LE3 .A278 2023

2023

Dodge, Ann

Acadia University

Bachelor of Kinesiology

Honours

Kinesiology

Kinesiology

This study aimed to investigate how safe an environment university sport is for student athletes and to determine if institutions are providing a complaints procedure that adequately addresses the issues that athletes are facing. This was a qualitative study that used one-time, semi-structured interviews with current and retired female athletes in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference. These athletes were asked about their experiences in university sport with a specific focus on emotional and mental abuse from coaches. A major issue is that many athletes are not aware of what constitutes abuse and is deemed inappropriate behaviour. Due to the power dynamics of the coach-athlete relationship, athletes do not feel they can make a complaint because of the fear of repercussions. Institutions do not do their part in ensuring athletes feel safe when filing a formal complaint, directly affecting the number of athletes that are willing to make a complaint. The results showed that athletes are not educated enough on what safe sport is and feel that there is a lack of resources for them to access. Athletes do not currently feel safe enough to make complaints about their coaches because there is either an ineffective process in place, or no process at all. The study found the presence of emotional and mental abuse is prevalent in university sport and very little is being done to mitigate it to keep athletes safe. This study makes recommendations for policy change around preventative measures, effective interventions, and necessary changes in the current complaints procedures.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:4016