FIS prepares safeguarding toolkit for event organizers

It is difficult to argue with the idea that sports events should provide a safe and welcoming environment for all participants. The crucial question, then, is what concrete measures should competition hosts adopt to create such an environment? 

To answer the question, FIS joined forces with safeguarding consultancy En Garde to produce the FIS Safe Event Toolkit, which is in its pilot phase and will be tested with organizers of selected FIS events during the 2024/25 season before being implemented on a wider scale  

With safeguarding among young athletes as a top priority, the toolkit was designed by Mathilde Grenet, the founder of En Garde, who was appointed by FIS at the start of 2024 to offer clear guidance to major event hosts in terms of requirements and provisions they must implement as part of the FIS safeguarding policy and procedures. These include the appointment of an event welfare officer, a safeguarding event plan, and the promotion of an integrity hotline.

The toolkit is a comprehensive event safeguarding checklist, accompanied by an instructional video, which guides organizers through the implementation of a plan to ensure safe event and compliance with FIS safeguarding policies. 

It outlines safeguarding responsibilities during the event, protocols, training, the duty of care towards minors and young people, and how to manage allegations. 

The checklist focuses on the practical means by which the plan is implemented, including safeguarding plan template, an event welfare officer job description, a code of conduct for the host National Ski Association (NSA), and guidelines on the supervision of minors at competition. 

The kit also provides examples of consent and permission forms, a risk assessment, a reporting flow chart, and a range of templates. The objective is to protect the safety of all event participants – staff, volunteers, officials, athletes, coaches and the athletes’ entourage.  

Grenet said: “The bottom line is we are developing these guidelines to make sure that FIS events are safe and that there is a route to report concerns, that people are aware that there is a set-up in place in case something happens.