Sport Manitoba’s age-specific safe sport tips for athletes provides critical guidance for maintaining respectful boundaries and ensuring athlete safety in various sport settings. Three separate guidelines have been developed for athletes of different age groups: 8 and under, 9–12, and 13 and older.

The safe sport tips for young athletes under the age of 8 are intended to help children learn how to behave appropriately and stay safe while having fun in their activities. These tips encourage children to follow the rules of the game, treat teammates and opponents with kindness and respect, and help them understand the importance of speaking up if something makes them feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or confused.

Tips for athletes aged 9 to 12 focus on helping these athletes understand appropriate behaviour, recognize unsafe situations, and how to respond if they encounter inappropriate conduct. The tips encourage athletes to understand boundaries, respect others, demonstrate responsible behaviour, notice when something doesn’t feel right—such as unwanted physical contact—and trust their instincts if a situation seems unsafe.

The safe sport resource for athletes aged 13 and older focuses on helping teens maintain their personal safety while navigating the increasing responsibilities and complexities of sport. The resource emphasizes the importance of appropriate boundaries with coaches and guides athletes on how to report concerns or inappropriate conduct. Included is a link to a 20-minute Safe Sport Education for Youth online module. The module includes eight engaging lessons that cover key safe sport topics for athletes of this age, including bullying, hazing, grooming, other forms of maltreatment, and what young athletes should do if they need help.