True Sport Spotlight – Alberta Water Polo
Alberta Water Polo’s mission is to promote, govern, support, and advance water polo in the province of Alberta. In October 2020, they were inspired to improve awareness around safe sport and take a proactive rather than a reactive approach to values-based sport, so they joined True Sport. “The True Sport Principles resonate with us, and align with our organization’s values,” said Virginia Dilger, Vice President of Alberta Water Polo.
At their 2021 Annual General Meeting, the Alberta Water Polo Board of Directors issued a call to action to have all their member clubs join True Sport, provided a True Sport Principles education session for their Board of Directors, and started displaying True Sport at their events.
“Our commitment to True Sport has brought more awareness of the principles to our membership and strengthened our organization. When there is a decision to be made, we can refer back to the principles as a starting point,” said Virginia. “Using True Sport as our approach to values-based sport communicates to parents that they can feel confident that we are putting athletes first and providing safe environments for them to learn and develop.”
When a small number of water polo clubs in Alberta were surveyed, 100% of respondents indicated that they believe Alberta Water Polo’s commitment to True Sport can have a positive impact on the sport experience.
“We will continue to promote the True Sport Principles within our membership, regardless of the level of participation,” said Virginia. “From community members to high-performance athletes, the True Sport Principles apply to every situation. We will also continue to display the True Sport Principles at sanctioned events to help remind everyone involved that, as an organization, we are committed to athlete safety and positive sport experiences.”