NSO STANDARD FOR SANCTIONED SPORTING EVENTS

1. Purpose

This standard establishes the minimum requirements for any event sanctioned, endorsed, ranked, funded, insured, or publicly represented as an event of the National Sport Organization (“NSO”).

The event organizer must comply with:

• Applicable federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal law;
• The NSO’s constitution, bylaws, policies, and technical rules;
• The applicable international federation rules;
• The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, where applicable;
• Applicable safeguarding, privacy, accessibility, employment, tax, occupational-health-and-safety, and consumer-protection requirements; and
• All conditions imposed in the written sanction.

No organizer may describe an event as “national,” “official,” “Team Canada,” “recognized,” “ranked,” or “NSO sanctioned” unless the NSO has granted that designation in writing.

2. Written Sanction Required

Before advertising, registering participants, collecting entry fees, or accepting sponsorship, the organizer must submit a complete sanction application to the NSO.

The application must identify:

1. The legal name and legal structure of the organizer;
2. The responsible directors, officers, event manager, officials, and volunteers;
3. The event name, sport, discipline, dates, location, and expected attendance;
4. The competition format and technical rules;
5. The participant categories and eligibility requirements;
6. The entry-fee schedule and payment terms;
7. The trophy, ranking, medal, scholarship, and cash-prize structure;
8. The source and conditions of all prize money;
9. Insurance coverage;
10. Medical, emergency, safeguarding, and accessibility arrangements;
11. Officials’ qualifications and conflict-of-interest declarations;
12. The complaint, appeal, and discipline procedures;
13. The privacy and consent procedures;
14. Any required municipal, provincial, territorial, federal, venue, or facility approvals; and
15. A cancellation, postponement, refund, and weather policy.

The NSO may refuse, condition, suspend, or withdraw sanctioning where the event presents unacceptable safety, integrity, legal, financial, safeguarding, or reputational risks.

3. Organizer Eligibility and Financial Responsibility

The organizer must:

• Operate through an identifiable legal person or entity;
• Maintain accurate financial and participant records;
• Use a dedicated event budget;
• Keep entry-fee and prize-money records;
• Disclose material sponsors, donors, beneficiaries, and financial interests;
• Avoid undisclosed related-party transactions;
• Ensure that prize funds are available before registration closes;
• Pay officials, contractors, suppliers, taxes, and approved expenses when due; and
• Provide a final financial report to the NSO where required.

The organizer must not use misleading claims about affiliation, authorization, rankings, prizes, national status, or athlete opportunities. Any material restriction, qualification, or condition must be disclosed before payment.

4. Entry Fees and Registration

Before accepting payment, the organizer must publish:

• The exact entry fee;
• Applicable taxes and additional charges;
• What the fee includes;
• Registration deadlines;
• Eligibility and qualification requirements;
• Refund and cancellation rules;
• Withdrawal and substitution rules;
• Event postponement procedures;
• Prize and ranking conditions; and
• A contact for complaints and payment disputes.

The organizer must issue a receipt or electronic confirmation and must not impose undisclosed fees after registration.

Entry fees must not be used to create an undisclosed wagering arrangement. The event must not require participants to pay money or provide value to obtain an opportunity that is misrepresented, deceptive, coercive, or contrary to applicable law.

5. Competition Integrity

The organizer must publish and enforce rules addressing:

• Eligibility and identity verification;
• Equipment and technical standards;
• Seeding, draws, and qualification;
• Officials’ authority;
• Scoring and timing;
• Protests and reviews;
• Tie-breaking;
• Disqualification;
• Match manipulation and competition manipulation;
• Bribery and improper influence;
• Betting and prohibited wagering;
• Conflicts of interest;
• Use of performance-enhancing substances;
• Harassment, retaliation, and abuse; and
• Records retention.

Officials must be selected impartially and must disclose conflicts. A person must not officiate, rank, discipline, or determine a protest where that person has a material personal, financial, coaching, family, or organizational conflict.

Results must be recorded contemporaneously and retained in an auditable form.

6. Rankings and Recognition

If the event contributes to an NSO ranking, the organizer must publish:

1. The ranking system;
2. The points or rating allocation;
3. The events included;
4. Tie-breaking rules;
5. Eligibility requirements;
6. Treatment of withdrawals, disqualifications, and appeals;
7. The date on which rankings are calculated; and
8. The process for correcting an error.

Rankings must not be altered privately to favour a participant, sponsor, official, coach, organization, or related person.

The NSO must retain authority to correct, suspend, or remove results affected by fraud, manipulation, eligibility violations, procedural error, or misconduct.

7. Trophy and Other Awards

The organizer must disclose:

• The award categories;
• The criteria for receiving each award;
• Whether the award is permanent or transferable;
• Any conditions attached to the award;
• The identity of the awarding body; and
• Whether the award is official NSO recognition.

Awards must not be represented as government, Olympic, national-team, federation, or NSO recognition unless that recognition has been formally authorized.

8. Cash Prizes

Before registration opens, the organizer must publish:

• The total prize pool;
• The amount payable for each placing or category;
• Eligibility conditions;
• Tie and split-prize rules;
• Currency and payment method;
• Payment deadline;
• Tax documentation requirements;
• Any withholding or reporting requirements; and
• Circumstances in which a prize may be withheld, reduced, or rescinded.

Prize money must be funded, traceable, and paid according to the published rules. A prize must not be withheld arbitrarily or redirected without a lawful and disclosed basis.

The organizer must obtain appropriate tax advice concerning payments to Canadian and non-Canadian athletes, officials, contractors, and prize recipients.

9. Safeguarding and Maltreatment Prevention

The organizer must:

• Apply the NSO’s safeguarding and maltreatment policies;
• Screen and train personnel as required;
• Establish rules for coach-athlete and adult-minor interactions;
• Maintain appropriate supervision and changing-room procedures;
• Control private communications with minors;
• Provide a confidential reporting route;
• Prohibit retaliation;
• Respond promptly to safety concerns;
• Refer suspected criminal conduct to police where appropriate; and
• Make any report required by applicable child-protection legislation.

Internal sport procedures must not delay emergency assistance, child-protection reporting, or police involvement.

10. Medical, Emergency, and Accessibility Requirements

Before the event, the organizer must prepare:

• An emergency action plan;
• Medical coverage appropriate to the event’s risk;
• Emergency contact procedures;
• Venue evacuation procedures;
• Weather and environmental protocols;
• Concussion and injury procedures;
• Participant accommodation procedures;
• Accessible facilities and routes;
• Transportation and communication arrangements; and
• Incident documentation procedures.

The organizer must address disability-related accommodation requests in accordance with applicable human-rights law and must not exclude a participant without a legitimate, documented, proportionate safety basis.

11. Complaints, Discipline, and Appeals

The organizer must provide participants with written information explaining:

• How to report misconduct;
• To whom reports may be made;
• Whether reports may be made anonymously;
• How urgent safety matters are handled;
• Interim measures;
• Investigation procedures;
• Decision-making authority;
• The applicable standard of proof;
• Available sanctions;
• Appeal rights; and
• Anti-retaliation protections.

Decision-makers must be impartial. Respondents must receive sufficient notice of the allegations and a meaningful opportunity to respond before a final disciplinary decision, subject to lawful interim safety measures.

12. Privacy and Records

The organizer must collect only information reasonably necessary for registration, safety, eligibility, rankings, payment, and event administration.

It must:

• Provide an appropriate privacy notice;
• Limit access to authorized personnel;
• Secure medical and identity information;
• Obtain consent where required for photographs, recordings, and publication;
• Establish retention and destruction periods;
• Respond appropriately to privacy incidents; and
• Not publish unnecessary personal information.

Results and rankings may be published only in a manner consistent with applicable law and the NSO’s policies.

13. Advertising and Public Representations

All advertising must accurately state:

• The identity of the organizer;
• The NSO’s precise role;
• Whether the event is sanctioned, recognized, or merely hosted by an affiliated body;
• The location and dates;
• Entry fees;
• Prize amounts;
• Ranking status;
• Eligibility conditions;
• Sponsorship and qualification conditions; and
• Refund and cancellation terms.

The organizer must not use “Team Canada,” a national emblem, an international federation name, or an NSO logo without written authorization.

14. Incident Response During the Event

The event manager must immediately:

1. Address any immediate safety risk;
2. Contact emergency services where necessary;
3. Separate affected persons where appropriate;
4. Preserve relevant evidence;
5. Record the time, location, persons involved, and steps taken;
6. Notify the NSO’s designated safe-sport or incident contact;
7. Refer suspected criminal or child-protection matters as required;
8. Prevent retaliation or interference;
9. Avoid prejudging disputed allegations; and
10. Complete a written incident report before the event file is closed.

No organizer, coach, official, sponsor, or volunteer may destroy, alter, conceal, or direct others to alter relevant records.

15. Post-Event Reporting

Within the period specified by the NSO, the organizer must provide:

• Final results;
• Ranking data;
• Prize-payment confirmations;
• Incident reports;
• Complaints and resolutions;
• Disciplinary referrals;
• Attendance and participation data;
• Financial records;
• Insurance incidents;
• Material safety issues;
• Sponsor and funding disclosures; and
• Recommendations for future events.

The NSO may audit the event and require corrective action.

16. Suspension or Withdrawal of Sanction

The NSO may suspend or withdraw sanctioning where the organizer:

• Breaches this standard;
• Fails to protect participants;
• Misrepresents NSO authorization;
• Manipulates results or rankings;
• Fails to pay published prizes;
• Misuses entry fees;
• Retaliates against a complainant or witness;
• Obstructs an investigation;
• Conceals a material incident;
• Breaches applicable law; or
• Creates an unacceptable risk to participants or the integrity of sport.

Withdrawal of sanction does not prevent referral to police, child-protection authorities, regulators, insurers, tax authorities, or other competent bodies.

17. Required Approval

No sanctioned event may proceed until the NSO has issued written approval confirming:

• The event’s sanction status;
• The responsible organizer;
• The approved rules;
• The approved fee and prize structure;
• Insurance;
• safeguarding arrangements;
• medical and emergency plans;
• officials;
• complaint and appeal procedures; and
• any conditions of approval.

The organizer must retain this approval and produce it upon request.