True Sport

To the True Sport Community,

In assuming the mandate for safe sport in Canada, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) stepped back and reviewed its organizational strategy and structure so that it is fit for purpose as a broader sport integrity agency. With that in mind we are writing to share how our new mandate will impact certain areas of our work, particularly our work in True Sport.

True Sport has been the CCES’s approach to values-based sport for over two decades. Its evolution has been informed by public consultation and research, and the way it is delivered and activated has changed significantly over the years. This area of our work has focused on all sports, at all levels, and has seen the CCES engage with members of all sport environments.

It was originally designed to foster a social movement that welcomed individuals, communities, facilities, sport organizations, schools, teams, and more, to join True Sport if they wished to publicly align their contributions to sport with the True Sport Principles. Over the years, the True Sport logo has been used widely across sport to signify a commitment to values-based sport experiences.

As we consider how we move forward, we have identified challenges of being both an independent regulator of sport integrity and an organization that works collaboratively with sport organizations in the manner we have done through True Sport. With the importance of independence in mind, we have made the decision to move on from the work we have historically done with the True Sport brand and focus on our overall mandate as an independent regulator of sport integrity. You can read more about our new strategic direction in this statement.

The CCES continues to believe wholeheartedly in the values-based sport that True Sport espouses. We are actively looking to pass the baton to another organization that can take up the mantle and continue this important work. 

We have stopped taking new members or supporting new initiatives, but the True Sport website will remain live and the free, downloadable resources are still available. Accordingly, you can proceed with the True Sport activities you have planned for the year, continue to display the logo, and keep championing values-based sport in your community. 

We will be in touch as soon as we have further updates. For now, thank you for your support, for your activation of True Sport, and for your collaboration these last 20 years. 

February 12, 2025