EDUCATION & SPORT - SafeShred

SafeShred
Empowering young riders to face unethical issues in snowboarding

SafeShred is an educational program that aims at raising awareness on issues related ethics and integrity in snowboarding among the grassroots riders, especially young ones between 13-15 years of age – the future of snowboarding.

 

SAFESHRED E-LEARNING

Free and open to all on the WSF Academy , the E-Learning course is designed for young snowboarders and can be taken either by the riders alone, by the riders assisted by a parent or a coach, or by a group of riders together during a camp or training. The course is available in English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, and Swedish.

This short, fun and easy to understand e-learning course is divided into five modules :

  • Basic Human Rights,
  • Reporting and Speaking up,
  • Harassment/Bullying,
  • Anti-Doping and
  • Manipulation of Sports Competitions.

THE SAFESHRED PROJECT

Although relatively “spared” from massive scandals, recent harassment cases emerged in snowboarding and sport organizations often lack the tools to educate young athletes to recognise harmful situations and how to prevent them. The WSF is taking up this responsibility with the SafeShred project, co-financed by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

The project started with comprehensive research to better understand the target groups and the situation related to integrity issues in the partner countries. Background, history, and literature on programs related to sport ethics in different European countries was gathered, combined with the results of a survey evaluating the perception of risks and expectations of stakeholders. Interviews were conducted with expert riders, coaches, managers, ethic and law experts, supporting personnel and other stakeholders coming from the field of snowboarding in six countries: Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Based on this solid knowledge, the SafeShred partners developed the curriculum to meet two target groups:

  • For anyone working with young riders, such as coaches, managers of snowboard associations, and parents, the Rider’s Guide provides informative content on different integrity topics, presentations and educational tools to deliver trainings and workshops with a young target group, as well as information on safe whistleblowing systems to report any type of misconduct.
  • For the young riders themselves: the SafeShred E-Learning
    Integrity experts trained the trainers, and in 2022, a total of 195 young people between the ages of 13 and 19 took part in SafeShred trainings organised in 6 different countries (role plays, group names, discussions, presentations). Most participants pointed out that problematic situations might be encountered more often than one would consider and that “speaking up” is crucial. In a pre-and post-study, young athletes rated the trainings as fun and useful. Feel free to contact the WSF team if you also want to organise a SafeShred training in your country.

ACCESS THE SAFESHRED MATERIAL

As coordinator, the WSF constantly monitored the project via surveys and questionnaires (participants of trainings, partners, e-learning users, etc). Two reports highlight the main project accomplishments and challenges: it offered a chance to adjust to project timeline at mid-term, and gives an outlook on how to proceed with the results at the end.

MEET THE PARTNERS

ASA – Lumilautaliitto – FSI – Snowboard Germany – Snowboard Sweden – Swiss Snowboard – Ramon Llull University – CSCF

SAFESHRED NEWS:

SafeShred E-Learning Course now available in 6 languages

WSF Erasmus+ Project SafeShred comes to an end

 

The SafeShred project is co-financed by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.