viaSport announces multi-year project to strengthen sport capacity in BC

September 11, 2024 – As an independent, not-for profit organization created as a legacy of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, viaSport is committed to supporting the development and growth of amateur sport in BC by working in collaboration with sport system partners. To sustain a resilient sport system in BC, viaSport has launched the multi-year Operational Enhancement Initiative funded by the Province of BC, with the goal of strengthening capacity and fostering sustainability of viaSport Designated Sport Organizations in BC. The project will begin this September with an expected completion date of December 31, 2026. 

“Strong governance and operational effectiveness keep BC’s amateur sport system strong,” says Charlene Krepiakevich, CEO, viaSport. “The project will help to ensure governance and operational practices of viaSport Designated Sport Organizations are up-to-date with leading practices, and are positioned for continued improvement. Jason Elligott, viaSport’s COO, is leading this project in order to ensure the project appropriately supports our designated sports.” 

viaSport has selected Sport Law to work with, and assist, its Designated Sport Organizations to strengthen their governance structures and operations. Sport Law has a proven track record of working with national, provincial, territorial, and community-based sport organizations to support their legal and leadership needs. “We are delighted to be working alongside viaSport and the Designated Sport Organizations to support this important project. We care about improving the sport system in Canada and commend viaSport for investing in this capacity strengthening project,” shared Cheryl Humphrey, Sport Law team member and project lead.   

The approach will provide consistency across each organization while also allowing for customization to meet the needs of each Designated Sport Organization and provide action plans to support the implementation of recommendations. Of note, viaSport itself will be the first organization to work through the process.  

The initiative will be comprehensive and will include, but is not limited to, the following:  risk management, conflict of interest, fiduciary responsibilities and financial structure, governing documents, operational structure, long-term organizational sustainability and sport culture. 

viaSport and Sport Law have designed an inclusive methodology that will be adapted to each Designated Sport Organization, including providing them with the necessary governance coaching to implement the recommendations. “We are grateful to viaSport for supporting us with enhancing our governance and operations practices and look forward to collaborating with Sport Law to make the necessary changes,” shared Ken Radford, CEO of Swim B.C.  

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For media inquiries, please contact Ninu Gill, at viaSport at ninug@viasport.ca. 

About viaSport 

viaSport’s purpose is to lead the development and growth of amateur sport in BC by working closely with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport to steward the provincial government investment in amateur sport. It works directly with viaSport Designated Sport Organizations in BC to build a stronger more effective sport system, while striving to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to build public trust and confidence in amateur sport. 

About Sport Law 

Founded in 1992, Sport Law is a team of professionals who provide exceptional business service to organizations across Canada and who specialize in the Canadian sport and recreation sector. We provide consulting services and educational programs related to organizational governance, strategic and business planning and evaluation, values management, risk assessment, dispute resolution, policy development, legal issues, athlete engagement, marketing and communications, and human resource management. For more than 32 years, we have served hundreds of organizations and touched every corner of the country. We are proud of the knowledge we have developed, and we remain eager to share our expertise to help your organization achieve success.