Section 14 - Annex A: Model Athlete/NSO Agreement

Model Athlete/NSO Agreement

AGREEMENT made this _____ day of ______________ , 200__

BETWEEN

_______________________________________________, having its national office at___________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as "the NSO")

AND

_______________________________________, residing at _______________________________ (hereinafter referred to as "the Athlete").

WHEREAS the Athlete wishes to be an active competitor in NSO‑sanctioned events with his or her rights and obligations clearly defined;

WHEREAS the NSO is recognized by _______________________ (the NSO’s International Federation) and Sport Canada as the sole National Federation governing the sport of __________________ in Canada;

WHEREAS the NSO and ____________________ recognize the need to clarify the relationship between the NSO and the Athlete by establishing their respective rights and obligations;

AND WHEREAS the Sport Canada Athlete Assistance Program (hereinafter referred to as "the AAP") requires these rights and obligations to be stated in a written agreement to be signed by the NSO and the Athlete who applies for assistance under the AAP;

AND WHEREAS the International Federation requires that the NSO certify the eligibility of the Athlete to compete as a member in good standing;

NOW THEREFORE the parties agree to the following:

NSO's Obligations

1. The NSO shall:

  1. organize, select and operate teams of athletes, coaches and other necessary support staff (a National Team) to represent Canada in the sport of _________________ throughout the world;
  2. communicate with athletes both orally and in writing in the language of their choice (French or English);
  3. publish selection criteria for all national teams at least three (3) months before the selection for any particular team and at least eight (8) months before the selection of major games teams (e.g., Olympic, Commonwealth, Pan American, FISU) and World Championship Teams;
  4. conduct selection of members to all national teams in a manner that is in conformity with the generally accepted principles of natural justice and procedural fairness;
  5. publish criteria for the selection of athletes to the AAP ten (10) months before the start of the AAP eligibility cycle for the particular sport;
  6. nominate all athletes who meet AAP criteria;
  7. organize programs and provide funding for the development and provision of coaching expertise, officials and event training centres in Canada in the sport of ______________________ in accordance with the budget of the NSO;
  8. assist the Athlete in obtaining quality medical care and advice;
  9. provide the Athlete selected to be a member of the National Team with the National Team uniform;
  10. protect the eligibility of the Athlete by ensuring that a mechanism for the establishment of a trust fund for the Athlete exists that is in accordance with International Federation rules and advise the Athlete of the nature of all payments to and withdrawals from the trust fund;
  11. regularly provide National Team program information (training and competition) to the Athlete in the form of mailed correspondence;
  12. provide a formal review of the Athlete's annual training program;
  13. provide funding for the Athlete for training camps and competitions in accordance with the budget of the NSO;
  14. provide for a representative elected by the athletes to sit as a voting member of the relevant decision-making body of the NSO (for example, the Board of Directors or National Team Committee); and
  15. Provide an appeal procedure that is in conformity with the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, which shall include access to independent arbitration through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) with respect to any dispute the Athlete may have with the NSO, and publish the details of this procedure in a prominent manner so that it is freely available to all athletes or any person requesting this information by or on behalf of the Athlete.

Athlete's Obligations

2. The Athlete shall:

  1. recognizing the responsibilities of the coaches in coaching-related decisions, follow the training and competitive program mutually agreed to by the following:
    • the NSO representative responsible for developing and monitoring National Team training and competitive programs (the National Coach or High Performance Director, for example);
    • the Athlete's personal coach; and
    • the Athlete;
  2. avoid living in an environment not conducive to high-performance achievements or taking any deliberate action that puts his or her ability to perform at risk or limits performance;
  3. provide the National Coach or his or her designate, by mail sent to the National Office, with an annual training chart and monthly updates of changes to the chart or any other appropriate information that the NSO may request;
  4. subject to paragraph 2(e), participate in all mandatory training camps and competitions as described in Appendix A of this Agreement (Appendix A is sport specific and is not included in this document);
  5. notify the NSO immediately in writing of any injury or other legitimate reason that will prevent the Athlete from participating in an upcoming event referred to in Appendix A of this Agreement (Appendix A is sport specific and is not included in this document) and ensure in the case of an injury that a certificate from a medical doctor setting out the specific nature of the injury is forwarded to the NSO within three weeks of the injury;
  6. dress in the National Team uniform and other official clothing, if applicable, while travelling or participating as part of the National Team;
  7. avoid any action or conduct that would reasonably be expected to significantly disrupt or interfere with a competition or the preparation of any Athlete for a competition;
  8. during or at National Team training camps and competitions, avoid alcoholic consumption to a level that would reasonably be expected to impair the Athlete’s ability to speak, walk or drive, or cause the Athlete to behave in a disruptive manner;
  9. avoid the use of banned substances that contravene the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the rules of the International Federation and the Canadian Policy on Doping in Sport;
  10. submit, without prior warning, to unannounced doping-control tests in addition to other prior-notice tests and submit at other times to doping-control testing when requested by the NSO, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) or other authorities designated to do so;
  11. avoid the possession of anabolic drugs and neither supply such drugs to others directly or indirectly nor encourage or condone their use by knowingly aiding in any effort to avoid detection of the use of banned substances or banned performance enhancing practices;
  12. participate, if asked by the NSO to do so, in any Doping Control/Education Program developed by the NSO in co-operation with Sport Canada and the CCES;
  13. avoid participating in any competitions where federal government sport policy has determined that such participation is not permitted;
  14. participate in sport-related, non-commercial promotional activities on behalf of the Government of Canada. The NSO usually makes such requests for participation and arranges the activities. Unless supplementary compensation is arranged, these activities do not normally involve more than two working days per athlete per year;
  15. adhere to and comply with the NSO's appeal procedure; and
  16. actively participate in all AAP evaluation activities. Athletes will co-operate fully in any evaluation of the AAP that may be conducted by the Minister or anyone authorized to act on the Minister's behalf and provide such data as the person conducting the evaluation considers necessary for the proper conduct of the evaluation.

3. Default of Agreement

  1. Where one of the parties to this agreement is of the opinion that the other party has failed to conform with its obligations under this agreement, it the following shall occur shall forthwith:
    1. The one part shall notify the other party in writing of the particulars of the alleged default.
    2. If there exists a reasonable opportunity to correct the default and the default is not so fundamental as to amount to a repudiation of this agreement, the notifying party shall indicate in the notice the steps to be taken to remedy the default and a reasonable period of time to complete the remedial steps.
    3. The parties agree that the giving of the above referred-to notice by a party will not prevent that party from later asserting that the default was so fundamental as to amount to a repudiation of this agreement.
  2. If the party receiving the notice remedies the breach within the specified time, the dispute shall be considered resolved and neither party shall have any recourse against the other concerning the matter alleged to comprise the default. If the party receiving the notice fails to remedy the breach within the specified time and either party wishes recourse against the other concerning the matters alleged to comprise the default, that party shall use the dispute settlement mechanism of this agreement to resolve the differences between the parties.

Duration of Agreement

This AGREEMENT comes into force on the _____ day of ________________ , 200__, and terminates on the ___________ day of ___________________ , 200__ .

Athlete Declaration

I hereby declare that in return for any financial assistance provided by the Sport Canada Athlete Assistance Program, I undertake to fulfil all commitments and responsibilities outlined in the booklet Athlete Assistance Program Policies and Procedures and my Athlete/NSO Agreement. I agree to refund any assistance provided to me, payable to the Receiver General of Canada, should my eligibility status change or my carded status be withdrawn, effective the withdrawal/change of status date.

_________________________________________ (the NSO)

_________________ ____________ ___________________________

Witness Date NSO Representative

_________________ ____________ ____________________________

Witness Date Athlete

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