontario.

Rachel and Steve from the Canadian Centre for Sport and Law led a discussion about some of the hot, legal issues in the sporting community. Time flew by as we talked about social media, music rights, hands-free devices, police checks, human rights and LTAD. Interesting questions to ask yourself include:

• Are you paying SOCAN for music rights during practices? Should you?
• Can you get fired for what you say on Facebook?
• Should you have to play employee fines if they are talking on their phone in the car for business and get caught?
• Do waivers for minors really work?
• How are the changes to police check policies effecting your organization?
• Should you align LTAD with the Athlete Assistance Program?
• Are your employees and volunteers aware and educated on human rights violations?

We are looking forward to Managing Your Intellectual Property, the next KMS in Ottawa. Speakers will discuss the ambush marketing that happened before and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Make sure you register early!

The 12 Minute Sport Lawyer – Toronto Edition

February 23rd marked the first SIRC/CSL Knowledge Management Series session for the Toronto Regional office. The event was fast paced, informative and well received by all who attended. Many provincial sport organizations were in attendance including basketball, softball, squash, badminton, boxing, waterpolo and triathlon, all finding the information relevant to their particular sport and organizational structure.

So what did they learn?

• The costs involved for playing music during sporting competitions and events when SOCAN comes to call.
• Recent U.S. case law involving cell phone use in cars by employees – you may be liable if an accident happens.
• The dangers of hyper-personal communication via social media.
• In a human rights complaint, saying sorry is not an admission of guilt. Apology Act, 2009.
• How to break the triangle of fraud by eliminating opportunity.
• The Real Story Behind the Ski Jump Story - Sagen v. Vancouver
• Different ways to “Own the Podium”.

Thanks to Rachel Corbett, Steve Indig, Jarrod Grossman and Kevin Lawrie from the Centre for Sport and Law for providing a fun and interactive session of learning. Be sure to tune in next month when SIRC and CSL present:

• Managing Your Intellectual Property – March 10th – Ottawa Office
• Not Your Normal Risk Management Workshop – March 25 – Toronto Office