The Canada Basketball Verification Program is available to all basketball clubs, associations, and community groups in Canada. The program raises standards to guide all associations across the country towards best principles and practices for organizational development. By integrating important aspects of coaching, Safe Sport, and organizational leadership, becoming Canada Basketball Verified encourages basketball providers to add accountability to their mandates providing a welcoming, safe, and developmentally appropriate environment for all players and members.

If you provide basketball opportunities for players in Canada, this program is for you. The program is founded on three pillars of success: Safe Sport & EDI, Technical, and Governance & Administration. These pillars have been established as the foundation for standards that all Verified organizations must meet. In addition to this, athletes, parents, coaches, officials, and organizers can have confidence their organization is aligned with best practices for basketball programming in Canada.

Verified programs are recognized for being leaders in safe sport, as well as their commitment to excellence and best practices. Aligning these best practices across our country will allow us all to drive positive changes and provide the best basketball experience possible for our members.

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Benefits to your Organization and Your Members

As a Verified Organization, your club/association and its members will receive many great benefits that will help increase your program delivery to provide be best experience for all participants.

Benefits include:

- Brand your organization with the official Verified logo

- Recognition of your club on the Canada Basketball website

- Discounts on Canada Basketball merchandise

- Discounts on Coach Education and Officials Development events

- Confidence to players and parents that all club personnel are following best practices related to safety in sport including background checks and training

- Free access to a full policy suite to strengthen your organization’s governance and structure

- Access to provincial/territorial sanctioned competition

- Exclusive access to Canada Basketball hosted webinars and online learning opportunities

- Provincial/Territorial program benefits and discounts

- Guidance on enhanced club operations and best practices to continually improve your program delivery

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Requirements

Canada Basketball, in partnership with the provincial/territorial sport organizations, has developed a set of minimum standards to enhance the delivery of basketball for all organizations across Canada.

All Verified Programs must ensure they are following these best practices to help enhance organizational structure and overall participant experience. Click on each pillar below to learn more about the requirements to become verified and how we can help your group in the process.

The application process is designed to benefit your organization. and Canada Basketball will provide free resources and guidance as you prepare to become verified.

Safe Sport & EDI

The awareness and action taken to ensure sport is safe and inclusive. This involves recognizing and reporting maltreatment of athletes, background screening, and social issues such as diversity, inclusion, gender equity, and assisting athletes with financial barriers to participation.

Safe Sport is a multi-faceted model that aims to develop and foster sport environments that are safe for all participants at all ages and levels of competition. Safe Sport’s objective is to ensure greater sport participation at all levels by creating, maintaining, and promoting a sport culture and environment that is empowering, positive, inclusive, and equitable for all participants and free from abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

Technical

Addressing on-court programming, the Technical pillar ensures the alignment of athlete and coaching pathways. This includes developmentally appropriate skills for athletes, coach education, and overall Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD).

The Canada Basketball LTAD Model is athlete centred, coach driven, and founded in sport science. The LTAD focuses on a general framework of athlete development with special attention to growth, maturation, and physical and mental development.

Governance and Administration

The policies, processes, systems, and controls by which the organization is run. In general, this provides strategic leadership and decision making to achieve the vision of the organization, while managing staff, volunteers, and financial resources.

Strong administrative procedures help with record keeping, long term stability, and risk management. All Verified organizations shall be supported by a strong foundation of proper governance to give participants the confidence in their future success.

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How to Apply

To start your application to have your organization become Canada Basketball Verified, please fill out and submit the following form. You may also click this link to open a separate window.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does the program only apply to basketball “clubs”?

No. All clubs, associations, community groups, and organized basketball groups in Canada can become Canada Basketball Verified. This program helps unify the basketball ecosystem in our country and everyone is encouraged to join.

My association is small and run only by volunteers, where does it fit?

Even small groups are encouraged to be Verified. The requirements are not designed to focus on large clubs, but rather what you offer your participants through programming. All organizations will receive and have access to the benefits of being Canada Basketball Verified.

Why is Canada Basketball developing and implementing a Verification Program?

The popularity and growth of basketball in Canada has been rapidly expanding and all basketball organizations play a vital role in supporting this. By raising standards and creating a unified system across the country, we have the potential to build a world class environment for the development of our players, coaches, officials, and volunteers.

Why should my organization want to be a part of the Verification Program?

When you are verified with Canada Basketball and your PTSO, you are demonstrating to your participants and your community that your association follows high standards of participant safety and proper athlete training pathways. In addition, you will have access to a number of ongoing benefits that will continue to grow as more groups become verified.

How did Canada Basketball arrive at the requirements that are included in the Verification Program?

In collaboration with the Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations, Canada Basketball formed a working group to review and build out the framework for the Pillars of Success and required criteria for the Verification Program. Following best practices of the Long-Term Athlete Development Model and participant safety, the final criteria have been developed to outline what all groups must accomplish in order to meet minimum standards that will help raise the level of the game nationwide.

Is it expected that my organization meets all of the criteria at the time of application?

No. We understand that while some criteria can be submitted immediately, other criteria may take some time to achieve. We are happy to work with you to guide you through the process of achieving these best practices.

What resources will be available to support my organization to meet the requirements of the Verification Program?

Canada Basketball has developed a thorough information manual to support all groups as they work to meet the requirements to be verified. This manual explains, in detail, the requirements what you will need in order to fulfill that requirement. Canada Basketball will also provide templates for policies (e.g. By-Laws, Athlete Protection Guidelines, etc.) that you can use for your own organization.

Who will review the applications?

Canada Basketball, in partnership with your Provincial/Territorial Sport Organization, will review all applications to verify the organization has met the minimum standards to provide an inclusive, safe, and developmentally appropriate basketball experience for all participants