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Reinstatement decision affecting swimming coach set aside by Ontario Superior Court of Justice |
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Ottawa, Ontario – June 7, 2007 An application by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and co-applicants Swimming Natation Canada (SNC) and Coaches of Canada (CofC) to have swimming coach Cecil Russell’s 2005 reinstatement decision set aside has been upheld and referred back to adjudicator Mr. Graham Mew for reconsideration based on additional evidence. The decision has been set aside on the basis that it was obtained by fraud.
With the setting aside of the reinstatement decision, Mr. Russell is again under a lifetime ban making him ineligible to participate in sport in any role.
“Coaches are being placed under a higher level of scrutiny. This is being done for the safety interest of the public,” said Ron Brown (ChPC) president of Coaches of Canada. “It is good to know that the system does work. All aspects of the system are continually evolving to protect every party in sport.”
On June 24 2005, Mr. Russell applied for reinstatement for the second time and after a hearing was held in September 2005, Arbitrator Mew ordered that Russell be reinstated to sport eligibility. Following the arbitration hearing it was discovered that Mr. Russell had pleaded and been found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute MDMA (ecstasy) in Arizona and was sentenced to a term of four years imprisonment in March 2004. At his reinstatement hearing Russell did not disclose his conviction for conspiracy to traffic in ecstasy in Arizona in 2004 to Arbitrator Mew. In August of 2006, the CCES, Swimming Natation Canada and Coaches of Canada applied to set aside the 2005 decision of the Arbitrator Mew for the reinstatement of Mr. Russell on the basis of fraud.
“Coaches of Canada strongly encourages clubs across Canada to request that their volunteer coaches have at least some form of coach certification,” continued Brown “and we are strongly promoting to the employers of coaches that they hire only recognized professional coaches.”
Coaches of Canada members are those coaches who been accepted into the profession by a peer-review committee, by way of application with demonstrated achievement of required levels of education, certification, experience and adherence to the highest level of ethical conduct for coaches in Canada. All members are governed by processes established to protect the public and the profession of coaching.
Coaches of Canada is the self-regulated national body with a mandate to advance the profession of coaching. It promotes greater understanding of the nature, role and contribution professional coaches make to society. For more information on Coaches of Canada, visit www.coachesofcanada.com.
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Media Contact:
Tricia K. Spooner, Chief Operating Officer
e-mail: tkspooner@coachesofcanada.com
office: 613-569-0613
mobile: 613-371-8590
See the CCES statement (with a link to the court document)
See the Swimming Natation Canada statement
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COACHES OF CANADA
