European Athletics will have a new safeguarding set-up at the Espoo 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships, which takes place this week, from 12-16 July, in Espoo, Finland.
European Athletics Safeguarding Officer, Mathilde Grenet was introduced to the Team Leaders on Thursday morning (13) and will be also available throughout the Championships at a designated ‘safe space’ at the Kameleonten Arena, adjacent to the competition venue, to offer safeguarding guidance and support to all the event participants.
This initiative is part of European Athletics wider safeguarding programme which started in May 2022 with the launch of European Athletics Safeguarding policy. Since then, European Athletics has been working closely with the Member Federations on the implementation of their own safeguarding policies and procedures.
Additionally, last month the European Athletics Council approved the formation of a new Governance and Integrity Commission at the 170th European Athletics Council meeting which took place during the last three days of the Silesia 2023 European Athletics Team Championships in Chorzow, Poland, from 23-25 June.
Led by European Athletics First Vice President Jean Gracia as Chair, one of the Commission’s key areas of responsibility is the implementation of practices to commit to the respect of human rights and secure safeguarding at our events and activities.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov said:
“European Athletics is committed to safeguarding all those involved in the sport from abuse, harassment and exploitation and the introduction of this new safeguarding set-up at Espoo 2023 is a hugely positive step and demonstrates our commitment to making all our events a ‘safe space’ for everyone.”
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz added:
“Our new Governance and Integrity Commission has the mandate to ensure the highest standards of integrity and governance within European Athletics while also promoting those practices among its Member Federations.
“I hope this safeguarding initiative will give everyone involved in the sport even more confidence that if they have any concerns about safety or any other issues, they can come to us for support.”