Curling Canada is taking a significant step toward creating a clearer, more consistent and independent process for addressing complaints across the sport with the appointment of four members to its inaugural Fair Play Panel.
After an exceptional response from highly qualified applicants across the country, Emma Arnold of Nova Scotia, Liam Brunton of Québec, Scott Mostoway of Saskatchewan and Paul Webster of Alberta have been selected for the panel.
With the support of Jennifer Ferris, Head of Sport Integrity and Education at Curling Canada, the panel will provide a fair and standardized approach to managing appropriate complaints and disputes across Canadian curling.
“The Fair Play Panel will help build capacity at all levels of the system by taking disciplinary issues off the desks of executive directors, managers, and boards of directors,” said Ferris. “This expert panel will be able to deliver standardized and fair disciplinary measures suited to the misconduct at hand. This is a solution built for curling by people who understand the sport.”
Each member was selected based on qualifications including dispute resolution experience, sport administration knowledge and an understanding of the Canadian curling landscape. Panelists will serve either two- or three-year terms.
“From the Peterborough Curling Club Junior Rookie of the Year in 1986 to the top of the Olympic podium 40 years later, curling has given me an incredible journey,” said Webster, who will serve as panel Chair for the first year. “I’ve experienced this sport from so many different perspectives, and the Fair Play Panel felt like another meaningful way to give back. If my experience can help people work through difficult situations fairly, respectfully and constructively, I’m happy to contribute.”
The Fair Play Panel is part of Curling Canada’s new Centralized Complaint Mechanism, which is being developed to ensure complaints across the Canadian curling system have a clear and consistent pathway for resolution.
The centralized system will provide Member Associations and affiliated curling organizations with access to an independent process for managing appropriate complaints and disputes.
Complaints will first be reviewed and triaged by an Independent Third Party, with the Fair Play Panel managing minor conduct issues that do not fall under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS).
For Arnold, joining the panel is an opportunity to bring her experience in the curling community and commitment to the values of Fair Play to a new role.
“Curling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been fortunate to experience the sport from a lot of different perspectives: as a player, volunteer, organizer and member of the broader curling community,” said Arnold. “Joining the Fair Play Panel felt like a meaningful way to give back to a sport that has given me so much. The values behind Fair Play, namely respect, fairness and integrity, are values that really resonate with me, both personally and professionally, and I am excited by the opportunity to bring those two parts of my life together.”
Any affiliated curling organization, including Member Associations and affiliated curling clubs, can access the system if they have adopted Curling Canada’s Code of Conduct and Discipline and Complaints policies.
More information about Curling Canada’s Centralized Complaint Mechanism, including how affiliated curling organizations can participate, will be shared through Member Associations in the coming months as the program is fully developed.
Curling Canada thanks all applicants for their interest in joining the Fair Play Panel and for such a strong response to the opportunity.
